Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I own a condominium unit. The HOA's Board of Directors (BOD), have hired a contractor to do repair job in the building. The completion date of the project posted is 10/11/09 which has come and gone and the repair job started in June 09 is far from over. When some of the home owners including me asked our BOD about the completion date, they said that they do not know. When we approach the contractor for a completion date, he does not give us a straight answer and refer us back to the BOD. We asked our HOA BOD to give us a copy of the signed contract with the contractor so that we can see what completion date has been put in the contract. The BOD says that the contract is a privileged document and they can not share with the rest of the home owners based on the advice given to them by the attorney working management company and the HOA. Some of the home owners including me can not sell our unit due to all the mess going on with the repair job in the building.

Here are my questions:

Who is responsible to provide me with a completion date of the project?

Is it my right as a home owner to ask and get a copy of the contract signed between the HOA BOD and the contractor?

In case of continued non-cooperation by my BOD and the contractor, who should I sue?


Asked on 10/22/09, 11:27 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

Demand from the HOA a detailed explanation as to how a contract is a privileged document? That seems totally wrong to me. The original bid is privileged but not the final contract. A privilege exists so as not to harm someone; who is harmed by revealing the contents of the document? The HOA is you and your fellow homeowners; like the federal government they have no right to hide information from you, the public. You have a valid reason for wanting to know the completion date. I would immeditely demand a copy of the contract from the HOA and lif they refuse from the BOD. If they refuse, gather a list of homeowners who likewlise demand a copy of the contract and dem;land jto be herd at the next BOD meeting. If that is more than a month away, demand that an emergency meeting be held on lthe basis that the HOA management company and/or the BOD appears to be in violation of state law, that a valid contract may not exist and the BOD is therefore illegally expending homeowner's funds, and irreparable harm is occurring to you and others in that you can not sell your homes. If you have to sue, you would sue the contractor, HOA, and BOD as a board and as individual members.

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Answered on 10/28/09, 12:07 am


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