Help please....

Scribbling notes on invoices is usually not a good idea in any situation because invoices are often processed by another department and those folks don’t automatically set aside the invoice because of a note therein because their primary job is to get the checks and what not deposited and credit the account accordingly. Don’t do that again.

As for the rest, you’re asking a legal question and since most of us here aren’t attorneys and don’t all live in Ohio, your best bet is to talk to an attorney in your state (what’s good in Ohio may not be in California or Indiana, or vice versa).

Having said that, some HOAs issue fines after a warning letter has been sent to the homeowner, giving him/her a chance to fix the problem or file an appeal. Some may still require the fine to be paid until the board decides on the appeal and then reimburse the owner or credit his/her account if the owner prevails. So, what happened to you –did you get the warning letter, failed to fix the violation (or refused to) and then got another letter announcing the fine? How much time passed between the time you got the letter and the hearing date? And did you tell anyone at the hearing you hadn’t paid the fine because you were filing an appeal and wrote a note to this effect on the invoice (which you now know might not have been read anyway?)

Take another look at the violation letter – the first one - and see what it says. Ideally, there should have been something about appeal rights and what would happen if you didn’t file one or fix the problem, and that’s where the fine would have been mentioned. If the board just skipped to fining you that might be an issue because you weren’t given a chance to respond and then I might see your argument. You did lose the appeal, so your best bet might be to just pay the thing and learn from it. But that’s just my opinion and I’m not an attorney, so….

Heather wrote: "Ohio Revised Code states that 'the board shall not levy a charge or assessment before holding
any hearing requested pursuant to individual lot assessments.'"

It looks to me like the whole Board or at least a quorum of the Board needs to hold the hearing. If two didn't constitute a quorum, the fine may not be proper.

Partially correct as also stated:

“Hearing took place with 2 board members and property management company representative present.
One week after hearing, homeowner was notified that fine would remain.”

Therefore, the BOD determined the fine would remain.

Heather

Is this a procedure or a you do not agree with the violation in question?

Procedure might be questionable but is the violation questionable? If not, correct the violation, pay the fine, and move on versus try and wiggle out of it on a procedure argument.

John makes a good point, Heather.

In CA, "the Board" holds hearing per state Civil Code. In the CA, "the board" means a quorum of directors. "Entire" would be redundant. "The board" does not mean one or more board representatives or a fraction of a quorum of the Board.

The wording might be different in OH and seems to be in TX. Or perhaps silent in TX?

I agreed earlier with JohnC--even if the procedure was flawed, i.e., a quorum of the Board needed to be present, Heather should comply if in violation. And move on.

Can you tell me, Richard, where I can find the CA statutes that permit fewer than a quorum of the board to hold a hearing?

Thanks, Richard. Corps Code 7210 is well-known and doe, indeed, give Boards the right to delegate many duties with few exceptions. Since it doesn't say boards cannot delegate hearings or even fine amounts, CA HOAs could have a Fining Committee, or less than a quorum of the Board could hold hearings.

Since we have only 6 or so hearings a year, I think we'll stick with An executive session meeting of the Board as we've done in the past.