Demanding repayment of approved COA expenses

An ex-president of one of our condo subassociations approached me for some advice on a situation he is facing. He was president of the board for the condo association for about five years (they are governed by Florida Statute 718) and was voted off the board, along with most of the other board members, about a year ago. There were some hard feelings because he and the board budgeted and managed reserve funds for their association which resulted in a couple of special assessments.

While he was the board president, he traveled on cruises quite a bit. In order to keep in touch in case of urgent matters, he paid for wi-fi on the cruise ships and then billed the association for that expense. I would never have done this and think it is borderline unethical, but his board approved the expenses at the time and the management company sent him the money.

He recently received a letter from the current board president saying they want reimbursement for that money, which is about $1300. There is no proof that this was ever discussed or voted on by the board at a legal meeting. He received the letter and they put the amount on his account and told him if he doesn't pay by the end of the month they will add interest. There was no hearing or fining committee, just a payment demand. I don't understand how they can ask him for payment for an expense that was approved legitimately by the previous board.

The association appears to be in violation of other parts of the statute. There are no meeting minutes being published, they don't have a website as required, and they hold "executive sessions" which is not allowed in Florida.

My advice to him would be to send an official records request for the minutes of meetings where this matter was discussed. If he doesn't receive those or they can't provide them, then I would have him send a letter to the association attorney with cc's to the board and explain they are violating statutes and denying him due process.

Any other ideas on how he might handle it? As I've said, I don't agree he ethically should have asked to be reimbursed for this expense but his board did approve.

Lori,
You are asking for meeting minutes on the topic of reimbursement of the funds. I would ask you does he have minutes stating that these charges were pre-approved or just approved at a regular meeting. If he has this then I think it is an easy issue to rebut. If no minutes exist on either side, then it is I say it is a learning lesson for all involved.

I was going on the assumption that the old board had minutes documenting approval of reimbursement of this expense. But no such minutes exist.
The former treasurer and former VP do not have the authority to approve such a reimbursement.
I would not be happy defending the old board.

For the ex president to try to point a finger at the current board's failings is gross hypocrisy IMO. The ex president should pay up, especially since this reimbursement (1) was not discussed at a public meeting; (2) did not receive a board vote; and (3) arguably is not a reasonable expense. At most he could get reimbursed for a small portion of this expense. Whoever audits this HOA's books (hopefully at least every five years) should question the reimbursement.

I believe if I were this ex president I would submit a check to the HOA for $1,300.

?

Your first post says the bill was $1300.

It was ludicrous and borderline abusive to request the HOA to pay for internet service while on vacation. The kind of attitude a person has that would request that expenses is exactly the wrong kind of attitude to have when serving on a board.

It also sounds like the new board is not playing by the rules by demanding repayment. Using the method they used, they could also unfairly demand repayment of expenses that were easier to agree with.

I don't like either side of this dispute.