| Citizen Communications to California Government |
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Devasted by CHUBB-CAI Lawsuits, Homeowners Vow to Denounce Associations Until They Die
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Hello Brian I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me yesterday. This morning, I received the following exchange regarding the HOA'contract'. These are posts from Arizona. While I believe the best solution is to abolish this inherently flawed housing model, I don't know if that is reality. Perhaps, future abolishment is possible. This country survived happily for decades without this concept and even the founder of CAI, Linc Cummings, says their 'experiment' has failed. The municipalities must give up a portion of this golden egg and not rely on its existence to keep city coffers plump. This is wrong and borders on taxation without representation and double taxation. It is time for someone to take the reigns in on this nasty animal and begin taming it. Who will have the guts to do it? My focus will be to denounce this form of housing till the day I die. Any other corporation and/or government entity is bound by ethics more so than the HOA corporation/government entity to be responsible to it's constituents/employees. This is wrong. The concept of neighbor governing neighbor in and of itself, is doomed to failure. It is too close for comfort. Too close to home. You better hope your neighbors like you. Selective enforcement is a reality. Big brother has created a little brother with no discipline and it is time for big brother to take responsibility for its lack of parenting skills and bring this little tyrant under control. In the next few days, I will forward to you the letter I sent personally via certified mail to Chubb and to Janet Reno's office regarding Hostile Housing Environments. Where else do you pay a premium to be litigated against? It is not necessary for BOD to be covered for libel, slander, defamation of character, harassment, discrimination and copyright infringement. These are aggregious acts. The minute they use a homeowners name in a derogatory way, they should pay out of their own pocket for such behavior. If I were on the BOD, I would never ever publish a homeowners name in such a way that it could be construed as libelous, slanderous or defamtory. Such coverage only gives them ammunition to begin launching at homeowners. Once a policy is activated, they are covered for these wrongful acts and the board begins its wrongful attacks. This is referred to as "Frame and Blame" Litigation. When I purchased this home and read the CCR's. I never even imagined that this "insurance" policy which appears on its face to be in place to protect the association, could be used against me in such a vicious manner. I never knew the Davis Stirling Civil Code existed. I never knew the Corporations Code applied to these regimes. These are all a part of the 'contract' that I agreed to abide by? Who is responsible for providing this information? We brought the Davis Stirling Civil Code to the BOD's attention 3 years ago. Prior to that, they did not acknowledge its existence, nor did the management company who was bound by certain duties under this provision as well. This is not a valid contract. Furthermore, the BOD are covered by multi millions of dollars in insurance coverage for breaching this contract. While homeowner has no protection. The BOD has the power to fine and lien. While homeowner has none. At the very minimum, it should be a level playing field. There is no good reason why homeowners shouldn't have the power to hold errant and or tyrannical BOD accountable for their wrongful acts particularly, failure to abide by the governing documents. Why should homeowner have to expend hard earned money and risk their investment to enforce the contract through costly litigation. With an electoral process that does nothing to insure its integrity, it is ludicrous to demand that homeowners simply "elect BOD of like mind to represent them". The reality is, many HOA BOD elections are swung like swings at recess. And BOD acting much like the children swinging those swings. When we asked that a quorom and tally of votes be published, they refused to do so. When I protested to our HOA attorney that opened ballots were being thrown in the box by management and board members, he said that I had his 'permission' to accept them. What is a homeowner to do? Go to court again? Most homeowners can not afford costly litigation. Is it fair to require that every provision of every civil and corporate code and CCR or bylaw only be enforceable but through costly litigation? Is it reasonable to expect that homeowner erode family savings in order to uphold the documents they agreed to abide by but BOD knowingly violates? It is a shame that driving 5 miles over the speed limit is more enforceable than violations of corporate and civil codes put in place to protect homeowners and their hard earned investment that are only enforceable by eroding family savings and risking their investment. While legislators are leery about regulating this inherently flawed housing model. It is the legislators that put this housing model in place to begin. It is the legislators that conceived the idea and gave birth to it. It is the legislators that wrote extensive laws some years ago to regulate it. Now these laws need to grow some molars. They still have no teeth in them and are virtually unenforceable but through the courts. Just how much does it cost to send a case through our court system? The last figure I heard was some $2,000 per day? Our court dockets are clogged with HOA cases. Supposedly 80% of HOA's have been or are involved in litigation? On nearly every court calendar there is an HOA listed. The ADR provisions of the Davis Stirling Civil Code is nothing more than a $4,000 dance with debt. Just one more costly loophole homeowners must jump through. Too many homeowners just opt out. Living with board transgressions. So while the municipalities continue to happily ride their golden egg as they no longer have the responsibility of maintenance or oversight of large parcels of land. The state system suffers in exchange? The state system that provides education for our children? What is wrong with this picture.This is no way to live and is creating a climate of civil unrest unmatched in recent history. I am in the process of contacting the gentleman in Arizona who blew away an HOA meeting. He currently sits incarcerated in Madison County Prison. I want to understand what drove him to that point. Having been in the unstable position of feeling great helplessness, frustration, resentment and utter rage at the personal attacks on my character and in front of my children. I can not replace their lost innocence. I do not condone his actions, but I can imagine what may have drove him to that point. It is my understanding there was also a shooting in Indiana at an HOA meeting and more recently, a group burned down a two story condo on the east coast in protest of urban sprawl. We hear of soccer rage, road rage, inflight rage. Now we have HOA rage. This assault on the American Dream of Homeownership must be brought under control. Laws must be written to protect individual homeowners. Less power to the corporation. HOA's are quickly garnering more lien, collection and foreclosure powers than even the feared IRS. When it is time for our children and grandchildren to purchase a home. Will they have a choice? Will they be protected? Who will be next on the non-judicial foreclosure list and lose their home? Someone you know? A relative? A friend? Even the bank who owns the deed on the home gives you more options than the HOA, working closely with homeowners to HELP them save their home rather than simply throw their belongings on the street with 30 day delinquencies. Richard Craig of San Antonio, Texas, says, "HOA's are the "Domestic Enemy of the Constitution of the U.S.". No corporation should have so much power as to render the old saying "A man's home is his castle", useless and ripping apart one's right to life, liberty and the pursuitof happiness. I truly believe that taking away some of the armor of insurance will force board to be accountable to its constituents rather than using it as a weapon towards homeowners. There is just something not right about paying a premium to be litigated against. Homeowners through their dues pay the premium for the policy, the deductible when the policy kicks in, fund their own litigation and then if they lose, fund the boards/insurance lawyers litigation. Talk about a double edged sword. Chubb Insurance Group homeowner associations D&O liability insurance policies (carrying the CAI logo) are more like a sword than a shield. It is no surprise that CAI wrote the laws that require this policy, Chubb has a monopoly on these policies AND carries the CAI logo on it's board insurance packets. Isn't there something in the business andprofessions codes against writing laws that enrich yourself? Again, thank you so much for your time. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be heard. We realize this is a sensitive issue both politically and emotionally, but hope that emotion will win out overpolitical pressures. |
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Net Exchange Todaye\
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| Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 10:26:59 -0700 Current law not only protects the HOA non-person corporation, but also the people behind it - who profit from the corporation. - |
This is exactly the concern I addressed with Brian Perkins in Senator Jackie Speiers office yesterday. A contract? Perhaps in the eyes of the law? However, it was a contract that I agreed to abide by but the BOD has failed to uphold time and again. There was NOTHING in my CCR's that said the BOD would not have to abide by them and that they would be backed by millions of dollars for openly and knowingly violating contract. Current law protects the HOA non-person corporation and not the homeowners. This is wrong. Since when has a corporation become more important than life itself? Don't answer that question......I already know the answer. |
| Contractual Adhesion? I was never told that CC&R was a contract when I purchased my home. I only signed a paper to say I received the CC&R. Who supposed to follow the contract? I live in HOA which never follows CC&R (supposed to be a contract) raising monthly assessement and levy special assessment. BOD altered and destroyed books and records, stole thousands and thousands from association funds, controlled and screened election and voting. Who breached the contract? |
| Thank you for finally saying it - Contractual Adhesion. Has anybody told you that you were signing a contract when you bought your home? Did it say that it was a contract? Did you know it was a contract? Did you have an opportunity to negotiate it? Was it a fair contract, with binding powers upon both parties? Accountability of both parties, not only thehomeowner? This is what we have to focus on -- the BASICS. Instead, we are bargaining about nickels & dimes. The biggest success of CAI and the industry is that they have used a diversion strategy, and we, like real idiots, fell for it. The result will be, at best, slightly better conditions in the concentration camp, but we will remain prisoners in a concentration camp. I can't believe that Pat sees the job as already done, short of enforcement. Enforcing WHAT?! What about our civil RIGHTS?! Due process and equal protection under the law?? Reducing powers of the board? How do you enable the homeowners to actually amend CC&Rs if the board does not provide the opportunity? What about mandating affirmative vote to keep the CC&Rs and the HOA (instead of the existing need of 2/3 or 3/4 vote to extinguish it)? What about accountability and liability of violating HOAs? Can the AG or even the court impose penalties if there are no provisions for them in the law (but there are penalties on violating homeowners!)? etc etc. I would take Ekmark's statement that "we want to give homeowners control> over their destiny" as an agreed upon point. If so, let's give HOMEOWNERS, not Boards, this control, and let's assure that homeowners right to control their destiny is guaranteed and protected. This is why we need statues and state intervention! Homeowners association should be of the homeowners,by the homeowners and for the homeowners, not of the developer/board/management, by the developer/board/management and for the developer/board/management. |
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