Legal request for motion and approval

Started by JR8 • 4 replies • 1139 views

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JR8 (Oregon)
Posts: 25

Posted:

We are new to condo life, and have recently run across a couple of things (I'll post the second issue separately) that were of concern.

We were told that our Board tried to rush through a motion and approval online, by one board member sending an email to other board members and stating that he 'needed a motion and approval for.....' He asked for someone to second his motion, and then waited to hear (via email) from other board members for an answer. Another owner shared this info with me. We had heard that this particular board member had some issues with less than up front behavior. Is it legal for a board member to do this? Does his asking up front for 'an approval' of his motion disqualify it?

DouglasK1 (Florida)
Posts: 2,046

Posted:

I'm not sure why asking for approval for a motion would disqualify it. A board member would normally only make a motion if they wanted it to be approved, it is up to the entire board whether to actually approve it.

The bigger concern would be whether voting by email is even allowed. This would be determined by your governing docs and possibly state law. In states with open meetings laws for HOAs, typically meetings have to have proper notification to homeowners before decisions can be made, with some exceptions for emergencies.

Escaped former treasurer and director of a self managed association.

RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 3,868

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By JR8 on 09/20/2016 2:07 PM
We are new to condo life, and have recently run across a couple of things (I'll post the second issue separately) that were of concern.

We were told that our Board tried to rush through a motion and approval online, by one board member sending an email to other board members and stating that he 'needed a motion and approval for.....' He asked for someone to second his motion, and then waited to hear (via email) from other board members for an answer. Another owner shared this info with me. We had heard that this particular board member had some issues with less than up front behavior. Is it legal for a board member to do this? Does his asking up front for 'an approval' of his motion disqualify it?

The process you are referring to is called "Action Without A Meeting". It will be found in your Bylaws. You can also google the term for help with its understanding.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Check your state laws too, JR. Even if your Bylaws say that "action without a meeting" is OK," your state laws might say that it's not legal (unless under certain conditions.)

Is Oregon an open meeting state?

The states that do permit action without a meeting often require unanimous approval by all directors.

JR8 (Oregon)
Posts: 25

Posted:

thanks for this info. appreciate it.

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