Secretive board in Texas

First, in Texas, the Board alone can legally negotiate or settle a lawsuit. In fact, the owners demanding to have votes on such as settlement would violate the bylaws and state law. Owners can tell the board what the owners want. The board has no legal obligation to do as the owners wish. Any owner not liking this can seek a recall of directors.

Second, about what the board has to say about lawsuits: From past posts I believe this is a small HOA with single family homes sitting on lots, right? I will assume it is a mandatory association, whence TPC 209 applies.

TPC 209 does have something to say about this, as follows:

pending or threatened litigation, contract negotiations, enforcement actions, confidential communications with the property owners' association's attorney, matters involving the invasion of privacy of individual owners, or matters that are to remain confidential by request of the affected parties and agreement of the board. Following an executive session, any decision made in the executive session must be summarized orally and placed in the minutes, in general terms, without breaching the privacy of individual owners, violating any privilege, or disclosing information that was to remain confidential at the request of the affected parties. The oral summary must include a general explanation of expenditures approved in executive session.

In my opinion, when a board discusses a lawsuit to which it is a party, it does have to put this in the Minutes, but in the most general terms. E.g.

"Discussion of litigation brought by the HOA in Dallas County lawsuit case no. 456 took place.

or

"Discussion of litigation where the HOA is a party in Dallas County lawsuit took place."

You gotta recognize that a board should not be discussing details of a lawsuit with owners. Why? Because a director might reveal something about the HOA's strategy that now hurts the HOA's chance of prevailing.

Owners can always go to the local courthouse and look up details of a lawsuit.