Community Associations Institute (CAI) - a trade group composed primarily of collection lawyers, and managers and other vendors in the homeowner association industry - has been bombarding ABC News for the last 10 months, demanding a place on its 20/20 show dealing with homeowner associations. The program airs tonight at 10p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, 9p.m. Mountain.

CAI has been deluging ABC with phone calls, books, letters, offers of a "CAI expert", - even though ABC informed CAI that it did not need any further information from them. Finally, CAI instructed its attorney to contact the 20/20 producer and "indicate our strong displeasure with the fact that the national organization representing community associations had not been allowed to participate in a story that talks about our industry".

When ABC News refused to buckle to the pressure, CAI has now begun to bad mouth 20/20, calling the show "a tabloid-style newsmagazine program".

"Barbara Walters, co-host of 20/20, stated in an advance email about the show that in some cases, homeowner association government seems to border on tyranny." She went on to ask "Can you imagine your life being ruined because some neighbors don't like the color of your shutters?"

Homeowner advocates from Florida to Texas to California, who have been battling CAI for years, say that it is time that the national spotlight is turned on homeowner associations. For too long, they claim, CAI has been violating citizens' fundamental property rights. They argue that CAI lawyers craft a myriad rule and regulations on homeowners, precisely so that they can fine them, and then foreclose on their homes. Harris County, Texas, reports over 3000 foreclosures filed in the last 7 years by CAI lawyers.

The homeowner advocates also point out that CAI continues to publish the big lie that CAI represents community associations. CAI, the advocates contend, is nothing but a selfish, self-serving, greedy and ruthless group of lawyers that have hijacked peoples' homes in order to make them into cash registers for themselves. The homeowner advocates say that this is like terrorists claiming to represent law enforcement personnel.

The fact that 20/20 has chosen to air a story on homeowner associations, shows, the advocates claim, that the profound problems of homeowner associations has hit the national radar screen. Approximately 50 million Americans currently live in homeowner associations.

They believe that it is time for the massive corruption present in so many homeowner associations to be brought into the full light of day. Their corruption list is long and wide-ranging.

1. They document how CAI wines and dines key legislators in order to secure passage of legislation that strips homeowners of their monies and rights. Generous "campaign contributions" (aka "bribes") cement the deals. Some of these laws mandate that homeowners pay for homeowner association insurance. The CAI lawyers then use the insurance for their legal fees, when homeowners sue corrupt and tyrannical boards, and try to bankrupt the homeowner and take his home. Many homeowners have been hit with massive judgments for legal fees, some in the hundreds of thousands.

2. CAI lawyers pressure friendly politicians to pass amnesty laws after they have raided and bankrupted an association. In California, CAI lawyers were raiding association reserves for their legal fees even though it was illegal to do so. They simply went to Sacramento and had the legislature pass a law making it legal.

3. CAI members have fabricated fines and penalties on the dues accounts of homeowners, then filed law suits to take away the homeowner's life savings and equity.

4. CAI members have fabricated records in homeowner association files, on police records and in court files.

5. CAI members have lied routinely to the media, legislators and judges, and placed false information in county property records.

6. CAI members get themselves appointed to political offices, commissions and committees by lying that they represent homeowners in homeowner associations. These appointees can then stifle any investigation of corruption and fraud.

7. CAI members lie to the media that they represent homeowners in order to secure positions writing columns for newspapers on homeowner associations. They then frequently refer their readers to CAI lawyers, so that the latter can ratchet up their legal fees.

8. CAI lobbyists have secured immunity for their boards. The result is that boards can run roughshod over homeowner rights with impunity, even foreclosing on their homes.

9. CAI seeks to blanket every association with a blizzard of rules and regulations, so that homeowners can be fined one way or the other.

The overall result, say the homeowner advocates, is that homeowner associations across the country represent the most massive and invasive violation of homeowner rights in memory. They say that they understand why CAI is adamantly opposed to any spotlight being turned on itself. They say that cockroaches do not like the light.



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