Association Lawyers in New Jersey

Eric Koehler, Vice President of Falcon Drone Services and Fran McGovern from McGovern Legal Services along with Access Property Management presented the benefits of using drones in community associations on Wednesday April 12. The demonstration was open to both board members and property managers in the Hills Communities. All were excited to see how the new technology worked. The presentation provided a demonstration of the drone in use. All participants were encouraged to provide comments and questions. 

The Common Interest Community Manager Licensing Act is close to being law: What does it mean for you?  As many people already know, the Act provides for the licensing of common interest community managers, but what you may not know is that it also creates a Common Interest Community Board, provides accounting and insurance requirements and mandates continuing education.  Below are answers to a list of frequently asked questions.

The transition process involves an engineering evaluation of the Association’s common elements to determine if there are defects.  The engineer’s evaluation  typically identifies defects within the site improvements, for example, the landscaping, roadways, sidewalks, detention basins, etc.  These site improvements are often subject to performance bonds with the municipality.

Patricia Hart- McGlone, Esq. talks about Lessons Learned from Super Storm Sandy.

Defendants in Construction Defect Case Lack Standing to Enforce By-Law Provisions Intended for Unit Owners’ Benefit – Membership Ratification is Effective

Board members have a fiduciary duty to the association/corporation and arguably directly to the individual members.  Fulfillment of this duty requires that the board members exercise utmost good faith. 

In ordinary corporate matters, the 'business judgment rule' is the standard by which board action is evaluated.  The business judgment rule generally provides that, so long as the board members fulfill their duties of 'care' and 'loyalty' the board's decisions will not be second-guessed by a court. 

It’s common knowledge that Burlington County Chancery Judge Karen L. Suter has not been receptive to Associations’ applications for appointment of rent receivers.  This has been true even when a unit is abandoned, vacant and worth less than the balance of the mortgage.  Nevertheless, we believe that Judge Suter and New Jersey’s other Chancery Judges will, in the proper circumstances, continue to grant Associations’ applications for appointment of rent receivers.

October 27, 2007 CAI-NJ Conference and Expo - Refreshing Insurance

1. Cultivate a Relationship with the Association's Insurance Representative

Insurance representatives make their living selling insurance and maintaining accounts. They are professionals and should be a part of the Association's professional services team. Association boards should be familiar with their insurance representatives and use them as a resource. Too often, board members do not even know who their Association's insurance representative is until a problem arises.

Damon M. Kress, Esq. talks about your Association's Immune System

1. REASONS FOR RULES AND REGULATIONS

a) PRESERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF PROPERTY

Thousands of Americans die needlessly each year because they had no access to relatively inexpensive and user-friendly life-saving equipment.

Open Board meetings are generally the most stressful part of any board member’s tenure.  We all know that people who come to open meetings are usually not there to let the board know what a wonderful job they are doing.

In its January 29, 2018 decision captioned Indian Field at Hardyston HOA, Inc. v. Trudnos, New Jersey’s Appellate Division reaffirmed the common-sense concept that (with certain exceptions) bankruptcy only discharges a debtor’s personal debt, not an Association’s lien on the property.

What happens when a unit is in collections and then upon a title search, we determine there is no mortgage on the property?

This is a common situation when the property was bought a long time ago, and the debtor recently fell on hard times or the debtor is a relative that inherited the unit from the deceased owner. Although the mortgage is paid, the debtor cannot pay their monthly maintenance fees.

Health care providers are increasingly scrutinized for compliance with health care and insurance laws.  In light of this, health care providers must be proactive in creating and implementing a compliance program. 

In the summer of 1981 I started reading Stephen King’s “The Stand”.  My boss had left it in my attendant’s shack at a parking lot on the corner of Ocean and Pine Avenues in Wildwood.  I didn’t get very far.  The book was scary and long.  As a sixteen-year-old at the beach, I had more fun things to think about. 

Associations should calendar their FHA expiration dates and contact their attorney about six months prior to expiration. Recertification can be obtained up to six months before a current FHA certification expires; so calendaring this date can help an association avoid any lapses in certification.

In an October 21, 2016, published decision titled In Majorca Isles Master Ass'n, Inc., 560 B.R. 824 (Bankr. S.D. Fla.) (“Majorca Isles”), the United States Bankruptcy Court awarded a Florida Master Association with an incredible $16.3 million judgment against a developer and its appointed trustees, in what the Court described as a “modern day story of David and Goliath.”  Setting aside the transition aspects of the case, the decision provides an excellent guide for boards and property managers – particularly those involved with master associations – facing issues of poor record keeping and conflicts of interest.

The Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to providing the education and resources necessary to foster vibrant, responsive, competent, community associations and helping them promote harmony and responsible leadership.

You hated them as a kid. You wish they were no longer necessary as an adult. But in community living, having some rules is a necessity.

The most common arrangements for retaining attorneys are hourly, retainer, task based, contingent fee or mixed-contingent. An attorney's 'out-of-pocket' expenses must be paid in addition to the attorney's fee.

On July 13, 2017, the State enacted P.L. 2017, Ch. 106 often referred to as the Radburn bill, a supplement to the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act intended to ensure Condominium, HOA, and Cooperative elections are conducted in a fair and open manner.  The new Law contains important new procedural and substantive requirements for: (1) Membership Voting Rights; (2) Board Elections; and (3) Bylaw Amendments.  Management and Boards must navigate these new requirements carefully, else they may face costly challenges to the validity of Association elections and Bylaw Amendments.

New Jersey, along with many other states, has adopted a Smoke-Free Air Act (the “Act”) that bans smoking tobacco or electronic cigarettes in the workplace and in indoor public places. Most people are aware that this ban extends to restaurants and stores, but the definition of “indoor public place” also includes an “apartment building lobby or other public area in an otherwise private building.”

Litigating against a community’s developer over construction defects and other issues is a long, slow and expensive process.  An average transition lawsuit can take between five (5) and seven (7) years to reach conclusion.  As if the glacial pace were not bad enough, if an association pays for its transition litigation “out of pocket”, attorney fees could cost $750,000 or more, even if the matter does not reach trial. 

Putting lipstick on a pig makes the animal no less a pig. Cladding the lobby in marble and installing fancy fixtures makes an old building no younger. 

"Interest” and “late fees” are different things.  Governing documents may provide for interest and/or late fees.  Judges are sensitive to the difference. 

Scott Penick, Esq discusses Contracts for Insurance-Covered Repairs