Condominium Insider

MEEB’s Condo Law Newsletter

Governance and Board Operations, Collections and Lien Enforcement, Construction Defect Litigation, General Litigation, Insurance and Risk, Fair Housing and Accomodations, Maintenance and Repairs, Rules and Enforcement, Lending and Finance, Landlord Tenant, Legislation and Regulatory Updates, MEEB Case Results, Resolutions and Amendments Mark S. Einhorn, Esq. Governance and Board Operations, Collections and Lien Enforcement, Construction Defect Litigation, General Litigation, Insurance and Risk, Fair Housing and Accomodations, Maintenance and Repairs, Rules and Enforcement, Lending and Finance, Landlord Tenant, Legislation and Regulatory Updates, MEEB Case Results, Resolutions and Amendments Mark S. Einhorn, Esq.

HOW TO DEAL WITH A ‘BAD’ CONDOMINIUM TENANT - CONTACT THE OWNER

If a condominium owner regularly plays loud music, rolls golf balls across an uncarpeted floor, otherwise disturbs other residents or violates association rules, the board’s response is clear: Notify the owner that he or she is violating the rules and fine him/her if the violations continue. But what if the annoying resident is a tenant, not an owner? 

The response isn’t quite as straightforward. The board has no direct relationship with the tenant, no authority to enforce the association’s rules against him, and certainly no authority to evict him, unless the governing documents specifically grant that authority, which most do not.  The board’s relationship is with the owner of the unit, who is the tenant’s landlord, so any actions the board takes should start there.

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MEEB Case Results Dawn D. McDonald, Esq. MEEB Case Results Dawn D. McDonald, Esq.

MEEB SECURES JUDGMENT

MEEB secured a judgment in favor of an Association after a challenge was made to the Board’s authority to renovate the condominium’s existing fitness center. The Middlesex Superior Court held that removing the sauna, steam room, and showers as part of the project constituted a repair and restoration—not an “improvement” requiring a unit-owner vote under M. G. L. c. 183A, § 18.

The fitness center was outdated, with reports of mold and mildew; the steam room had been inoperable for approximately twenty-four years, and the sauna was used only sparingly.  Does this sound familiar?  The Board decided rather than spending thousands of dollars to repair the facilities it made more sense to remove them.  

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MEEB Case Results, Construction Defect Litigation Seth Barnett MEEB Case Results, Construction Defect Litigation Seth Barnett

MEEB SECURES SETTLEMENT FOR ASSOCIATION’S CONSTRUCTION DEFECT CLAIM

Marcus Errico Emmer & Brooks, P.C. is pleased to announce the recovery of nearly $600,000 on behalf of a small South Shore condominium association in a construction defect and water damage dispute against its developer. The association had long been burdened by serious construction defects and resulting water damage that the developer had failed to adequately address. Nearly three years ago, the association presented the developer with a pre-suit demand of $300,000 — a figure the developer declined to meaningfully engage with at the time. Unwilling to leave the association without recourse, litigation partner Seth Barnett filed suit to protect the association's interests and hold the developer accountable.

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MEEB Case Results Thomas W. Aylesworth, Esq. MEEB Case Results Thomas W. Aylesworth, Esq.

MEEB DEFENDS ASSOCIATION WIN AT THE SJC

At a recent hearing before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, MEEB attorney Thom Aylesworth argued on behalf of a manufactured housing (a/k/a mobile home) resident association in an appeal of the association’s victory in the Superior Court. The appeal marks the last stage of a six-year long legal battle in which MEEB has represented the Pocasset Park Association in a lawsuit brought by an out-of-state investor, Crown Communities.

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MEEB Case Results, Legislation and Regulatory Updates Janet Oulousian Aronson, Esq. MEEB Case Results, Legislation and Regulatory Updates Janet Oulousian Aronson, Esq.

MEEB ATTORNEYS KEEPING AN EYE ON HARMFUL BILLS TARGETING CONDOMINIUMS

The New Year brings new legislative sessions in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. MEEB Partners Matt Gaines, Janet Aronson and Gary Daddario, who chair or co-chair the Community Association Institute of New England’s Legislative Action Committees, (LACs), are watching for bills that would be harmful to condominiums and they’ve already found a few. In this report, they summarize the bills their committees are tracking and the measures they may be considering.

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General Litigation, Rules and Enforcement, MEEB Case Results Seth B. Barnett, Esq. General Litigation, Rules and Enforcement, MEEB Case Results Seth B. Barnett, Esq.

COURT REBUKES UNIT OWNER FOR UNAUTHORIZED ALTERATIONS: TRUSTEES PREVAIL AT TRIAL

In a sharply worded decision issued this Summer, the Suffolk Superior Court ruled in favor of Condominium Association represented by MEEB after a bench trial centered around rule enforcement and unauthorized modifications. The Court found that the unit owner “deliberately” violated condominium rules by installing her personal air-conditioning equipment in the building’s common areas without approval.

The Court ordered the owner to remove all unauthorized installations, restore the common areas, and pay more than $65,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs to the Association. The case was tried by MEEB Partner, partner Seth Barnett. After trial, the unit owner paid the judgment in full and removed the HVAC system at her own expense.

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