S.W. from Rockingham County, New Hampshire writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
I am on the board of a Small self-run condo association. I am the secretary of the association and have to send out the letters to owners – good, bad, or indifferent. An owner is retaliating against me because I had to send him 2 letters that were not in his favor. The Board has ruled in my favor. However, he won’t stop harassing me and the other board members. He’s called the Building Inspector to inspect my space because he “feared for his safety ” and has bad mouthed me to anyone he comes in contact with. He’s threatening the association with a law suit. The Board has a Zero Tolerance policy for Harassment, Bullying and retaliation. Is the next step to get my personal lawyer involved to send a cease and desist letter or is it better to have the association’s lawyer deal with him?
Mister Condo replies:
S.W., I am sorry you find yourself at odds with a difficult neighbor. Whether it is your attorney or the Board’s attorney, it would be a good idea to try to get this behavior under control before it escalates from libel to injury. I don’t know what the underlying issue was cut it clearly has stirred up ill will from this owner. You can’t control what he does with regards to calling a Building Inspector, etc.., but you can control what you do. Take whatever steps necessary to protect yourself. The Board should do the same. If the homeowner does not stop this poor neighborly behavior, you may need to escalate the matter. That is where the attorney can best advise you and the Board. All the best!
A couple of questions – by “space,” I take it that a unit owner called the building inspector about a building code problem originating from the “unit”? that possibly the board is not addressing? Also, as both board member and officer, did you recuse yourself from any discussions and voting regarding the issue you were writing letters to this unit owner on behalf of the board, thereby avoiding a conflict of interest in which you have a direct financial benefit? Does the association have D&O? Would it cover conflicts with a direct financial interest if the association gets sued by this unit owner? The unit owner may have a legitimate grievance against the board. Also, I have seen board members wildly exaggerate – for instance, someone at our complex planted a bush, and they were accused of “annexing the property,” another planted small flowers in a patch in front of the unit and was accused of “vandalizing,” so I approach this as needing more detail. Is the unit owner perhaps trying to get other unit owners to cobble together a group to confront the board with pitchforks to deal with a situation, so as to not have to sue in order to obtain a remedy? Is the building inspector compelling the association to correct code violation(s) due to the complaint and you don’t like “losing” in this struggle? Of course, it could be as you say, there is a wild unit owner gone cray cray and you want it to stop. Or possibly, you are seeking to silence a unit owner from getting something done that you don’t want to deal with, so pelt with letters, threats, etc.