I’m finishing a day at this year’s CAI Law Seminar in windy Tucson, Arizona.  It’s an interesting meeting every year and this year is no exception.  Here are a few highlights of the HOT TOPICS HOA/Condo lawyers from around the country are discussing today:

1.  The unauthorized practice of law
This is a controversial topic and attorneys are always worried when non-lawyers move into the realm of our existing attorney/client relationships.  In almost all of the states, there are possible criminal sanctions for this conduct.  In Arizona, not so much and our UPL rules are enforced by our judicial branch of government.  You can download a law review article that helps explain the UPL history in Arizona, but the seminar discussion is about the future.  Will 2010 be a year that state regulations catch up to these non-lawyer practitioners?

2. Banks acting too slowly in the foreclosure process
This leaves Associations in the lurch – the homeowners have long stopped paying assessments, they stop caring for the property, but the bank has not foreclosed on its mortgage lien.  In some states, attorneys have been successful (and others have made valiant attempts but failed) to push the mortgage holder to act (and/or pay assessments) based on a theory of equity.  Essentially, the bank’s decision not to finalize the foreclosure of its loan is unfair to the Association.  Stay tuned, this may be an interesting arguement that will pop up in the near future with a higher frequency.

My favorite state specific collection tool in this regard is the Illinois procedure that allows an Association to evict any homeowner for the non-payment of assessments.  It’s not like foreclosure because the homeowner still owns the unit, but loses possession.

3.  The national case law trends for 2009
The case law on HOA and condo issues isn’t really trending in any direction.  The cases are all over the place and there are wacky decisions that disregard the law and there have been some solid opinions that have and will continue to advance many HOA/Condo precedents.  My favorite quote today was from a Texas case: “just as a door is not a wall, a fence is not a gate.”

More to come on Day 2.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.