Emergency HOA Meeting

The Board of Directors of our Florida HOA community, governed under the 720 statutes, is holding an emergency meeting without posting to all members to attend, and the purpose of this meeting is to disallow any previous board members that have resigned before their term was up, from being able to go back onto the board. My first question is can the board hold an emergency meeting without notice to all members for something other than life, blood or flood as I have been told are the only reasons an emergency meeting can be held, and my second question is can they adopt a new rule at an emergency meeting aimed at keeping a member in good standing from being voted back onto the board?

Hi Robert:

I agree with Carol in that something is not quite right with the situation. Here is what the Non-Profit Statute states regarding directors:

617.0807 Resignation of directors.—

(1) A director may resign at any time by delivering written notice to the board of directors or its chair or to the corporation.

(2) A resignation is effective when the notice is delivered unless the notice specifies a later effective date. If a resignation is made effective at a later date, the board of directors may fill the pending vacancy before the effective date if the board of directors provides that the successor does not take office until the effective date.

In FL all meetings of the Board are to be noticed and all members are allowed to attend. Unless potentially there is massive current flooding or some other similar item to constitute an actual emergency then protocol should be followed. Board member(s) resigning is not an emergency situation.

Chapter 720 states:

(9)(a) ELECTIONS AND BOARD VACANCIES.—Elections of directors must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the governing documents of the association. All members of the association are eligible to serve on the board of directors, and a member may nominate himself or herself as a candidate for the board at a meeting where the election is to be held or, if the election process allows voting by absentee ballot, in advance of the balloting. Except as otherwise provided in the governing documents, boards of directors must be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by eligible voters.

From this statute in Chapter 720 it potentially can be determined that ALL members are eligible to serve on the Board. Even if the statute did not designate “all members” the BOD is elected by the members and the members should be the individuals who could determine any qualifications for the BOD members.

Hi Robert:

No Rule can supersede the governing documents or State Statutes. The State Statutes specify ALL members are eligible to serve on the BOD.

OK - Is the rule that any person who resigns from the board during his/her term is not eligible for the board at the next election?

I agree. Just doing my due diligence.