Category Archives: Condo termination / Conversion / Deconversion / Eminent Domain

HOA, condo & co-op case law, litigation highlights (October 2018)

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Case law books court legal appeal

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities October 2018 highlights: some state laws won’t apply to your HOA; Associations hiring Private Eyes to collect delinquent dues; owners can’t sue the HOA attorney; California coastal access rights protected; updates to CA law with regard to construction defect lawsuits. Some Florida statutes not retroactive Depending on how their governing documents are written, older Floridian condo associations do not necessarily need to follow recently enacted laws with regard to Continue ReadingHOA, condo & co-op case law, litigation highlights (October 2018)→

River City Condo deconversion breeds lawsuits

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Gavel and legal books lawsuit court

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities A few weeks ago, a group of unit owners at River City Condominium in Chicago filed a lawsuit intended to halt the $90.5 million sale and condo deconversion of their iconic vintage Chicago riverfront building. River City Condominium Association includes 449 residential units. Since 2016, Marc Realty along with its equity partner, Wolcott Group, has been interested in purchasing River City for the purposes of a condo-to-apartment deconversion. After Continue ReadingRiver City Condo deconversion breeds lawsuits→

Chicago condo owners file lawsuit to stop deconversion ‘fraud’

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Gavel and legal books lawsuit court

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Updated October 9, 2018 Note: the updated version of this post corrects the record about Micheline Magharious. Based upon news sources cited at the time of the original post, a previous version of this article mistakenly stated that Magharious was a principal of Marc Realty. I have been informed by Kelly Elmore, Esq. of KSN that Magharious has never served as a principal at Marc Realty. Fourteen owners of Continue ReadingChicago condo owners file lawsuit to stop deconversion ‘fraud’→

HOAs, condos, & co-ops: Quasi-governments or ‘contractual communities’?

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HOA homes sidewalk

By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities   In 2012, California Attorney Tyler Berding published an article on his website, Condo Issues, making his case that an association governed community is purely ‘contractual.’ In Berding’s opinion, ‘community associations’ are not governments, because, in theory, members voluntarily agree to CC&Rs and Bylaws for the good of the collective interests of all members and stakeholders. In theory, he says, homeowners can choose to amend or even terminate the Continue ReadingHOAs, condos, & co-ops: Quasi-governments or ‘contractual communities’?→