Condo Resale Packages and Pending Litigation

K.L. from Fairfield County writes:

Dear Mister Condo,

Do personal injury lawsuits pending need to be declared in resale packages now under the 2010 new CT Statutes? Our attorney has previously said that these suits are private information just for Board Executive Session and not for other owners to know because of privacy issues. I read a recent article that said that under the new statutes, prospective buyers and current owners have a right to know what financial issues the Association has before them that may affect their common expenses and budget. Since owners pay a large deductible in such suits out of our common charges, do owners and buyers have a right to know of a personal injury (or other) lawsuit and does the name of the individual claiming injury have to be protected? Thank you!

Mister Condo replies:

K.L., you are correct that disclosure of such information must be made known as part of the resale package. In the event of a lawsuit, the parties named are public record (i.e. John Smith vs. ABC Commons). For further clarification, I asked a prominent community attorney to chime in on the subject. Here is what the attorney had to say:

“State law specifically requires every association to disclose the titles of all pending lawsuits and administrative proceedings in resale certificates to prospective buyers (other than nonforeclosure collection cases).  The board is also obligated to affirmatively notify every unit owner whenever most kinds of lawsuits are filed against it, including personal injury suits.  However, state law gives the board the option of whether to allow unit owners to inspect and copy records concerning further details about those lawsuits and administrative proceedings themselves, including attorney-client privileged records.  Other records that relate to litigation only indirectly must still be provided, such as liability insurance policies and annual budgets that itemize attorney’s fees.”

I think that clears that matter up. Good luck to you and your condo in your lawsuit.