HOA: Another HO loses at OAH

Another one bites the dust! Another one bites the dust! And another one gone, and another one gone! Another one bites the dust… Queen

And so it goes. I attended the 3.75 hour court room drama at OAH in September. The decision was rendered Friday night giving everyone a cooling down period. The plaintiff did not have a stockpile of cash, so he represented himself. He presented plenty of evidence to show the management company parked their own trucks in his parking space for years. This coincidently happened after the Plaintiff caught the board president being unethical with community funds. Obviously revenge was necessary to settle the score. The Community Manager who alleged she visited the condominium daily never once noticed MC trucks in the plaintiffs parking space. How odd. The plaintiff had over 700 images of MC vehicles or friends of the board parking in his spot. There were always plenty of open visitor spots yet the MC trucks couldn't seem to find their way to them. The plaintiff was fined over $2600. He was even fined for parking in a visitor spot when the MC had their truck in his. He collected written notarized letters from other Members of the community stating he could park in their spots when his was occupied. So what went wrong? The plaintiff didn't read the CC&RS, Rules and Regulations, Enforcement Policy, Fine Policy often enough ... I have a copy ... over a 100 pages poorly microfilmed. In there (somewhere) was language that said "speak to your community manager". The plaintiff complained to a board member. That was his mistake. He didn't follow the proper procedure so he is out $2600 + the $500 filing fee with OAH.

Never forget that the condominium Board of Directors spent $30K+/- to defend this. They hired a well-scripted attorney, their witnesses (with the exception of one) were slick! The plaintiff shook thru the entire process never having been before a Judge and conducted himself in a highly professional manner. He did as best he could being on his own. He had one witness who verified he asked for a hearing and was denied. And there you have it. When at an Administrative Hearing, it will not matter whether you have mounds of evidence against the HOA and it's MC. It will not matter that they manipulated you to collect monies. It comes down to "did you read the fine print properly? You were to go to the Community Manager to complain, not to a board member!" It does not matter if the board or management company is ethical, it only matters if you crossed your t's and dotted your i's. Those slick BofD's, MC's and attorneys know the rules. When you see funny business with community money from a board member, never complain. They are rarely prosecuted even when they embezzle 10's of thousands of dollars. They lie on the stand. They will get away with it. They'll find a way to make your life miserable and you will pay the price. Shame on the Judge!

This is not carefree living. The odds are always against you.

If you have suffered HOA abuse, contact HOATruth.com. Dennis Legere is the principal advocate. Or you can reach me at EarsUp@iCloud.com. Full disclosure, neither are attorneys. We do this bc we don't like bullies. FREE.