David Loewenthal will be participating as a speaker at the CACM Southern California Law Seminar – January 21, 2011. For information visit:
http://www.cacm.org/southerncalawseminar.aspx
AB2016 (Torres) Common interest developments: requests for notices of default: An act to amend Section 2924b of the Civil Code, relating to common interest developments.
Last date of legislative activity:…
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By Robert D. Hillshafer and David A. Loewenthal
Compared to recent years, 2009 was not a year with dramatic amounts of new or significant legislation or court decisions impacting community associations. The following discusses new laws going into effect in 2010 and court decisions made during 2009.
NEW LAWS EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2010:
Disclosures…
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Uncontested Board of Directors Elections: Do You Really Have to Hold an Election?
An issue plaguing associations, managers and counsel is whether an association must comply with California Civil Code §1363.03 et. seq., for director elections if the nominations result in an uncontested election. The answer to this question largely depends upon who you ask,…
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Fact: A substantial percentage of condominium developments have significant construction defects and end up in litigation over these defects.
Fact: Municipalities and their Departments of Building and Safety are not responsible for preventing construction defects and are immune from civil liability for negligent construction, even if the construction was inspected and approved.
Fact: Developers and…
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Although the concept of fiduciary duty is mentioned frequently (often incorrectly) as applying to the duties of community association board of directors in general, one area in which it does certainly apply is relative to collection of Association assessments. Because Associations operate on a zero based budget, which means that every dollar of assessments is…
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Overview:
This legislative update is a summary of those state senate and assembly bills (and one federal bill) which were passed by the legislature, signed into law and will most directly affect homeowner and community associations. With this same focus, also summarized here are: bills which were passed and vetoed, but may reappear; as well…
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1. Harvey v. Landing HOA 162 Cal.App.4th 809
Background: Condominium homeowner Harvey brought an action for trespass, breach of fiduciary duty and injunctive relief against homeowners’ association, members of homeowners’ association board of directors, and homeowners with attic access. The Superior Court granted summary judgment for defendants. Homeowner appealed.
The Landing is a…
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The Top Ten List
Homeowners associations, their directors, management companies, lawyers and most importantly, the homeowners themselves can be and frequently are confronted by neighbor to neighbor disputes. If not handled properly, these disputes can get out of control, costing time, money and ultimately impacting the entire association.
This article outlines ten general areas and/or…
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Recently there has been significant discussion of and movement toward modification of homeowner and community association voting processes. Much of the focus of these activities has centered on efforts to make elections easier by eliminating quorum requirements through a Bylaw amendment. It has been suggested that eliminating quorum will help to avoid the problem of membership…
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By: David A. Loewenthal, Esq.
Environmental quality of indoor air has received increasing attention over the last decade as the nation has become more informed about the dangers of indoor pollution. As with noise and pets, issues regarding indoor pollutants are a constant source of disputes within community associations. Though this can…
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