Legal Retaliation from HOA Board & Law Firm

Note: during the time of the law suit 7/2023 to 7/2024 I didn’t pay association fees.

This is not retaliation. You didn’t pay and the HOA took the appropriate action.

For the topic of the alleged theft, make an appointment with your prosecuting attorney.

The money may be in the HOA general account, but each owner has an account number. Once you were issued a refund, whether you cashed the check or not, the funds were deducted from your personal account. Play silly games, win silly prizes.

Posted By MaxC2 on 05/10/2024 9:44 PM
Posted By MaxC2 on 05/10/2024 4:23 PM Kinda Long Read: My story from 3/19/2022 Below: this all takes place in a Metro Michigan City
Myself and other members been requesting our HOA Detailed Yearly Financial Records for the past few years.
Our HOA Law Firm keeps giving us the runaround with Michigan Laws stating we need a specific reasons to see
The Finance’s. We'v gotten copies of the IRS 990’s (15 yrs worth) and we see that our Board has Cell Ph Bills
And Charge Cards on the Tax Forms. Our 157 member HOA is Managed by our Member Board (No Mgt. Co.).
We don’t have a Hot-Line for our HOA, also we want to see what items were put on the HOA Charge Card.
Question: Under what laws can we (the members) compel the HOA Board to show us the Detailed Financial Records?
We don’t want to see Members stuff, but exactly how the Board spent our money.

From then to now, Brief History.
7/25/2022 I filed a Small Claims Transparency Suit against my HOA for $1,240 which included 1 years Association fees plus filing fees and paperwork.
8/2022 the HOA Lawyers Upgraded the case to General Court. So I had to get an Attorney. The cost was $5,000.00
3/2023 the Court Ordered the HOA (Through Discovery) to give me 5 yrs of Finical docs. (1/1/2018 to 3/2023)
After I reviewed the Financial Docs. We saw that the Board Members had their cars repaired, went Grocery shopping, bought Prescription’s
Went to Costco, Best Buy & took cash advances from the HOA Debit Card, all with HOA funds.
I attempted to have meetings with the membership, and the HOA law firm said we couldn’t as the HOA name for the meeting unless approved dy the Bd.
6/2023 I went to the Police Dept. and filed a theft report. Problem (A) is the past and present Treasurers are the Wife’s of retired Police Officers.
The fix was in, the report said that I lost my Debit Card and that I’m accusing them (HOA) of stealing $ from my account. Problem (B) the Law Firm has
some Heavy Clout in the community. And they said that I’m crazy.
Note: during the time of the law suit 7/2023 to 7/2024 I didn’t pay association fees.
7/13/2023 I received a notice from the HOA Law Firm saying I owed $2,000.00 and that that amount when paid would bring me current until 12/31/2023.
8/14/2023 I paid the amount directly into (Zelle) the HOA’s account. I bypassed the Law Firm’s request to pay it to them.
8/17/3023 the HOA sent me a check for $2,000.00 stating that they made error in the letter and that amount and time table was wrong.
I refuse to cash the check and wrote Void do not cash all over the Check. I still have it.
2/7/2024 I contacted some metro News folks about the cover up. 2/23/2024 the HOA Law Firm filed Court Lien on my home for $2,000.00
The Hearing is 5/30/2024
Fast Forward to today: I want to get this story out. None of the News People want to touch this because of The Police & the Law Firms Power.

Where to start? Suing your HOA is suing yourself and your neighbors. That is a FACT no matter if right or wrong. Plus how are you JUDGING that they used the HOA funds for paying for car repairs or shopping? You can NOT go by the receipts for this. If you are seeing a copy of receipts that is VERY misleading to say this. #1 because most people when they shop for HOA items are also doing their personal shopping. They may forget to tell the clerk to make this purchase separate. So EVERYTHING gets rung up and shown on the receipt.

EXAMPLE: I was on our clubhouse committee. Which meant that we had to buy toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and paper towels. I would add them to my normal shopping and give the HOA my receipt. However, I would CIRCLE or tell them verbally/email what items were for HOA purchase. If you saw that receipt you could easily say the HOA paid for my tampons that month. The TRUTH would be on the expense report showing that I was reimbursed $30 for supplies but the receipt would show $50. This is a REALITY and happens.

As for the car repairs... Do not know if your HOA owns a car or not. Our HOA insurance package had coverage for cars even though we did not own one. It would cover a wreck if a board member was doing HOA duties and had an accident. It was not like 100% but more like covering a board members deductible. It would depend on insurance contract.

You NOT paying or cashing the check is looking bad on you. Let's be frank and honest. You are NOT holding the HOA hostage to your demands here. They have every right to lien you for that money owed. Plus the terms were to pay the law firm first and foremost. You did NOT meet those terms of the agreement. That means whatever your account is behind is subject to lien or even foreclosure. Dues are INCOME to the HOA. What would you do if your employer withheld your paycheck for what they decided was a bad job? Would you not do the same thing the HOA is doing since it is the legal agreement you pay it?

No it is NOT retailation for court. It is a reality you OWE money. This puts you in bad standing in the HOA of your own actions. Threatening to go to the media doesn't do anyone any favors. Most of the time when I see someone complaining to the news about their HOA I laugh and know that they just cause their ability to sell their home. Who wants to move into a place with a Karen on the news complaining about their HOA and then blaming said HOA for no one wanting to buy there?

You need to take a step back and stop with wanting to be the "hero". A real hero will step up to run for the board. Which requires to be in good standing with dues and with the people. Are you good with either? Tough love.

For the most part, what the OP perceives as "retaliation" is what happens when someone takes legal action against someone else. The other party won't be your friend, and they will be doing everything they can to come out on top.

(A criminal defense lawyer I know says that he would much rather put up with the death threats from his clientele than deal with the clientele involved in civil suits. At some point, many of them decide that their goal is to destroy their opponent and they're prepared to spend every dime they can get their hands on to do so. Any thoughts of coming to a mutually acceptable settlement go out the window.)