Virginia Community Association Law Blog : Virginia Condo & HOA Lawyers & Attorneys in Williamsburg & York & Newport News & Hampton VA / Property Management Issues

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, LeClairRyan employment law attorney and Community Association Team member Brian Muse will present a one-hour webinar on the Fair Credit Report Act.

This webinar will provide practical advice to employers on what they need to know to conduct background checks and employee investigations without running afoul of the FCRA. It will address the types of notice that employers must provide prior to background checks and the required procedures for compliance. It will also offer practical advice to employers to avoid legal trouble in this constantly evolving area of the law.

For more information, and to register for this event, click here.

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Find out by attending Southeastern Virginia CAI's professional luncheon: Sociopaths and Community Associations: Proceed with Caution! on January 31st and February 7th.

LeClairRyan's national Community Associations Team leader, Liz White, along with Dana Shotts-Neff, president of Chesapeake Bay Management, will speak about the real life dangers and pitfalls of dealing with sociopaths in community associations and practical and legal approaches to dealing with them. To learn more, click here.

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LeClairRyan attorneys Doug Cuthbertson and Nicole Pszczolkowski were recently selected to give a presentation at the upcoming 2012 Conference and Expo of the Washington Metro Chapter of CAI. Their presentation, entitled "We've Been Sued! Now What?" will feature a discussion of practical tips for board members, community managers, and others on how to avoid litigation and what to do if they find themselves in litigation.

The 2012 Conference and Expo will take place on March 31, 2012, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. For more information about the Conference, please click here.

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LeClairRyan attorney Will Sleeth was recently quoted in a Virginia Lawyers Weekly magazine article reporting on a Virginia state court case in which the trial judge awarded homeowners their attorney’s fees for prevailing in their suit against their property owners’ association. The article (subscription required) discussed how the ruling was a significant decision in interpreting the provision of the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act that provides for an award of attorney’s fees in certain contexts. In the litigation, the association attempted to argue that the attorney’s fees provision of the Virginia Code only applies if an association sues an owner and loses (as opposed to if an owner sues an association). The judge ruled, however, that the provision can permit an award of attorney’s fees when an owner sues his association and prevails.

The article illustrates an important lesson that all associations should keep in mind: associations should be proactive in seeking out legal advice to ensure that they don’t become ensnared in potentially costly litigation in the first place.

Readers should be mindful that this ruling was a Virginia Circuit Court decision, and not a Virginia Supreme Court decision. Many community associations may likely continue to maintain that the Virginia Property Owners' Association Act does not provide for an award of attorney's fees to an owner in a situation similar to that at issue in this case.

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What are some duties that HOA boards should ensure that they perform as opposed to delegating to their manager?  Liz White was recently interviewed by HOAleader.com on this topic. In the interview, Liz discusses 9 responsibilities that boards should ensure they perform. Check out the full article here.

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How should your board respond to an accident? Who should you call first? Liz White was recently interviewed by HOAleader.com on this topic. In the interview, Liz explains how associations should always first contact their legal counsel. Check out the full article here.

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On Thursday June 24^th, LeClairRyan's attorneys will be addressing a cutting-edge procedure that community associations are increasingly using to attempt to resolve disputes outside of litigation: "alternative dispute resolution" or "ADR".

Brian Muse, a member of LeClairRyan's Community Association Industry Team, will be co-hosting the free webinar entitled "Making Alternative Dispute Resolution Work For You: Successfully Mediating Employment Disputes." Although the firm's attorneys will be discussing ADR in the context of employment law, many of the principles of ADR that they will discuss are highly applicable to community association disputes, and therefore the webinar will be helpful to board members, developers, property managers, and other interested parties.

We encourage you to plan on joining Brian on June 24th from noon to 1 P.M. EST as he explains the pro's and con's of utilizing mediation as a means to settle disputes, and provides practical tips on how to prepare for and effectively participate in mediations so as to increase the likelihood of a positive result.

To register for this free event, click here.

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Your association's governing documents may address the topic of dangerous animals and give your governing body authority to require their removal.

In a recent case, a Newport News Circuit Court Judge unequivocally recognized the validity of such rules and enforced them against a recalcitrant owner without reservation.

What happened?

The case involved a dog that had bitten the adjacent homeowner on one occasion, and charged her on another. The association directed the owner to remove the dog, but the owner refused to do so.  Thereafter, the association held a due process hearing, again directed the owner to remove the dog and imposed the maximum charges allowable in the event the owner did not comply.  Still the owner refused to remove the dog.

We filed suit on behalf of the association to enforce the governing documents and to compel the removal of the dog.  At a pre-trial hearing, the Judge explained in no uncertain terms that, although he was a dog-lover, the association's rule was enforceable and if the dog bit the neighbor it had to go.  On the trial date, the owner finally conceded the dog-bite had occurred.  The Judge entered an injunction requiring the removal of the dog, and awarded the association attorney's fees. 

Takeaway point:

If your association is dealing with a similar situation related to a dangerous animal, don't hesitate to review your governing documents to see if the association has any options for dealing with the animal and its owner. If the situation is serious, you should contact your legal counsel to discuss the best way to approach the situation.

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The wind was howling. The rain was pelting the windows. Twigs and sticks struck the rooftop. My cell phone rang and the caller i.d. showed it was a client who lived 200 miles to the north and maintained a second home in Virginia Beach. Odd time to call, I thought, in the middle of the hurricane/no’easter now known as Nor'Ida, the storm that dumped significant rain on our fair city, brought severe winds, and caused the governor to declare a state of emergency for our state.

“Pam, the beach condo is leaking like a sieve! And it is not only mine! What do we do?” asked my client, also a member of his condo board, which board I represent. “Half the owners are there, and the other half are not. Absentee owners’ units are leaking onto some who are there. Can we go in? I can’t reach the manager, but the handyman is around.”

This phone call probably was repeated many times over that day, pointing out that many associations do not have and may have never thought about a formal “Disaster” Plan.

After all, some “disasters” are not natural disasters. For example, here are some questions to consider:

• What about a gunman on the loose? -- Which happened in a nearby neighborhood to my own last fall.  Yes, we have a City police force, but some communities I represent have their own police forces.
  • What are the best ways for an association to proceed?
    
  • What if there is no plan?
    
  • Is there liability on the part of the board for the failure to HAVE a plan?

And what happens AFTER the immediate disaster passes?

• Who interfaces with the insurance companies?
• Who coordinates the insurance claim process as between the Condominium’s policy issuer and the individual owners’ policy issuers so that the facts are presented consistently?

Every association, whether condominium or property owners, should have an Emergency Plan. Consideration must be given to a host of factors such as defining an “emergency,” utilization of technologies and available resources, post-disaster safety and preservation, among others. If your association does not have such a plan in place, it should contact its legal counsel to assist it in formulating and drafting one that is both technically proficient and legally sound.

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