Association Meeting not Properly Adjourned

Looks like someone needs a new president and maybe a few board members.

Your home owners should start having your own meetings, on your own terms. Feel free to invite the board but you should start discussing the issues you feel are important and if you should keep the current elected officials.

LOL … Steve you can be so facetious at times.

Hi Sherrill:

How many members are in your HOA? Depending on the size of your HOA if you had 169 in attendance we all would like to know your HOA’s secrete.

I will look into the state statutes tomorrow as this could be interesting. If this was a membership meeting, then potentially a quorum was present and depending on your governing documents and the state statutes along with the fact other board members were still present … apparently one of the other board members did potentially step in after the President left to run the meeting. Very interesting …

If this was a board meeting, then after the President and 5 board members left, potentially there may have no longer been a quorum … it also depends on your HOA documents and the state statutes. Some will state if you are present at the beginning of a meeting then a quorum is present. Again, very interesting issue …

You need to let us know what type of meeting and may need to post info from your governing documents regarding information for the type of meeting this was.

Also, depending on the size of your HOA and if you had 169 members attend a meeting and the president and 5 board members walked out … just think of the potential easy recall / replacement options. I cannot get over the amount you had attend the meeting … did you possibly offer free cocktails?

BTW Steve … I can be a little facetious too.

Was this a board meeting or an annual membership meeting?

With that many in attendance, it probably was a Members Meeting.

The presiding officer (president) needs to know that THIS meeting is NOT a board meeting, (it's the MEMBERS meeting!!) and that her and five other members leaving has nothing to do with the validity of the meeting (UNLESS their leaving made the meeting inquorate - lack of a quorum)

A vote to establish a presiding officer was about the only thing needed. The meeting was valid if they had a quorum-met meeting, a presiding officer and someone to take the minutes.

Sherril...is this an HOA or a condominium? There are different sections of statute in Florida for each.

If it is a condo, the owners have a right to attend the board meetings and have a right to speak with reference to all designated agenda items. The association may adopt written reasonable rules governing the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner statements.

Note: It says the association may adopt the rules so I'm assuming that means the board can't just write the rules
(not sure on this) Would love people's opinion on this wording.

If it's an HOA:

6) RIGHT TO SPEAK.--Members and parcel owners have the right to attend all membership meetings and to speak at any meeting with reference to all items opened for discussion or included on the agenda. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the governing documents or any rules adopted by the board or by the membership, a member and a parcel owner have the right to speak for at least 3 minutes on any item, provided that the member or parcel owner submits a written request to speak prior to the meeting. The association may adopt written reasonable rules governing the frequency, duration, and other manner of member and parcel owner statements, which rules must be consistent with this subsection.

So depending on which you are there are different approaches to the right to speak. If it's an HOA (that has provisions to the contrary) and the owner did not submit a written request, the president might have been correct.

The problem with these rules is that most average Joes don't have a clue what is allowed or not allowed at these meetings. A lot of the time that goes for the board as well. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pass out a cursory outline of the rules for all these meetings....condos or HOAs. A little education goes along way towards not having toes stepped on or the feeling that your toes were stepped on. Plus it would add a lot more order to those meetings and consequently more business would be attended to. And for those in a HOA, you know that for the next meeting, if you want to speak, put the request in writing.

Hi Gary:

They have the right to speak no matter what is written in their documents with written request submitted before membership meeting; however, the board can impose rules such as speaking only for X minutes (at least 3 minutes minimum), or other rules desired.

Hi Sherrill:

If we assume this was a membership meeting (because a large number of residents attended) then the following statutes potentially apply:

If you are an HOA:

 720.306Meetings of members; voting and election procedures; amendments.—

 (1)QUORUM; AMENDMENTS.—
 (a) Unless a lower number is provided in the bylaws, the percentage of voting interests required to constitute a quorum at a meeting of the members shall be 30 percent of the total voting interests. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or in the articles of incorporation or bylaws, decisions that require a vote of the members must be made by the concurrence of at least a majority of the voting interests present, in person or by proxy, at a meeting at which a quorum has been attained.

 (6)RIGHT TO SPEAK.—Members and parcel owners have the right to attend all membership meetings and to speak at any meeting with reference to all items opened for discussion or included on the agenda. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the governing documents or any rules adopted by the board or by the membership, a member and a parcel owner have the right to speak for at least 3 minutes on any item, provided that the member or parcel owner submits a written request to speak prior to the meeting. The association may adopt written reasonable rules governing the frequency, duration, and other manner of member and parcel owner statements, which rules must be consistent with this subsection.

 (7)ADJOURNMENT.—Unless the bylaws require otherwise, adjournment of an annual or special meeting to a different date, time, or place must be announced at that meeting before an adjournment is taken, or notice must be given of the new date, time, or place pursuant to s. 720.303(2). Any business that might have been transacted on the original date of the meeting may be transacted at the adjourned meeting. If a new record date for the adjourned meeting is or must be fixed under s. 607.0707, notice of the adjourned meeting must be given to persons who are entitled to vote and are members as of the new record date but were not members as of the previous record date.

It appears that potentially the meeting should not have been adjourned if there was still business to discuss OR they should have set a time and place to continue the meeting. Per the comment: A vote was to be taken and on the adgenda was listed a discussion for this. … Apparently there was still unfinished business. Quorum apparently is 30 percent of total voting interests UNLESS LOWER number provided in bylaws, and potentially must have been attained as the meeting was started. It does not state anything about board members needing to be present. It also appears members have the right to speak and potentially appears that governing documents would supersede unless contrary to anything from second sentence on down.

If you are a Condominium:

 (b)Quorum; voting requirements; proxies.—
 1. Unless a lower number is provided in the bylaws, the percentage of voting interests required to constitute a quorum at a meeting of the members shall be a majority of the voting interests. Unless otherwise provided in this chapter or in the declaration, articles of incorporation, or bylaws, and except as provided in subparagraph (d)3., decisions shall be made by owners of a majority of the voting interests represented at a meeting at which a quorum is present.

 4. Any approval by unit owners called for by this chapter or the applicable declaration or bylaws, including, but not limited to, the approval requirement in s. 718.111(8), shall be made at a duly noticed meeting of unit owners and is subject to all requirements of this chapter or the applicable condominium documents relating to unit owner decisionmaking, except that unit owners may take action by written agreement, without meetings, on matters for which action by written agreement without meetings is expressly allowed by the applicable bylaws or declaration or any statute that provides for such action.

 6.Unit owners shall have the right to participate in meetings of unit owners with reference to all designated agenda items. However, the association may adopt reasonable rules governing the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner participation.

Here for quorum instead of using “attained” they utilized “is present”, so if members leaving reduced where there was not a quorum of majority then there may be potential issue. There is an interesting sentence in (4.) above, don't recall seeing that in many statutes. In condominium apparently owners have right to participate in meetings with reference to all agenda items, following reasonable rules in their documents.