Post date: Oct 16, 2012 2:30:17 AM
Dear Homeowners,
The WPOA has become involved in matters of potential litigation. It is very important that all homeowners are informed about these matters. Today we are posting this notice on our website, but this message will also be shared in the upcoming August newsletter which all homeowners should receive.
Why is the WPOA involved in litigation?
First, a little bit of history: In January of 2012 there were still 28 homeowners that had not paid WPOA dues for 2010 and 2011. After efforts to contact all of the homeowners with outstanding dues, there were only six homeowners out of two hundred and thirty eight that had not paid by April 10th, 2012. After one last effort to contact these six homeowners, judgments were filed against the homeowners on April 26th, 2012. Being conscious of our need to be fiscally responsible, I filed these judgments without any legal assistance at a total cost of $348. These costs are rolled into the final amount owed by each debtor, so the total cost to the association should be minimal, if not $0.
One of the debtors paid immediately upon learning of the Warrant in Debt filed. The remaining five debtors took no action – we did not receive correspondence or comment from anyone. All five cases were heard in city and county district court this week, and WPOA was awarded judgment in three of the five cases.
In the instance of the two cases where judgment was not awarded, a homeowner contested that they owed any dues at all. Because the legal system wants to protect citizens from being unfairly forced to pay money they don’t owe, the standard solution is to send the matter to trial. Please note: the Board did not vote to engage in litigation with anyone. This situation is the natural result of homeowners contesting a judgment action. The WPOA has little choice in this matter. Trials are now scheduled – one in County District Court on July 27th, and one in City District Court on August 20th. The trials will determine one thing: whether the homeowner owes 2010 & 2011 dues, or not.
The WPOA Board feels that the homeowners owe dues based on the fact each homeowner has never paid dues. The homeowners feel that they do not owe dues for a variety of reasons, for which they felt it necessary to choose to take the issue to trial.
Why is the WPOA paying for any litigation at all? Shouldn’t the developer do that? Isn’t it unfair that dues paying homeowners should have to pay legal fees for a handful of non-paying homeowners that refuse to pay?
Simply stated, we don’t have the time to negotiate with a third party to pay for these issues up front. It is true that there are many things that the WPOA would like the developer to do. However, the developer is under no legal obligation to do anything regarding these matters. The Board must move swiftly to act in time and the counsel of a lawyer is needed because corporations are not allowed to represent themselves in the trial – they are required to hire a lawyer by law.
At this time, the WPOA will use the funds that are currently available to fund the resolution of these matters. Unfortunately that means that we will be using funds that could be spent for the benefit of services and areas that we all enjoy. We are still engaged in negotiations with the developer, and so of course we hope to recover these costs at some later date. That cannot be guaranteed.
How much will this cost me?
It could range from $0 to unknown. We are positioned to be able to resolve these cases without needing to make any special assessments in 2012. However, it is possible that the money spent on these issues in 2012 may impact dues for 2013. At this time, it is impossible to determine how much the total cost will be. As always, if you know of any legal professional that may be willing to contribute hours to the WPOA that assistance would be welcome!
Please contact a board member at contact@willoughbyneighborhood.org, or 434-214-0134 if you have questions or advice about this matter.