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KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
I actively served on our board for 12 years and didn’t seek reelection in Oct. ’18 due to severe disagreement with the board majority over a hugely expensive and intrusive project the majority wanted, and the majority's growing secrecy.

During ’18-’19, the board president received access to review email exchanges between the PM and me from 2015, before she was even on the Board. Athough she didn’t name me, the prez quoted me—out of context— in her monthly “President's Message” in our newsletter, but many readers would know it's me because of other things she wrote.

The by then-former president also cited me again in a late Nov. ’19 letter to all Owners written shortly after she resigned from the Board due to her three pals all being defeated in our annual election in October (Board of 7). The letter was her desperate effort to persuade Owners to her point of view regarding the very expensive and intrusive project noted above. I was, by the way, elected to the Board after a long and honest campaign supported by like-minded Owners.

She also identified our Reserve Analyst (RA) by name and quoted him at length in both of the above also from emails between him and our PM in ’15.

At the bottom of every email, the PM copies a paragraph that it’s “confidential” (as required by her MC.) But, CA Corporations Code §8334: “Director's Right to Inspect.” “Every director shall have the absolute right at any reasonable time to inspect and copy all books, records and documents of every kind and to inspect the physical properties of the corporation of which such person is a director.”

I’ve felt that my privacy was invaded by the president’s citations of my confidential emails between our PM and me. Do you think that such emails qualify as “documents of every kind?” If so, now that I’m a director again, do I have the right to inspect such emails between her and the PM? Or between the former prez and the COO of our MC ? And even IF she had the right to inspect them, did she have the right to cite them to all Owners, i.e., to make them “public?”
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
If this is HOA business and only available to fellow HOA members then it is NOT public. It is still confidential to the HOA members. It's not like they rented space in the local newspaper and put all of this in. It was an exclusive HOA source.

Former HOA President
KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
The "confidential" on the email means that it's private between the sender and recipient(s) and should not be shared with anyone else.

I put "public" in quotes to show I did not mean the general public.
MarkW18
Posts: 1,290
Posted:
Sorry, those disclaimers are pretty much worthless, unless you're an attorney. I have never heard of emails or communications between PM's and others as really being "confidential". PM's don't have the same attorney client privileges that attorneys have.

You should be consulting your association's legal counsel, not us.
SheilaJ1 (South Carolina)
Posts: 291
Posted:
Worthless disclaimer. The communication between the management and you is not confidential. Yes you have the right to inspect but may be tough to get those with out your own attorney.
AugustinD
Posts: 5,144
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By KerryL1 on 12/27/2019 5:28 PM
Do you think that such emails qualify as “documents of every kind?”
Yes, I do.
Quote:
Posted By KerryL1 on 12/27/2019 5:28 PM
If so, now that I’m a director again, do I have the right to inspect such emails between her and the PM? Or between the former prez and the COO of our MC ? And even IF she had the right to inspect them, did she have the right to cite them to all Owners, i.e., to make them “public?”
I believe you have the right to inspect mails between the former Prez and the PM and the former Prez and COO of your MC. I believe the former prez did not have the right to publicize any part of these emails to owners.
PaulJ6
Posts: 990
Posted:
If these were emails sent in your capacity as a director, then they are HOA records, perhaps.

But it was bad for the president to quote you like that. Simply email the whole HOA, state that the president quoted old and confidential emails and that the president misinterpreted them. That will stop her.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Sorry but for me I don't believe correspondence within a HOA is confidential. It's part of the HOA's business. May not like it but can quote someone if want. It may be out of context but it is my perception after all.

What do you want to do about it? Sue?

Former HOA President
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MelissaP1 on 12/28/2019 5:19 AM
Sorry but for me I don't believe correspondence within a HOA is confidential. It's part of the HOA's business. May not like it but can quote someone if want. It may be out of context but it is my perception after all.

What do you want to do about it? Sue?

The only correspondence that should be confidential is that relating to items that are typically kept confidential: legal actions, delinquencies, enforcement actions, and the like. Everything else is fair game.

However, I believe that there is a difference between responding to individual owners' legitimate requests for information and wholesale publishing of information, so I don't believe the board president was justified in his/her actions. But there isn't anything you can do about it now, and making a fuss simply brings additional attention to the disclosed emails.

My rule of thumb is to never put anything into an email that I don't want disclosed. If it's on the internet, it can be gotten to.

JulieE4 (Colorado)
Posts: 1
Posted:
Each Board Member accepts fiduciary responsibility on behalf of the association. Within the fiduciary responsibilities, the Duty of Loyalty explains how Board members must act in the best interest of the association. Below is an example of the Duty of Loyalty from AMA Property Management's website:

Duty of Loyalty
"Board members must act fairly, in good faith, and for the benefit of the Association as a whole. Board members must not make decisions based on personal interest or gain. Board members should also avoid acting where there is a conflict of interest. For example, a Board member who is helping select a new landscape vendor for the property should abstain from voting if a close friend or family member owns a landscape company participating in the bid process.

Additionally, a Board member must protect members’ confidentiality and not divulge information provided in confidence. For example, if a homeowner confides in a Board member about their impending home foreclosure in order to arrange a payment plan for dues, the Board member should not disclose this information to a friend or neighbor."

Depending on the nature of your confidential emails, the above statement may or may not apply.

If the former President was acting out of personal interest and using her position to punish you or seek retribution, it's a problem and should be discouraged by the community. Abuse of power and retribution are not uncommon in HOAs. Yet,those behaviors can be destructive to the entire community. Most people want to live in neighborhoods where people are treated with respect. Her actions certainly were not respectful. On the face of it, they appear to be vindictive and meant to harm your reputation, however, if you choose the same path I don't believe it will help you, your causes or your community.

Unfortunately, Nevada is the only State I know of that specifically outlaws retribution.
If anyone knows of other States that have addressed retribution, I hope you will post that information.
KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550
Posted:
I appreciate everyone's replies and am embarrassed for being so naive about "Confidential." 12 years on the board and I took it as true. Never shared anything sent to me that had that at the bottom.

Luckily I also never wrote anything to the PM that I would not have wanted exposed. I'm not that naive. What the prez cited was part of a simple discussion with the PM about some reserve components our analyst had added. The prez cherry-picked a quote that made it seem I agreed with the additions..

No, I have no intention of harassing our PM with requests to search for old emails involving the president. I agree with Cathy that I leave alone the whole subject as no need to raise a fuss when we have much, much bigger fish to fry.

Yes, it is a minor thing, but has been bothering me for a while. Contra Mark's snippy reply, I would not seek an attorney's advice about this matter when we have such thoughtful and experienced posters here.

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