Facts Plaintiff, Linder (“Tenant”), entered into a lease in October 2016.  Tenant agreed in the lease not to bring dogs, or other animals on the premises.  Five months later Tenant asked the Landlord if she could have an emotional support animal.  She gave one of the internet letters to support her need for the animal.  The letter said the Tenant was disabled but did not identify the disability or identify any limitations or symptoms of…

Facts Plaintiffs were two owners (Maples and Brown) at Compass Harbor Village Condominium Association in Maine (the “Association”) who had purchased their respective units sometime in 2007.  The Declarant was an LLC that held more than 50% of the votes (15 of the 24 units) and therefore controlled the board.  For many years the Association common areas were not property maintained in many ways.  In addition, the Association failed to hold meetings, take votes on…

Facts Plaintiff, Harmony Haus and a resident, sued Defendant, Parkstone Property Owners Association (“Association”) under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) seeking an injunction and attorney fees for violation of the Civil Rights Act.  Association counter sued alleging breaches of deed restrictions.  Plaintiff is a sober living residence for individuals recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction.  Plaintiff residents come directly from an inpatient treatment center.  Association argued Plaintiff was violating its “single family residential use,” its…

Facts Plaintiffs live in Ashbrooke Property Owners Association (“Association”) and missed their annual assessment payments of $115 for three straight years.  The Association hired Defendant, Equity Experts, to collect the past due amounts.  Under the Declaration the past due assessments accrued interest at the rate of 18% per annum, plus the Association could charge a late fee and the Owner was “liable to the Association for all costs and attorney’s fees…”  Equity Experts added fees…

Record retention is a tricky subject.  Keep too much or for too long and opposing counsel in litigation will have all the documents they may need to prove that your association’s actions were discriminatory or amounted to selective enforcement, at least compared to its old records.  Keep to little or for too short of time and in your deposition or trial testimony you will be forced to admit that records that should have been kept…

Summary The Court of Appeals of Washington held that a lot owner was barred from claiming ownership of a strip of land after representing that the land was part of the adjacent lot, building a fence along the supposed boundary, allowing the adjacent lot owner to maintain and landscape up to the fence, abandoning the land, and causing the adjacent lot owner to rely on that representation.…