G.W. from Richmond County, Virginia writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I live in Condo with roughly 70 units. When it snows, the HOA contracts a company to clear the parking lots. In the process though the plows usually will plow the snow so that it creates a large mound of snow behind my car that prevents me from moving my car because of the packed mound of snow. They have made the situation more unsafe. Will the HOA be held responsible for anyone being hurt because the plows made the issue more unsafe?
Mister Condo replies:
G.W., the condo association will always be held liable for all activities that happen on the common grounds. Snow removal poses its own challenge with everything from slip and fall to damage created by the plows. That is what insurance is for. Common sense must be employed by the Board and they can certainly direct the contractor to not block in people’s cars. Many associations require that cars be removed when the plows are on property so that the plows can do their work and then residents can return their cars to the plowed spaces. Perhaps that would be a workable solution for your situation. Otherwise, I am not sure how the plows can remove the snow without blocking in cars. Unless they are lifting the snow into dump trucks for removal, they usually just push the snow out of the way. What other solutions do you have? Let the Board know and see if you can’t get this fixed before the heavy snow season is upon us. All the best!
Plows can be used to pull snow as well as to push snow. Otherwise, when someone plow a driveway, there would be snow pushed up in front of garage doors. I imagine it takes more time to pull the snow away from the rear ends of cars and maneuver it out of the way of cars, but usually it can be done. I I’m sure that some parking situations might make it almost impossible to do. Snow blowers might also be able to do the work behind cars.