HELP in Filing a CA Small Claims Dispute.

I NEED Instruction as to how to file in small claims without an attorney to get a ruling on an HOA election rule. My HOA has denied my candidacy to run for a position on the HOA. Our elections are June 29. There is only one candidate on the ballot for a five man Board. Our Association is in jeopardy because of lack of candidates.

I server on the Board 2 years ago. A year ago our HOA adopted by 3 to 2 an Operation Rule that only members whose property is their primary residents can serve on the Board. I use my unit as a second home. 50% of the property owners in my Association do not use their property as their primary residents. Davis Sterling states that for an Operation Rule to be valid, (1) it must not conflict with the governing documents and (2) it must be reasonable. This Operation Rules fails on both counts. Yet the Board passed it.

For the State of California, does anyone have any experience in how to get a ruling from a judge without involving attorney fees (estimate at $5000)? Can you do this in Small Claims, which forms and what is the procedure? There is some urgency in the matter. My phone number is 714-883-1949. Our Web site is http://harbourvistanews.com. HELP!!

You can take it to the proper court without using an attorney

Please, please visit davis-stirling.com to see what these attorneys advise if you cannot pay a love attorney. Index topics would be : Mediation, small claims court and election elections. I've asked you before, Michael, will you HOA attorney be at your annual (elections) meeting.

There only are 2-3 posters form CA here and none of us are attorneys. Richard is a prop. mgr., but he may not get back to you.

See my link in the later post. The issue must be a legal one involving a state or local statute. The right to be an officer or on the board of a HOA could be interpreted to be a contractural issue.

Good job Dr Sleuth.

So it looks like the inability to be a candidate is not small claims court actionable?

The Board, Michael, cannot adopt a rule about candidate's qualification without changing your bylaws. And bylaws usually require a simple majority or even a higher % of all Units/homes to vote by secret ballots to be changed in CA. So that Board "qualification" probably is not valid. Again, though, what can yu do about it.

Others have kindly looked up some things about small claims court in CA and it doesn't look like your help is there. I think you only cheap hope might be to tok some other owner-occupants into attending the section meeting and being nominated or nominating themselves form the floor. Unless, that is, your bylaws don't permit nominations from the floor.

I think I suggested on your other thread that a few of you chip in together and have an HOA attorney advise you. I don't believe anyone at this site will phone you as the ones who participate are not attorneys.

Hi,

It is fairly easy to file a small claims court case in California. I have done so and I beat the HOA, but then things got scary and we decided to move out.

You will likely not be able to get a ruling before 29 June 2015. Usually it takes about a month to get a court date.

There is a case in which new director qualifications were made by a rule change (see Davis-Stirling about "Friars Village v. Hansing," and I'm not sure what your rule change was like in terms of qualifying directors by primary residence. You need to get the support of that 50 percent.

You should look and see if your HOA met all the obligations for a rule change. From having it on the agenda for discussion, to sending out notification of proposed rules change, to giving an opportunity for others to dissent to the actual activation of the new rule.

There is a definite problem with preventing 1/2 of the owners from being directors, but you still need support from the other owners.

You only need 5% of the membership to call a special meeting."The rule change may be reversed by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes represented and voting at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is present. (Civ. Code §4365(d).)"

Read more: Petition Re Rules http://www.davis-stirling.com/MainIndex/PetitionReRules/tabid/2707/Default.aspx#ixzz3cUNpLu7Z
from Davis-Stirling.com by Adams Kessler PLC. If your association needs legal assistance, call us at (800) 464-2817.

Michael B32 :

Rather than a mere "Small Claims Dispute" as you hoped, 2 commenters above have pointed out a 2013 California Appeals Court decision validating a mere Board-enacted 'Operating Rule'.

Challenged in Small Claims Court by a self-represented owner ( disqualified on 'family status' grounds as spouse of a seated Director, the spouses nevertheless owning 2 separate properties ) the HOA corporation slam-dunked the Small Claims process by quickly up-stepping to a superior court.

Friars Village v. Hansing shows that you should rethink being able to get away with merely a summary court process (which may sometimes be not much of a cheapie either).

Anyone challenging ( as a pro se or SRL self-represented litigant in Friars v Hansing ) an adversary armed with its own professional counsel, had better think long & hard about own skillsets & being hammered for part of the adversary's costs. ADR or electoral change may be all you got or some form of administratorship if the Board loses quorum.

Actually looking within the Appeals judgment pointed out above, both levels of civil court upheld the validity of a mere Board-enacted Rule to abridge Board candidacy "in light of the language of the governing documents and the relevant statutes". No By-law needed.

Like LarryB13's comment above, living in California . . .

Friars Village Homeowners Assn. v. Hansing Court Opinion

HOA Board Has Authority to Limit Rules for the Election of Directors blog from an attorney's site on the opinon

See if I did the right,,,,,This has been published, It should be de-published, you do not like Hubby and Wiffy on the Board, you vote them off. Its called campaigning, not a dictatorial rule because certain individuals don't like that. Attorneys reaped profits off this one.

Please look at LarryB13's reply above (timestamp 06/04/2015 2:19 PM) which he posted over a week ago. Apparently California is special.