Source: https://www.morrissperry.com/hoa-news?qt-tabbed_news=6
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 10:32:49+00:00

Document:
John Morris, Quinn Sperry, and Lauren DeVoe presented an HOA legislative and case law update to lawyers in the Utah State Bar on February 21, 2019. The Morris Sperry HOA attorneys explained and discussed new statutes affecting homeowners' associations including new laws and cases related to construction defects and requests for emotional support animals. The presentation was packed by Utah lawyers looking for an HOA update. When lawyers need an education on HOA issues, they go to the lawyers at Morris Sperry because they are focused exclusively on HOA law.
The Utah CAI Legislative Action Committee is running HB 329, that will have new HOA laws. The bill will make changes (some minor and some more important) to various sections of the Condominium Ownership Act and the Community Association Act. After negotiations with various constituents, the bill is in the process of being shortened from its current form but will still include some changes that Utah community associations and homeowners’ associations will need to know about. There will be some technical changes to Utah Code Ann. § 57-8-13.1 and § 57-8a-105 related to lien enforcement during periods when a homeowners’ association has failed to register with the Department of Commerce. The basic obligation of all Utah HOAs to register with the department of commerce remains. Utah Code Ann. § 57-8-54 will undergo substantial changes related to owners requesting payoff information from their HOA or the HOA's manager. The lawyers at Morris Sperry suspect this provision will have further modifications from its existing form before passage. The rules provisions in the community association act, Utah Code Ann. § 57-8a-217, will also undergo some significant changes. These changes include new definitional terms that could have significant effects on the validity of various HOA governing documents. In addition, these changes include limitations on the time period for challenging the adoption of a rule that does not comply with the notice and vetting periods allowed to owners before new rules are adopted in community associations. The lawyers at Morris Sperry are involved with these amendments through their service on the Utah CAI Legislative Action Committee and are closely watching the progress of these new 2019 Utah HOA laws. The time for this bill to get passed is slipping away, but there still remains a chance these provisions could go into law. Look for future updates from Morris Sperry on the status of this bill and the passage of other new laws in 2019 that affect HOAs.
John Morris and Quinn Sperry, Utah homeowners association lawyers, were selected to be two of the presenters for the CCAL national HOA law seminar in New Orleans. This seminar was attended by more than 400 HOA lawyers from around the country. They presented on how to deal with divisiveness and conflict in HOAs. This very interesting issue is at the forefront of the national political debate and is a commonly encountered problem in community associations around the country and in Utah. The topic included information and practical advice for dealing with board member verses board member disputes, board member verses owner disputes, HOA verses board member disputes, and other common types of disputes in HOAs. The presentation included a careful review of the ethical rules lawyers must deal with representing parties in these disputes, along with practical advice for minimizing, deescalating, and resolving these disputes. Morris Sperry lawyers and the Morris Sperry HOA law firm are committed to resolving disputes in condominium associations, PUDs, townhomes, and other community associations as quickly, efficiently, and amicably as possible. This is why both Quinn and John have completed mediation training and frequently suggest alternatives for resolving disputes other than litigation. Attorneys who focus in HOA law, like the attorneys at Morris Sperry, understand the importance of understanding, managing, and harnessing the benefits of different opinions in homeowners associations.
John Morris and Quinn Sperry are preparing to present at the National HOA Law Seminar in New Orleans. Over 500 of the best HOA lawyers in the country get together once a year to discuss advanced community association law issues. A careful selection and vetting process occurs to select speakers for this advanced seminar. John Morris and Quinn Sperry have been selected multiple times. This year's presentation will focus on the lawyer's role in divisiveness and disputes among HOA participants, including the owners, board members, and managers. A particular focus will be on the ethical challenges lawyers face in these situations. This topic was undoubtedly selected because it is so timely given the extreme polarization of country on any number of political issues and the unfortunate impact that polarization can have on the leadership and operations of community organizations. With its exclusive focus on HOA law, Morris Sperry remains the only firm in Utah to call for help when you have disputes among and between board members and between board members and owners in an HOA.
John Morris presented for the local Community Association Institute (CAI) chapter on the nuanced legal issues surrounding emotional support animals, sometimes referred to as "companion animals," "comfort animals," "ESA's," or even improperly as "service animals." This issue is exploding in Utah community associations, including condominium associations and PUDs. Not only is the issue arising more often, it is complicated and a potential trap for unadvised condominium associations and other community associations. The Fair Housing Act, both in Utah and federally, has very specific legal requirements that must be complied with when a request for accommodation has been made. Even the determination of whether a request for accommodation has been made or not can be difficult. The lawyers at Morris Sperry deal with the Fair Housing Act on a daily basis, both prosecuting and defending complaints with the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division and with HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development). No other law firm in Utah has as much experience with community associations, emotional support animals, and the Fair Housing Act.
