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HOAs: CAI's Latest Legal Nonsense

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Contributed by: Jan Jackson on 1/15/2008

AHRC NEWS SERVICES

Press Release

THE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS INSTITUTE LAWYERS' LATEST LEGAL NONSENSE TO TAKE HOMES

Suing homeowners for defamation

January 15, 2008
By Jan Jackson (View author info)

Florissant, Colorado -
Be careful -- be very careful -- what you say or write, publicly, about your homeowners association (HOA) or any of your HOA's board of directors. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) has come up with something new to silence homeowners. They're suing HOA homeowners for defamation to take their homes and life savings.

Do those lawsuits have any legal merit? Not to any informed, intelligent and rational person. But, as usual, CAI lawyers apparently don't care whether or not their lawsuits have any legal or logical merit. What the CAI appears to be trying to do, once again, is run homeowners out of money (and energy) so that CAI lawyers can put a lien on homeowners' homes and then foreclose on them. How can the CAI get away with doing that? Because our courts and our state legislators all support whatever the CAI wants. Why? Why else but to increase their own power and wealth by taking homeowners money, any way they can get it -- by hook or by crook.

We -- each one of us homeowners who won't just sit still when petty HOA dictators try to rule our lives -- will continue to do that which each of us is able to do to rid ourselves of corrupt members of the HOA Industry. And the most important thing about that is, more and more HOA homeowners are finding their voices about serious HOA problems and becoming quite public (vocal) about it. Corruption doesn't like the bright light of the public arena. It needs the darkness (secrecy) in order to be effective.

We HOA homeowners who risk having lawsuits filed against us every day, defamation and otherwise, by publicly telling our HOA stories are educating, have educated, the public about what's really going on behind HOA "closed doors." Now, those corrupt closed doors have been swung wide open to the shining light of public observation, knowledge and opinion. That's a gigantic step toward home buyers rising up en masse and refusing to buy into such corrupt housing developments.

Some have said that so many homeowners have been so badly hurt -- physically, emotionally and financially -- by their HOA boards and their boards' CAI lawyers, that they have become too exhausted to try to do anything about it. And that appears to be very true. But it's also true for many homeowners who are still actively at the forefront of the fray. They are very tired, too, but they're still in there fighting the good fight against HOA tyranny, head bloodied but unbowed.

Fighting HOA and CAI bad guys is indeed energy depleting, physically and emotionally. No question about it. But if one thinks about the alternative, i.e., HOA and CAI bad guys completely taking over our lives, what other choice does any intelligent and rational person have?

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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

Submitted By: Jan Jackson

posted on 4/13/2008 @ 4:27:37 AM

Rated Story

Greg, defamation lawsuits are all the rage (brought by CAI lawyers) all over the country these days. The libel claim against me was just one more. The "legal theory" was libel. As to "no legal merit", my attorney and I hope to convince the Colorado Appeals Court of the truth of that sometime this year. Our Opening Brief is due April 16, 2008. The lawyer who "commenced the litigation" is a CAI lawyer who, it is my understanding, has already been reported to the Colorado Supreme Court committee many times on such things. He didn't even get as much as a slap on the wrist for any of them.

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Submitted By: Greg Olsen

posted on 1/17/2008 @ 4:01:25 PM

Rated Story

What's more, lawyers who commence litigation with no legal merit are subject to sanctions from the court and whatever bar they are members of. This may include being disbarred. I'd suggest filing a motion for summary judgment

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Submitted By: Greg Olsen

posted on 1/17/2008 @ 3:37:05 PM

Rated Story

How could a unit owner be sued for defamation? What did he or she say? On What legal theory was the suit filed?

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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFO

Jan Jackson

Florissant , CO

Jan Jackson has posted 409 stories and 37 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Jan Jackson 's average story rating is 4.45.

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