HOA Law Blog

Blog post from David C. Swedelson, Condo Lawyer, HOA Attorney and Senior partner SwedelsonGottlieb

We are often asked how a building contractor's poor workmanship was approved by the City's inspector from the Department of Building and Safety. Now we know one reason; some inspectors are taking bribes to look the other way or not even inspect.

The LA Times reports that Raoul Germain, a City of Los Angeles building inspector, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to taking bribes. Germain was caught as part of an FBI sting operation in which he approved work in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes. The Times notes that that in some cases, Germain never visited the construction sites.

In addition to Germain, another city inspector has pleaded guilty to taking bribes, and two more employees of the Department of Building and Safety have been fired in connection with the investigation.

To read the LA Times article, click here.

By David Swedelson, Condo lawyer / HOA and Community Association Attorney; Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb

It has been assumed by many that if a California community association holds its foreclosure sale (as part of the assessment collection process) and after the sale the delinquent owner files bankruptcy, that the bankruptcy did not impact the sale. Not so, according to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which recently held that the filing of a bankruptcy petition by a borrower (in our case a delinquent owner) can void a trustee sale even where the petition is filed after the trustee sale, so long as the borrower/delinquent owner files the bankruptcy petition before the execution and recordation of the trustee's deed upon sale. [In re: Gonzales 2011 WL3328508 (Bkrtcy. C.D.Cal. August 1, 2011)].

As we know, a delinquent owner has the ability to file a bankruptcy to stay or stop a trustee sale prior to the actual sale. And many delinquent owners do. Many people believe that once the trustee sale occurs, the bankruptcy filing by the owner does not impact the sale. Wrong!

Continue reading " Record The Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale ASAP; Too Bad The Legislature Did Not Consider These Consequences Before Requiring A 90 Day Post Foreclosure Sale Redemption Period " »

Assembly Bill 771 (Betsy Butler), which amends Civil Code Section 1368 regarding documents to be provided the buyer in an escrow, was sponsored by the California Association of Realtors and initially sought to place a cap on fees that may be charged by management companies and others who provide documents upon sale or transfer of a separate interest. This bill was opposed by all industry trade groups and was ultimately revised to remove the cap. As signed by the Governor, the bill sets out the items which are to be provided to a buyer as well as an estimated fee for each.

Continue reading " Governor Signs AB 771 (Butler) Into Law Requiring Associations to Itemize and Disclose Fees Charged For Documents To Be Provided to Buyer in Escrow " »

By David Swedelson, Condo lawyer and HOA attorney; Senior Partner SwedelsonGottlieb

Despite significant industry opposition, the Governor has signed into law amendments to the Davis Stirling Act and specifically Civil Code Section 1363.05, also known as the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act. Here is the story of how this new law came to be:

As most of you know, the Act was amended with the addition of this code section requiring that board meetings at California community associations be open to members except for certain specified executive session meetings when those meetings should be kept confidential or emergency meetings when the required notice to owners is not possible.

Continue reading " Governor Brown Signs SB 563; Say Good-bye to Actions Without a Meeting " »

Blog posting by David C. Swedelson, Condo and HOA lawyer, Partner SwedelsonGottlieb

According to an FBI website article, a Las Vegas man pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOA) in the Las Vegas area so that the HOAs could direct business to a certain law firm and construction company.

The story is amazing, and you might wonder how this could happen. Over my many years as a California condo and HOA attorney, I have seen several community associations that were taken over and controlled by groups that bought up units and votes. But I have never seen this done so that work could be funneled to attorneys or contractors. But considering the money that could be earned on these projects, we should not be too surprised that this happened.

Continue reading " Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Fraud Scheme to Gain Control of Condominium Homeowners’ Associations " »

Blog posting by David Swedelson, California Condo lawyer and HOA attorney; Partner SwedelsonGottlieb

Community Associations Institute's Fast Tracks News Bulletin reports on a Fort Myers, Fla. age-restricted homeowners association that is telling an owner that that he does not have the right to have guests who are younger than 55 visit his home while he is away.

Continue reading " Age-Restricted HOA Doesn't Want Young Guests Visiting " »

By David C. Swedelson and Sandra L. Gottlieb, Partners, SwedelsonGottlieb, Condo Attorneys and HOA Lawyers

We have been receiving a number of calls lately from board members and community association managers asking what they can or should do about complaints from residents about marijuana smoke that is wafting into their units or homes. Many of you may be wondering why this is an issue and questioning why anyone would complain. We won’t go there. We are hearing that some of these marijuana users are saying that the association cannot stop them from smoking their medical marijuana, as they have their doctor's recommendation and it is permitted by state law. So, must California community associations accommodate medical marijuana use by residents even when it creates a nuisance for other owners/residents? We thought that the answer was pretty clear that even if a resident is legally using medical marijuana, their use cannot cause or create a nuisance which interferes with another resident's quiet enjoyment of their unit or home. Apparently this is not so clear, as we have been told that some attorneys are telling their condo association clients that they can do nothing about marijuana use by a resident who possesses a doctor's recommendation. Seriously?! We do not agree. And we have written an article on the issue. Follow this link for our full article on this subject.