Clyde Gibson

Thank you all. That answered my question. Custom was the word that I should have been I was looking for breaking bylaws, precedents, etc.

Our bylaws state that any special assessment over $500 needs to by approved by 75% of the owners. At a recent meeting our president produced a memorandum from our attorney that stated that any funds required for repairs did not need to be approved by the owners. My thought was that the opinion was just that, an opinion, and that the members of our association would be required to approve changes to our bylaws before any board approved assessment over $500 could be approved by the board.

I am currently a member of a condominium board. At our most recent meeting the President announced that she had already selected a Nominations committee and each selectee had accepted the position. When I made a point of order that our bylaw stated that the nominations committee is selected by the board, the President stated that the president had selected the nominations committee for the last 3 years and that a precedent had been set. I thought that breaking bylaws did not set a precedent, but I was not able to find that section in Roberts Rules. Can someone direct me to that section of RONR?

Thanks for your comments. For clarification the vote was passed by more than 50% of those attending, but less than the 75% of all owners required for making the assessment. As far as I know there is no one in the association is planning on suing the board because the work is done and it would not help anyone if a suit were pursued. My concern is that the board not repeat this violation of our by-laws in the future.

At our annual condo owners meeting a resolution was passed that stated "That all actions of the Board taken since the last annual meeting of the Association, whether such actions were approved by means of a meeting of the Board or by unanimous written consent of the Board, for or on behalf of the Association, be, and such actions hereby are, ratified and approved in all respects." The thought behind it by those proposing it was that it would forgive the board for approving and collecting a $2000 assessment earlier that year that would have required, according to our by-laws, 75% of the members to pass. A vote for the assessment was never taken. The vote for the resolution to ratify all actions was passed by 50% of the membership. After the meeting I found section 10:55 in the 12th edition of RONR which, if I interpret it correctly, states that no resolution can ratify an action of this type which violates the by-laws. Is that a correct interpretation? What can be done at this point to revoke or resend the motion to ratify?