Berger Kahn provides expert legal counsel, consultation, and litigation services to dozens of condominium and homeowner associations across California. We assist in the development, interpretation, amendment and enforcement of the governing documents, working as part of a team with the association’s governing boards and committees, management companies and other professionals.
We also provide legal assistance on fiscal matters, including the collection of assessments, day-to-day operations, the application of state statutory law and applicable Federal laws, and other business matters confronting this increasingly complex field of law.
Our HOA practice incorporates the talents of attorneys from several practice areas, including Real Estate, Insurance, Environmental, Employment, and Alternate Dispute Resolution.
Each of the attorneys in our HOA Law practice group take an active role in the community association industry by authoring articles and presenting seminars on a myriad of community association topics.
Berger Kahn represents associations in arbitrations, mediations, and trials, involving many types of claims:
- Selective Enforcement of CC&R’s (Discrimination)
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty against Board of Directors
- Failure to enforce the governing documents (By-Laws, CC&R’s, Articles of Incorporation)
- Nuisance
- Injunctions
- Mold
- Insurance disputes
- Water leaks
- Failure to maintain common areas
- Personal injuries
- Inadequate reserves and financial disclosures
- Access to association records
- Misappropriation of association property
- Defamation and slander
- Malicious prosecution and abuse of process
Some examples of our engagements in HOA Law illustrate our successes in this unique practice area:
Notable Engagements
- Successfully defended a Board of Directors and Homeowners’ Association in a lawsuit alleging selective enforcement of CC&R’s.
- Successfully negotiated boundary line and maintenance dispute obligations between neighboring associations.
- Created a maintenance responsibility matrix for association members based on governing documents.
- Obtained an injunction prohibiting a homeowner from improperly using a common area.
- Successfully negotiated dozens of water and mold claims with national insurance carriers.
- Defeated claims of improper withholding of association records.
- Prevailed at trial defending Directors and Homeowners’ Association against claims of harassment and breach of contract by dissident homeowners.
- Obtained judgment for Homeowners’ Association in a lawsuit brought by a former security supervisor for major injuries from an assault incurred while attempting a citizen’s arrest in the gated community.
- Successfully defended Homeowners’ Association against claims of interference with contract and defamation brought by Association’s former security company following non-renewal of contract.
- Obtained judgment for Directors and Homeowners’ Association in a battery and false arrest lawsuit filed by the attorney for dissident homeowners after the attorney was removed for disruption of the association’s Annual Meeting.
- Successfully defended Homeowners’ Association against claim brought by homeowners after storm-damaged tree fell on a house.
- Successfully defended Homeowners’ Association after litigation filed by a Superior Court judge injured by tree service contracted by Association.
We are proud of our accomplishments in the area of Community Association representation. Contact Berger Kahn today to learn more about our HOA practice area.