Corrupt Electoral Process Results in Lawsuit and $22K Settlement!

Homeowners allege the association improperly notified its members about the total number of open positions for the board of directors. The property manager then blamed it on Merit, the previous property management company (we assume it is because Merit did not provide a tickler file, e.g. like attorneys do for patent fee renewals),


At the election, the board of directors decided to partially ignore the proxies and count only the votes of those actually present. The “ignored” proxies where actually counted to obtain quorum, however.

At the election, an incumbent took a “10-minute break, to collect the additional necessary proxy votes needed to gain one of the open seats.

A personal injury and homeowner attorney gets a number of residents to file a “slam dunk” lawsuit against the association.

The Homeowners alleged these (above) actions were in violation of the Association’s bylaws and the Corporations Code; they attached that portion of the Association’s conditions, covenants and restrictions (CC&R’s) entitled “Voting Rights” (dealing primarily with one vote per homeowner). The Association demurred on the grounds that the Homeowners had not attached a certificate stating they had pursued alternative dispute resolution as required by Civil Code section 1354, subdivision (b).

The attorneys who litigate the case on behalf of the association are insurance company attorneys, the defendants perjure themselves, and the slam dunk case ends up costing residents $22,000.00! Insiders confide that the property management company would “burn the whole village” if so ordered by the board of directors. The same board that was “fired” by Merit Property for “certain irregularities”

Does this sound like a description of the current CZ Master Association electoral process? It could be, but this actually summarizes in part what happened in the Coto de Caza Fair Oaks district!



We do not make jokes, we simply watch the Coto de Caza Board of directors, the LA Trash and the Orange Crud Repository and report the facts