Articles Posted in Current Affairs

By David Swedelson and Sandra Gottlieb, Senior Partners at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

Unfortunately, there is fraud and embezzlement being committed at community associations throughout California as well as across the country every day. We have written about this issue in the past; follow this link to an article we wrote that describes how SwedelsonGottlieb recovered $500,000 for one association after it was discovered that the former manager had systematically looted the association’s reserve account. As is the case with most instances of embezzlement, it was preventable. Not one of the board members was reviewing the financial records, and they were not requiring that they be provided financial reports.

We were reminded about this issue by recent news stories involving the owner and an employee at a now defunct management company who were recently arrested with numerous charges pending. It is alleged that they together defrauded a large southern California homeowners association they managed and embezzled at least $900,000. And there is speculation that monies were taken from other community associations as well. Many of us in the community association industry heard about this story some time ago and were not surprised by the arrests. What surprised us was how long it took law enforcement authorities to act.
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Blog post by SwedelsonGottlieb, California Community Association Attorneys

Many of our clients have been confronted with issues relating to service and companion animals at homeowners associations. Typically, the question is whether those animals are permitted to remain at the association (typically condo or stock cooperative associations) even if this would be a violation of their association’s governing documents (and generally, they are).

What often confuses many board members and managers is the distinction between a service animal and a companion animal. A service animal is an animal that is trained to perform tasks for a person with a physical disability, such as visual impairment or mobility issues. A companion animal, on the other hand, is an animal that provides emotional support to a person with a psychiatric disability, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder; companion animals are generally not specially trained or considered physical aids, nor do they need to be registered as a service animal.
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By David Swedelson and Sandra Gottlieb, Condo Lawyers and HOA Attorneys, Senior Partners at SwedelsonGottlieb

You may not have noticed this, but it is a fact that the United States has a large and growing population of senior citizens. Between 2000 and 2050, The number of older people is projected to increase by 135%. And the population of people 85 and over is projected to increase by 350%. In fact, the proportion of the population that is 85 and older will increase from 1.6% in 2000 to 4.8% in 2050. The aging of our population will place additional pressure on healthcare facilities and support programs for older people. This will also place some pressure on community association (mostly condominiums and stock cooperatives) boards and management.

As many boards and managers have already come to realize, for one reason or another, older people are deciding to remain in their condominium units rather than move into senior assisted living facilities. Many call this “aging in place,” which simply means that these seniors are choosing to remain in their own homes rather than move into an assisted living facility. We are now finding that many seniors are moving into their units and remaining in place for too long. Many bought their condos when they were much younger and did not plan for the time when they were too old and unable to function without assistance. And in many cases these seniors do not have family or other support to help them. Many seniors are just not able to deal with the fact that they cannot effectively care for themselves any longer. In some cases, they have waited too long, and their psychological or physical ailments have made it difficult for them to make a change. And as a result, they turn to their condo association for help when they get lost or forget that they have left the tub water running, for example (and there are many other examples as well).
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Breaking news! The Community Associations Institute released the following report today:

“The Federal Housing Administration has announced that condominiums providing bank owned properties limited flexibility from transient leasing prohibitions are now eligible for FHA approval. CAI applauds FHA’s decision, which will make it easier for more condominiums to be certified by FHA.

Under FHA’s new policy, condominium associations in violation of FHA prohibitions on transient leasing are offered two compliance options:

By David Swedelson, Condo Lawyer and HOA Attorney, Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys

A few months ago I reported about the State’s budget cuts that are significantly impacting California’s court system. Unfortunately, and despite recent reports that the State’s financial resources are better than expected, Los Angeles County Court officials recently reported the elimination of an additional 500 jobs. As a result of these changes, court reporters are not being provided for most civil cases, lines at the courthouse are growing longer as there’s less staff to provide services like getting files, copies of documents, etc. and courtrooms are closing.

I am currently waiting (or as we lawyers call it: “trailing”) for courtrooms to become available for trials in two separate enforcement lawsuits. It may take weeks or longer before we can actually start trial. This only adds to the cost of the litigation and makes the parties anxious as they wait.
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