Originally posted on December 12, 2011 by Ryan

Bd. of Managers of Park Regent Condo. v. Park Regent Assoc., No. 2009-04227, N.Y. Supr. Ct., App. Div., March 30, 2010.

A condominium regime in New York was recently involved in litigation over the validity of an association member annual meeting. Several unit owners called the meeting and purported to elect a new board of managers for their regime. The board of managers in place prior to the meeting brought suit for a declaratory judgment that the meeting was invalid for lack of proper notice; therefore no new board members were elected. A unit owner also sued past and current board members for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. The trial court held that the unnoticed meeting was invalid and issued a permanent injunction against the board members elected at the meeting, preventing them from acting as members of the board. The appeals court affirmed this holding.

The individual unit owner later amended his complaint to recover attorney’s fees and expenses, as permitted in the regime’s governing documents. This motion was also granted.

In sum, when associations fail to properly give notice of member meetings and board meetings very costly results may follow. Associations should closely read their governing documents for notice requirements and follow these requirements to the letter. Contact an attorney for help in complying with your governing documents.

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