FCC Issues New Ruling Confirming OTARD Limitations on Rules Applicable to Satellite Dish Installations in Utah HOAs.
On April 18, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission issued a Declaratory Ruling that reiterates the limitations on controls private and public entities can impose on the installation of satellite dishes and antennas. The FCC struck down a Philadelphia ordinance that attempted to impose limitations on the installation of satellite dishes on the front of homes and buildings. In its ruling, the FCC reiterated many well established principles from its Over-the-Air Reception Devices Rule, 47 C.F.R. § 1.4000, the (“OTARD Rule"). These principles apply directly in condominiums, townhomes, PUDs, and other community associations. In short, the OTARD Rule applies to direct broadcast satellite antennas that are one meter or less in diameter or diagonal measurement (except in Alaska) and are designed to receive or transmit video programming services through multipoint distribution services. The OTARD Rule also applies to antennas used to receive fixed wireless or broadband Internet signals. For the OTARD Rule to apply, the antenna must be installed “on property within the exclusive use or control of the antenna user where the user has a direct or indirect ownership or leasehold interest in the property” upon which the antenna is located. The OTARD Rule does not apply to restrictions on installations in common areas or elements. It provides that a restriction impairs installation, maintenance, or use of a protected antenna if it: (1) unreasonably delays or prevents installation, maintenance, or use; (2) unreasonably increases the cost of installation, maintenance, or use; or (3) precludes reception of an acceptable quality signal. There are exceptions to the rule for restrictions necessary to address clearly defined, legitimate safety or historic preservation issues, provided such restrictions are as narrowly tailored as possible, impose as little burden as necessary to achieve the foregoing objectives, and apply in a nondiscriminatory manner throughout the regulated area.
If you are unsure whether the OTARD Rule is implicated in a rule governing satellite dish installations in a Utah condominium association, townhome, PUD, or other community association, contact the HOA attorneys at Morris Sperry for advice. The Morris Sperry HOA law firm stays current on the law and has the best HOA lawyers in Utah to help you with these issues.
Three Morris Sperry lawyers attended the national community association law seminar to continue to hone their skills and remain the most qualified HOA lawyers in Utah. The Conference covered cutting edge aspects of community association law along with in-depth seminars on new approaches to old issues. Morris Sperry attorneys take the time to attend this seminar in a continuing effort to remain the leading lawyers in the Utah HOA legal community.
John Morris presented today on new Fair Housing Act regulations that could dramatically change how HOAs look at housing discrimination. In the modification to the regulations, [81 FR 63074, Sept. 14, 2016], at 24 CFR § 100.7 - LIABILITY FOR DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING PRACTICES, HUD for the first time clearly defines the potential for direct liability for an HOA for the discriminatory actions of an Owner in the Association. A condominium association or homeowners association could be liable for "Failing to take prompt action to correct and end a discriminatory housing practice by a third party, where it knew or should have known of the conduct and had the power to correct it." It is now left to the HOAs to determine who the third parties are, what it means to "have the power to correct," and to figure out how to exercise that power in a way that satisfies the requirements of the Fair Housing Act. HUD also issued new regulations on Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment found at 24 CFR § 100.600. These new regulations made it clear that Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment is illegal under the Fair Housing Act. John Morris discussed these issues at the CAI luncheon presentation along with other panelists who included Chris Robison from the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division. Morris Sperry has as much or more experience with defending and prosecuting HOA Fair Housing complaints that any firm in Utah, and offers their homeowners association clients and owner clients solid advice and legal representation in these complicated and fact intensive matters.
Quinn Sperry was elected by his peers to serve as the Treasurer of the Community Association Law Section of the Utah State Bar for the 2017 through 2018 year. He was elected at the 2017 annual meeting of the section. This further demonstrates Morris Sperry's commitment to service. Quinn served on a committee of the section since 2016 and will continue to support the section that was Morris Sperry's idea and that Morris Sperry applied to create with the Utah State Bar in 2015. Quinn is looking forward to helping the section fulfil its mission and goals.
On August 31, 2017, John Morris teamed up with Matt Liapis, a GIS expert, to discuss GIS and digital mapping technology and how it can be used in litigation. Specifically, John explained how this technology was used by Morris Sperry in obtaining a fifteen million dollar judgment. GIS presents a new opportunity for visualizing and analyzing property ownership on a massive scale and in a way that simplifies and quantifies a tremendous amount of data in simple to see and understand maps. Mat Liapis testified as a GIS expert in the trial and was able to effectively and efficiently demonstrate on digital maps the ownership of thousands of parcels of property at several different time periods. He was further able to visualize and quantify hundreds of lots upon which certain documents had been recorded. Using alternative methods of quantifying and presenting this data such as through traditional title searches and reports would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In contrast, the GIS analysis and mapping was more persuasive, easily understood, and cost a small faction of that amount. Morris Sperry uses cutting edge technology in litigation and trial both to increase the persuasiveness of their arguments and to keep costs down.
