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PeterK9 (Minnesota)
Posts: 7
Posted:
Our HOA president has voted for and given a building maintenance contract to a company he owns. No recusal and the contract is 6 figures. The board finally said enough is enough and did not allow him to bid on the 2026 maintenance contract.

Now, however, his ex wife and also business partner in various LLC's they have has submitted a bid for the maintenance contract. We do not have a " conflict of interest " policy. There are misinformed and sympathetic board members that are trying to downplay this bid and declaring that there is no conflict of interest as they are divorced.

So, conflict of interest ? and should the board early on should have said this not a legitimate bid ? or ?

Thanks
ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,339
Posted:
Be aware of the following:

Rarely if ever do statutes addressing conflict of interest require that the person with the conflict withdraw from bidding. Instead the person with the conflict is only required to (1) disclose the conflict and (2) not vote on the bid.

Just to be well informed on this, I suggest you check the Minnesota nonprofit corp statute and see what it says.
ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,339
Posted:
From https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/317A.255:


317A.255 DIRECTOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
§Subdivision 1.Conflict; procedure when conflict arises. (a) A contract or other transaction between a corporation and: (1) its director or a member of the family of its director; (2) a director of a related organization, or a member of the family of a director of a related organization; or (3) an organization in or of which the corporation's director, or a member of the family of its director, is a director, officer, or legal representative or has a material financial interest; is not void or voidable because the director or the other individual or organization are parties or because the director is present at the meeting of the members or the board or a committee at which the contract or transaction is authorized, approved, or ratified, if a requirement of paragraph (b) is satisfied.
(b) A contract or transaction described in paragraph (a) is not void or voidable if:

(1) the contract or transaction was, and the person asserting the validity of the contract or transaction has the burden of establishing that the contract or transaction was, fair and reasonable as to the corporation when it was authorized, approved, or ratified;

(2) the material facts as to the contract or transaction and as to the director's interest are fully disclosed or known to the members and the contract or transaction is approved in good faith by two-thirds of the members entitled to vote, not counting any vote that the interested director might otherwise have, or the unanimous affirmative vote of all members, whether or not entitled to vote;

(3) the material facts as to the contract or transaction and as to the director's interest are fully disclosed or known to the board or a committee, and the board or committee authorizes, approves, or ratifies the contract or transaction in good faith by a majority of the directors or committee members currently holding office, provided that the interested director or directors may not vote and are not considered present for purposes of a quorum. If, as a result, the number of remaining directors is not sufficient to reach a quorum, a quorum for the purpose of considering the contract or transaction is the number of remaining directors or committee members; or

(4) the contract or transaction is a merger or consolidation described in section 317A.601.

Subd. 2.Material financial interest. For purposes of this section:
(1) a director does not have a material financial interest in a resolution fixing the compensation of the director or fixing the compensation of another director as a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, even though the first director is also receiving compensation from the corporation; and

(2) a director has a material financial interest in an organization in which the director, or a member of the family of the director, has a material financial interest.

Subd. 3.Exception. The procedures described under subdivision 1, clauses (1) to (3), are not required if the contract or other transaction is between related organizations.
Subd. 4.Member of the family. For purposes of this section, a member of the family of a director is a spouse, parent, child, spouse of a child, brother, sister, or spouse of a brother or sister.
MichaelS56 (Minnesota)
Posts: 859
Posted:
Please look at Minnesota statues: 10a.07 Conflicts of Interest and 471.87 Officers Interest in Conflict
DeanJ
Posts: 1,786
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By PeterK9 on 03/10/2026 12:48 PM
Our HOA president has voted for and given a building maintenance contract to a company he owns. No recusal and the contract is 6 figures. The board finally said enough is enough and did not allow him to bid on the 2026 maintenance contract.

Now, however, his ex wife and also business partner in various LLC's they have has submitted a bid for the maintenance contract. We do not have a " conflict of interest " policy. There are misinformed and sympathetic board members that are trying to downplay this bid and declaring that there is no conflict of interest as they are divorced.

So, conflict of interest ? and should the board early on should have said this not a legitimate bid ? or ?

Thanks

Missing from your account is an any complaint of being over charged or substandard performance. The knife can cut both ways. The bids received could be higher than what an owner in your community has been providing and your board foolishly is trying to bar his bids.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,339
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichaelS56 on 03/11/2026 5:26 AM
Please look at Minnesota statues: 10a.07 Conflicts of Interest and 471.87 Officers Interest in Conflict
For your reference: Neither of these apply to HOAs/COAS.

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