Blog

By Terri Guest, CIRMS, CMCA

This article first appeared in The Communicator, Spring 2021. To read more, click here.  

In "Zoom Rooms" at the recent Legal Forum, a story was told about how a homeowners association had its insurance cancelled due to a claim. This association could no longer find coverage in preferred markets (admitted carriers, such as Farmers and Travelers) and was forced to get its insurance from a surplus lines carrier. Not only was this coverage three times the price, the added insult was that the claim was a result of an out of control car speeding down a street adjacent to the association and crashing into the association building – something impossible for the HOA to control.

The question then came up – what now? Once you have entered what we call the "surplus and excess" market – the carriers that folks go to when they can’t get coverage elsewhere – are you stuck? What can an association do, especially...

By Ritchie Lipson, Esq. and Scott Thomson, Esq

This article first appeared in The Communicator, Spring 2021. To read more, click here.  

Effective communication within a homeowners association is always important. Once an association brings a construction defect action against the builder, communication and cooperation among the board, community association manager, and the construction defect attorney become essential. However, with the outbreak of COVID-19, communication and cooperation regarding construction defects will most likely remain permanently changed.

A construction defect action by a homeowners’ association usually begins with a Notice of Commencement of Legal Proceedings under the Calderon Act (Civil Code § 6000 et seq.), which concurrently meets the need for a Notice of the Claim pursuant to SB800. However, before the attorney may prepare such notice, he or she must investigate the defects in the community and discuss the...