This Week's Q & A

Q: I need your advice. Because of a dispute with the town, our management company did not pay the water bill for our condominium development. As a result, the town imposed liens of varying amounts against each individual unit. My bill was $120. I had no knowledge of the problem until I received notice of the lien. Accordingly, I deducted the $120 from my monthly condominium fee, including a note with the check, explaining the reason. Subsequently, I received a nasty letter from a law firm demanding that I pay the $120, plus a $95 fee to cover the legal costs the condominium association incurred by having the law firm convey that demand. I was merely angry before; I am furious now. What recourse do I have?

A: It appears that the condominium association occupies the higher ground in your dispute. There is no legal basis on which condominium owners can withhold their monthly common area dues, attorneys specializing in condominium law agree. Even if you dispute the fee, or a portion of it, the condominium statute requires you to make the payment and contest it later, just as you would with a disputed tax payment. Your association has the right to bill you for the payment you withheld improperly, plus the legal fees and any other expenses related to the collection effort.

I don’t know why your association contested the water bill in the first place. But even if you could demonstrate that the decision was flawed, it is unlikely that you could sue the board successfully for two reasons.

The courts traditionally are reluctant to second-guess the judgment of condominium association boards. Even if the board’s action was erroneous, or even stupid, a court isn’t likely to find fault as long as there is no evidence of bad faith or outright fraud.

You didn’t really suffer any damages, which would be a pre-requisite for demanding compensation. It may feel as if you suffered an out-of-pocket loss, because you had to clear that $120 lien. But because the condominium association did not pay that bill, your portion of those funds remains in the condominium association coffers, available for paying other common expenses. You are out that $95 in legal costs, but that’s not because the condominium association did anything wrong – it’s because you did.

You do have valid cause for complaint, if not grounds for compensation, on one point, and that is the condominium board’s apparent failure to inform unit owners of the dispute over the water bill and the possibility that it might result in liens against individual units. The board, clearly, should have done a much better job of communicating with owners on this issue. But to the extent that communication is a problem, it is one you should address in association meetings and not in court.