HOA needs Legal Advice

The HOA has a new law firm, as of the Motion made and approved at the May 7, 2024 Board of Directors monthly meeting. The new law firm is Turner Padget.

The Board sorely needs good legal advice. These are some of the questions that the Board should ask its lawyer at Turner Padget.

(1) How many legitimate Voting Members are there? (To me, "legitimate" means elected in compliance with the By-Laws.) Is there more than one (Tracy Manderino, Voting Member of Barony Place as of May 4, 2024)?

(2) Does written documentation exist from each Neighborhood, on file with the HOA office, that states when its most recent Neighborhood Meeting was held, whether a quorum was present, who was elected to its Neighborhood Committee, and whom that Neighborhood Committee elected as its chairman and Voting Member for the following year?

(3) Can illegitimate Voting Members elect directors and, if they cannot, is any current director legitimately in office?

(4) Is any officer of the HOA a legitimate officer? (Illegitimate directors cannot elect legitimate officers.)

(5) What risk is there to the homeowner who acts "as if" he is a Voting Member, Director, or Officer, when that person has assumed those duties without having been elected in compliance with the By-Laws? 

(6) Do usurpers, intruders or persons who unlawfully hold or exercise any office in a corporation, created by the authority of the State of South Carolina, risk personal liability for their actions?

(7) How can the HOA establish legitimate Voting Members, Directors, and Officers?

(8) Can the Annual Meeting of Voting Members be convened without a quorum of legitimate Voting Members?

(9) Should only one member of a Neighborhood Committee (Voting Member OR Alternate) attend the Annual Meeting of Voting Members?

(10) Can a homeowner who was elected as a Voting Member 25 years ago still be the Voting Member, if that Neighborhood never held another Neighborhood Meeting and never elected another Neighborhood Committee?

(11) Should the HOA consult with its D&O insurance carrier to learn whether illegitimate directors and officers are covered under the HOA's policy?

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