B.I. from outside of Connecticut writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
Can the president of a condo board withhold communication to/from the association’s attorney from other board members? Communication has to do with whether a resolution the board passed was proper.
Mister Condo replies:
B.I., as the elected leader of the Board, the President does have some executive powers that come with the office. However, unless the governing documents offer him the privilege of use of the association’s attorney, it would be most unusual for a Board President to have the right to withhold any association communication from the Board. In other words, since the Board needed clarification on whether or not they had correctly passed a resolution, the association’s officers also need to be included in the communication unless there is wording in your governing document that give the Board President an executive privilege that says he doesn’t need to share the communication. Keep in mind that the association attorney is paid for by association funds. That means the fiduciary responsibility of the attorney is to the association (in this case, its officers). Unless the President paid for this advice out of his own pocket, in which case the attorney was working exclusively for the President. All the best!