Question for AugustinD

-- I am not an attorney.

-- I am neither a moderator nor administrator (though they do exist at this site). I have no affiliation with CAI or the like.

-- Fifteen years ago a pro se HOA/condo Owner sued frivolously about ten other former and current HOA/condo directors, including at the time myself. The HOA's insurance company provided an attorney. The insurer-provided attorney was competent except for one thing: He promised a motion for summary judgment by _____. Three months beyond this date passed without him submitting the motion. For various reasons, I made an entry with the court pro se; started attending the free legal clinics where I was to get help with specifics of representing one's self in court; managed to win a motion applying a restraining order to the pro se plaintiff, for certain egregious malicious acts the plaintiff was continuing to perpetrate against the defendants; won another restraining order against one of his particular vicious henchman; and won dismissal of myself from the lawsuit. At the hearing where I won dismissal of myself, and after the judge granted my motion to dismiss, the insurer-provided attorney stood and made the exact same motion on behalf of the other nine or so defendants. Consequently all but one person similarly won dismissal of the claims against them. The HOA corporation and the one person remained Defendants for several more months, whence the (again, quite competent) insurer-provided attorney submitted and ultimately was granted the motion for summary judgment. It was a wonderful motion for summary judgment. I use it even today as a reference. I keep in mind that I merely "beat" another pro se person. Big deal. On the other hand, recently I ghost-wrote a motion for an acquaintance and rehearsed for the hearing with him. The acquaintance was amazing in court before the judge (telecommunicating, due to the pandemic). The judge granted the motion, with a few seconds of snarl at the opposing side's attorney for the harassment the attorney and opposing side were perpetrating. Details have to wait.

-- I have other experience with threats of lawsuits and now, another actual HOA/condo lawsuit where I live. I do not live at the HOA where he lives.

-- I hold graduate degrees (zero to do with law) and a few inactive professional licenses.

-- Relatives were/are attorneys, though I think the only significance of this might be that the dinner table conversation when I was a kid was perhaps an education unto itself.

-- The courts are backed up and cost the taxpayers a fortune. I resent certain HOA attorneys I have known who for the greater part and IMO, prostitute themselves for the billable hours; promote dissension among the owners (as this leads to more income for the attorney, IMO); and do reprehensible things to owners that at times, lead to expensive litigation.

-- I continue to feel that Owners are mistaken (or flat-out clueless) about their governing documents at least as often as Boards are. I continue to feel that HOA/condo managers have a difficult job as a result. Those managers with a mere high school education and maybe their two-bit HOA manager certification are often (though not always) particularly inept and a cause of litigation, in my opinion.

-- I made plenty of mistakes my first year on a HOA/condo board but did start digging into the governing docs and law early on. My campaign line typically was something like, "I am going to enforce the governing docs, in a mechanical-like fashion, including of course the Rules and Regulations and including of course your rights as Owners. If you do not want this, then do not vote for me."

-- I am not in Florida, though decades ago, I spent several months in the panhandle area, renting a condo happily on the beach; have bicycled to the Keys; and hung out in Venice several days. Great place.

-- I mentioned four different motions above. Which one interested you?

-- If you end up asking for pre-suit mediation, report back. If I am around, I will share my email address and help you prepare. My email address is elsewhere on this site.

Interesting observation about HOA property managers. Ours all have CAI credentials for HOA managers (I never remember the initials), and the last four have 4 year degrees from our local CSU. But they all have had some writing issues and weren't that strong on CA cCivil Code. Makes me think the exams to get credentials are pretty easy. I know they have to take a lot of courses and our MC requires certain courses too.

Our best manager didn't have a 4-year degree, her writing was on par with the others, but she learned our governing docs the minute she began with us. She had a lot of experience, including with a previous local high rise, which does matter with us.