SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – A Summerville subdivision homeowners association, along with others, has been sued for breach of contract and other claims.

​In a lawsuit that was filed on March 20 in the Dorchester County Court of Common Pleas, Halcyon Real Estate Services owner David Peterson claims that the White Gables neighborhood homeowners association broke a new contract for landscaping and a contract for property management for the neighborhood. It then alleges that the contract was given back to its former manager, Community Management Group.

There are also claims of harassment, stalking, libel and slander against Peterson. ​According to the suit, there were “activities to undermine the contracts between the [neighborhood] board and Halcyon [that] degenerated into abusive behavior by members of the White Gables community, including harassment, stalking, slander and libel.” The activities allegedly came after residents questioned the past actions of one of his employees. The employee is not named in the lawsuit but is also his fiancee.  Read more:

BUDA, Texas (KXAN) – In the thick of bluebonnet season, a man in Buda trying to grow the Texas state flower in his yard says his homeowner’s association has gone too far with fining him for yard violations.

Jimmy Schmidt, who has lived in the Garlic Creek neighborhood since 2007, is a native Texan who has grown bluebonnets and other native Texas plants on his yard since that time.

“I love wildflowers, I was raised in the country out at Creedmoor and my grandmother when I was a kid, she had a whole field of bluebonnets,” Schmidt explained.

But in the last two years, his homeowner’s association has begun fining him for how he’s kept his yard, Schmidt says.  Read more:

A Franklin veteran feels his patriotism is under attack after his homeowner’s association asked him to take down the flag in front of his home.

Wayne Marchant feels a sense of pride every time he walks past the American flag.

“I feel good about it,” said Marchant.

On Friday, though, he says he was disgusted when he got a letter in the mail from the Manager of the Renaissance Homeowner’s Association stating that the flagpole is a violation of the community rules.

“They have HOA members that periodically drive through the neighborhood looking for anything that might be a violation of the HOA rules. They noticed that in their words ‘the flagpole had been erected in our front yard,'” said Marchant.

The letter says the flagpole needs to be removed or modified. He’s not sure what the modification would be, but he says this flag has been outside of his home for the past eight years. It was a gift from his wife.

He says this new rule isn’t just about him but the entire community.

“I feel like its an attack on everybody’s patriotism, the love of their country,” said Marchant.

Before the flag was put in place his wife says she got permission from the Homeowner’s Association. However, in the past few years, the board members of the association have changed and the person who approved it is no longer there.  Read more:

Article Courtesy of Local 10 News
By Peter Burke

Published March 29, 2018

FORT LAUDERDALE – A Fort Lauderdale woman duped a disabled man into buying a condominium and putting her name on the deed, police said.

Althea Johnson, 66, was arrested Monday on a charge of elderly exploitation.

According to a Fort Lauderdale police report, Johnson was caring for Richard Shellene between October 2014 and December 2015 after he suffered a stroke and now gets around with the help of a wheelchair.

Police said Shellene listed Johnson as co-owner of the condo that he bought in March 2015 as part of a verbal agreement with Johnson.

In exchange for putting her name on the deed and giving her a $2,000 monthly salary, Johnson was supposed to move in with Shellene and be his caretaker.

Police said Shellene paid the entire amount for the condo out of his bank account and fully furnished a room for Johnson, paying for everything in it.

Instead of moving in, however, Johnson refused and tried to get half the value of the condo from him, police said.  Read more:

SAN FRANCISCO >> Earlier this month, after eight full days of proceedings, a jury unanimously awarded Wayne Clark a total of $2 million in a defamation of character case against the Hidden Valley Lake Association.

The Northern California District Court, located in San Francisco, was the platform for the court proceedings. Clark was the Golf Pro at HVLA, until he was fired by General Manager, Cindy Spears April 15, 2015.

Because Clark was hired under “at-will” employment, he sued the HVLA not for wrongful termination, but for defamation of character.

There had been several derogatory postings on the Hidden Valley Lake Forum Facebook Page after the firing of Clark — posted, the court said, by Michelle Wade, a member of HVLA.

Wade testified that all of this information came from rumors that she was hearing, which she referred to as a “Little Birdie.”

Julie Vonada, the Human Resource Director at HVLA, testified Spears was “feeding” information to Wade.

The Facebook postings were brought into the trial and during the proceedings, Wayne Clark’s Attorney Victor C. Thuesen directly read some of the posts.  Read more:

CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) – People across the Carolinas pay thousands of dollars each year to their homeowner’s associations.

These homeowners trust their money is being spent wisely, but questions are swirling in one Charlotte neighborhood and they’re asking FOX 46 Charlotte’s David Sentendrey to get answers.

At Prosperity Village, the homeowner’s association has a board of directors which makes financial decisions and handles neighborhood operations. The board is elected and consists of people living in the neighborhood. There’s also a management group which is hired by the board to assist with day-to-day operations.  Read more:

PALM HARBOR — In 2007, residents of the Cloverplace Condos began to notice unmistakable signs of sinkhole activity.

Walls were cracking, stucco was peeling off, doors no longer closed as they should. Depressions formed alongside units. Yet even as claims were filed on more than 100 units and property values plunged, the community’s insurer, Citizens Property Insurance, never paid a cent.

Citizen’s conduct shows “monumental bad faith and (is) a textbook example of how not to deal with a insured customer,” complained homeowner Dennis McKenna.

Last week, a Pinellas County jury agreed, announcing one of the largest verdicts ever against state-run Citizens — $12.7 million. That’s the estimated amount it would take to stabilize 83 of the homes.  Read more:

Homeowners with unkempt front yards just caught a bit of a reprieve from the Arizona Court of Appeals. A recent decision by the court makes it more difficult for homeowners associations to levy fines.

Beth Mulcahy, an attorney whose practice is centered on representing community associations, explained the impact of the ruling to attendees at a recent HOA summit held by the city of Chandler.

The workshop draws residents who serve on HOA boards as well as many who do not. Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny, alongside Chandler City Council members and Police Chief Sean Duggan, were on hand and addressed the crowd.

The typical complaint HOAs deal with is the neighbor who allows weeds to proliferate in the front yard. “In the past, what associations would do is first reach out to the owner. If that didn’t work they would levy fines,” Mulcahy said.

That has changed in recent months.

“It’s become more and more difficult for associations to levy fines for violations. This case almost puts it on the brink of making it impossible.”  Read more:

Candidate signs sprouting up from the lawns prove the political season is well underway in Knox County.

The HOA at the Sterchi Hills neighborhood admitted they were wrong when they told homeowners to take down political signs. A new state law protects your right to post those signs.

“Up to about two weeks ago, we were not aware of the apparent new law that allows political signs to be on private property,” said HOA President Larry Petrosino.

He said several weeks ago, the HOA sent violation letters to people with political signs on their property.

“Whoever we saw at the time with signs on their lawns were sent violation notices,” Petrosino said.

Soon after, the HOA found out they have no policing power when it comes to those signs.  Read more: