Lynne,
Is the developer still in control of your board?
If your Associations web site has copies of the bylaws on it, are you willing to share the address so we can read the sections ourselves?
Quote:
Posted By LynneV1 on 12/13/2010 7:33 AM
Our by-laws state a majority of homeowners can impeach the entire Board of Directors ‘for cause’ or with ‘no’ cause.
The State Laws of South Carolina says that the board of directors can be impeached by the same number of votes needed to elect them. Not one of you received more than 55 votes, at the Sept 2010 election. We have 110 signatures and ballots."
Your State law isn't intended to say if a Director received 2 votes to get elected then only 3 votes are required to remove. It means that if a simple majority of the votes is needed to elect then a simple majority at a recall election is needed to be removed. A simple majority at one election might have been 5 if only a few ballots were cast but could be 200 if more more ballots are cast at the recall meeting. Since your Bylaws state a majority is needed then a majority of the votes cast will be the amount.
Based on your postings you need to look at the bylaws again and see what the exact wording says for removal (impeachment). This is where the words will mean different things:
A majority of the membership = 50% plus 1 of the entire membership
A majority of the membership entitled to vote = 50% plus 1 of the members in good standing
A majority of the votes cast = 50% plus 1 of the votes
As you can see, depending on how the bylaws are written, drastically different numbers would be needed.
What are the notice requirements for meetings (15 days, 30 days, etc.)? Make sure that you meet that notice requirement or the meeting and any vote won't be valid.
What are the quorum requirements for the meeting (x% of membership or class A members, etc.)?
Do people have to be there in person or can they be there by proxy?
Did you have enough signatures to call a meeting? If you did, those signatures should be copied and the originals turned over to the Board requesting that a meeting be called on x day for the purpose of recalling Board members. You can not just call the meeting on your own without the Board having the opportunity to verify the signatures. Otherwise, the meeting might not be valid.
As for notifying the Board about the legal action - I would suggest the following:
1. Request a meeting with the Board (your committee and the Board). Explain in the request that you do not want to cause unnecessary expenses for the Association, that you wish to have the issues addressed and that you believe that this issue might be resolved with a meeting.
2. Expect that the Board will have the Association lawyer there. If they are - make a motion that the meeting be considered an open meeting (so the minutes can be available to the membership) and remember that the lawyer is there to represent the Board and Association not you or individual members.
3. Between now and the meeting - research, research, research. Understand what you are reading, ask questions and you might want to consult with an attorney who is knowledgeable in corporate law (to make sure that you are on the right track).
You also need to decide what you want your final goal to be. If it's getting ownership in the pool back - it is possible that this goal will be impossible to have. If it's to send a message, what is the message? You will need to go into the meeting knowing the answer to this question so you know where you can compromise and where you need to stand firm.
It should be noted that I am not an attorney and I do not work in the legal profession. I, and the others on this forum, are offering advise based on the information contained in your postings, research, personal experiences and, hopefully, some common sense. Having different information may result in different advise being offered.
Tim