ACCEPTING HOLIDAY GIFTS
QUESTION: I am the president of our association. Members of our board and many employees received envelopes today from our security company. I opened mine to find ten $100 bills. An employee opened hers to find a $100 Visa card. I immediately took custody of all the envelopes and put them in a sealed envelope. To avoid any appearance of accepting kickbacks, I plan to return them to the vendor. Is this the right thing to do?ANSWER: That is exactly the right thing to do. Even though the act of giving or receiving a gift is not illegal, it becomes a problem if (i) the gift influences a director’s judgment when contracts are awarded or (ii) it gives the appearance that your vote has been influenced. If directors approve contracts based on gifts they receive, the gifts become bribes. That's why most organizations adopt ethics rules setting strict limits on gifts. (See House Ethics Manual for the U.S. Congress concerning gifts.)
Appropriate Gifts. If your gifts had been nominal (a basket of cookies), the gesture of appreciation by the vendor would have been appropriate. In your case, the gifts are not appropriate.
RECOMMENDATION: Associations should adopt ethics rules so board members will know where the ethical boundaries are located. We have a sample Ethics Policy on our website that boards can use as a model.
LIEN NOTICE REQUIREMENT
QUESTION: We have four owners of a single property living at three different addresses. The dues for that property are delinquent and we need to send a certified letter. Do we need to send it to three different addresses?ANSWER: In collection and foreclosure matters, whenever the question is "Should we mail to this address?" the answer is always "Yes." It is better too give too much notice than not enough.
RECOMMENDATION: You can write one letter with multiple addressees and addresses (all owners on title at all addresses) at the top of the letter and then mail it to everyone. You can also charge the account for all of your collection costs.
TREE DAMAGE
QUESTION: My tree fell on my neighbor's car. The HOA says it's my responsibility not theirs. Am I liable for fixing my neighbor's car???ANSWER: Your situation sounds like an Allstate commercial. The first thing you need to do is call your insurance agent. The next thing that comes to mind is, "Why are you dragging the association into this?" It was your tree.
HOA Negligence? The only way the association could be liable is if (i) it owned the tree and was negligent or (ii) you own the tree but the HOA is responsible for maintaining it (and did so negligently). Under those circumstances, the HOA would by liable for the loss.
RECOMMENDATION: If you don't have any insurance (shame on you) and you want to see if there is any way to blame someone else for the loss, you should consult legal counsel.
