Guest Annoyed Posted June 28, 2011 at 11:22 PM Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 at 11:22 PM Home Association held their first "annual" meeting 6 years after incorporation after a declarant controlled period of 5 years (you guessed it, already not abiding by-laws for meetings and transfer of control to elected directors). It was to be the election of officers per the published agenda, however when homeowners got to the meeting, they were told that because the by-laws state that members must be registered with the association, which hadn't been previously done, that everyone could sign the roll and election ballots could be mailed for the vote. The Developer/declarant presided. Members told that there could only be one vote per residence/lot. Nominations were taken, where both the Developer and his wife nominated themselves (yes, from the same 1 vote residence). Meeting ended, 2 1/2 weeks later typed ballot was mailed with the instruction they were to be returned 8 days later. Two days prior to vote counting, members were instructed by email to sign the envelope to verify who voted. Some did, some didn't do this. Candidate inquired about members attending the ballot counting and was denied--told that the Developer and his wife were the Board, they would count (both are candidates, no other witnesses)and turn over the ballots to the Board later. An email was sent out by Developer day following the election, listing the new Board...names only, no vote count, and the wife was listed on the Board as 1 of 7 on Board. Several by-laws were disregarded: According to the By-Laws and State Nonprofits Corp. Act,association MUST select Board members/Directors at an annual meeting and CANNOT vote on election of Directors by mailed ballots. Even if it had been legal to elect officers by mailed ballot, the mandated voting period of 10-30 days after ballot delivery was not given. In addition, candidates were not allowed to observe the counting and tallying of votes as specified under Fair Voting Procedures which states: In the case of an election of a Director, every candidate or designee of a candidate may observe the counting and tallying of votes; and on any other issue, a reasonable number of observers from both sides of each issue shall observe the counting and tallying of votes. So, is the election valid or should it be challenged? The newly "elected" Board has not yet met, but meetings are to be open to entire association members. Can a point of order be called for at the beginning of the first meeting? Can a regular association member do this or does action have to be by someone listed as an "elected" Board member. What steps should be taken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Hunt Posted June 28, 2011 at 11:39 PM Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 at 11:39 PM I would very, very strongly recommend a lawyer. This is a serious mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted June 28, 2011 at 11:52 PM Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 at 11:52 PM I would very, very strongly recommend a lawyer. This is a serious mess.Second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest annoyed Posted June 29, 2011 at 12:09 AM Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 at 12:09 AM I would very, very strongly recommend a lawyer. This is a serious mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest annoyed Posted June 29, 2011 at 12:12 AM Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 at 12:12 AM Spouse is the "peaceful" type, so would prefer to go the route of requiring a new meeting with legal election, but don't know the proper steps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Cisar Posted June 29, 2011 at 02:23 AM Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 at 02:23 AM Spouse is the "peaceful" type, so would prefer to go the route of requiring a new meeting with legal election, but don't know the proper steps.You have an apparent violation of law so you need legal advice -- we can't do that here. You need an attorney who knows that type of law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted June 29, 2011 at 03:05 AM Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 at 03:05 AM According to the By-Laws and State Nonprofits Corp. Act,association MUST select Board members/Directors at an annual meeting and CANNOT vote on election of Directors by mailed ballots. You have an apparent violation of law so you need legal advice -- we can't do that here. You need an attorney who knows that type of law.I reckon that a p. 244(a) violation occurred when voting by mail was used for the election which just gets the ball rolling. But I also strongly encourage obtaining legal advice because any breach of parliamentary procedure is likely just the very tip of the iceberg and they say that the iceberg is usually only about 10% of the total chunk of ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest annoyed Posted June 29, 2011 at 03:31 AM Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 at 03:31 AM Hit the nail on the head with the tip of the iceberg statement, as we are dealing with a hardnosed jerk (trying to be nice here). Thank you all for the advice. Although it wasn't my original intention to have to go with legal counsel, I, too, felt there were serious infractions committed, and a flagrant disregard for proper election conduct, so plan to see if our fellow homeowners will unite on this. I had already checked with city, county and state attorney general offices, and basically most also said we need a lawyer, so guess that is where it should be headed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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