Morris Sperry Obtains Fifteen Million Dollar Wrongful Lien Judgment and Trial Verdict Against Ranches Master Association for Recording Unlawful Notices and Declaration Amendments Against Morris Sperry's Association Clients' Lots and Units.
In what is almost certainly the largest wrongful lien verdict in Utah and perhaps the largest in the United States, Morris Sperry lawyers obtained a $15,110,000 wrongful lien judgment (pursuant to the Utah Wrongful Lien Act beginning at Utah Code Ann. Section 38-9-101) for their clients after a week-long trial. The judgment out of the Fourth District Court includes over fourteen million dollars in wrongful lien statutory damages and over half a million dollars in attorney fees. The trial judgment included both an award of $3,000 per interest holder under Utah Code Ann. Section 38-9-203(1) and an award of $10,000 per interest holder under Utah Code Ann. Section 38-9-203(2). The judgment was obtained for three association clients, Cold Springs, Rock Creek, and Willow Springs in the Ranches at Eagle Mountain. In addition to the massive verdict, Morris Sperry obtained an order of quiet title eliminating forever any obligation of the owners in Morris Sperry's client associations to pay assessments to the Ranches master association and clearing the title to their homes of any CC&Rs, declarations, bylaws, notices of liens, and other documents previously recorded by the Ranches.
It started when Morris Sperry was retained to review some irregularities in the amendment procedures used by the Ranches master association. Morris Sperry lawyers figured out that the Ranches documents had serious legal defects and could potentially be invalidated, freeing Morris Sperry's clients from any obligations of the master association and eliminating over ten thousand dollars a month in assessments being paid by the owners in Morris Sperry's client associations. Based on the detailed and extensive analysis of the legal issues prepared by Morris Sperry, their clients were confident going forward with an extraordinary challenge to the Ranches authority even though the master association had operated for more than ten years. When the Ranches refused to release its documents, Morris Sperry filed and prosecuted a lawsuit that involved complicated legal and equitable issues.The Morris Sperry attorneys' unparallelled understanding of HOA law and extensive complex litigation experience allowed their clients to achieve this amazing trial result and huge verdict. When you have an HOA legal problem and you really want the right answer, this case is just one more example of why Morris Sperry is the only choice in Utah.
While we generally trust in the integrity of owners, managers, and board members counting votes by owners at HOA board elections, that trust must have limits in the form of good controls. Investigations into condominium election fraud in Florida highlight the problem. In one case, 115% of the owners voted in the annual election! In another, multiple people have confirmed that ballots submitted on their behalf were entirely fraudulent and do not contain their signature. The goal of this fraud is different in different community associations. Sometimes it is a misguided but innocent effort on the part of board members to keep election costs down. Other times it is an effort by entrenched board members to remain in power. Even worse, sometimes it is part of a concerted effort to rob the assocaition of funds starting with the people on the board remaining in control and sometimes with the collusion of the manager. Hundreds of other complaints of election fraud were submitted in Florida in the last few years.
It would be delusional to think this type of association electrion fraud never occurs in Utah, even if it is rare. Morris Sperry can help implement processes on behalf of associations and owners to minimize this risk when owners are concerned about election fraud or to proactively prevent any concerns. We have successfully participated in several hotly contested elections and implemented mutually agreeable procedures for collecting and counting ballots. These procedures gave everyone confidence in the results. Morris Sperry has the experience to advise associations and owners about elections, voting, counting procedures, and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the voting process.
On Friday March 20, 2015, the Department of Justice announced that the Greenbrier Condominiums in Minnesota agreed to pay $100,000 in compensatory damages to six families that suffered discrimination and $10,000 in penalties to the United States. The settlement ends a Fair Housing Act case started by the Department of Justice against the Association and one of its employees. The Association also has to establish new non-discrimination policies and end discriminatory behavior. The Greenbrier and its employee were alleged to have created and enforced rules that prevented children from equally enjoying the common areas and to have made statements indicating a preference against families with children. This case highlights the importance of an annual review of a Condo or hoa's rules and policies by a qualified HOA lawyer - such as those from Morris Sperry. The lawyers at Morris Sperry have significant experience dealing with Utah Fair Housing issues and complaints, including successfully defending several complaints brought against Condominium Associations. More importantly, Morris Sperry can advise associations on how to avoid these complaints in the first place and comply with what can sometimes be very subtle Fair Housing laws.

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