Gus: "Good Outcome at Court"

As many readers may already know, The Summit's HOA filed a lawsuit against me (Gus Philpott) on December 30, 2024.

Four months earlier the HOA had its new lawyer send me a Cease and Desist Letter. When I contacted the lawyer to inquire what, exactly, were the accusations, he responded that he did not have to communicate with me because I am not a Member of the Association. You can guess what I thought of that response. 

Later the HOA complained in a legal proceeding that I had ignored the Cease and Desist Letter. Obviously, that was untrue, since I had asked the lawyer twice for details.

Now, what's the "good" outcome?

The HOA also sought a Temporary Restraining Order against me. The HOA wanted the Court to prohibit me from the following six actions:

a. Communications with the Board regarding the affairs of the Association, in which Plaintiff has no standing to intervene;
b. Communicating with residents of The Summit, including any of the neighborhoods, regarding the affairs of the Association;
c. Communicating with the South Carolina Attorney General or other law enforcement agencies regarding the affairs of the Association;
d. Posting on social media sites, including but not limited to NextDoor, Facebook, X, or any other social networking sites, regarding the affairs of the Association;
e. Attending any meetings of the Members or the Board of the Association; and
f. Communication with employees or agents of the Association.

There was a Hearing on February 11th. Two lawyers from the HOA's new law firm were present. Danny Trapp, President of the HOA, was not present. I was there, of course, representing myself (pro se).

At the Hearing one of the HOA's lawyers spoke, and I defended myself. I wanted to call Danny Trapp and question him, but he was not there. Because he was not, I made a Motion for the entire case to be dismissed.

I'll omit here some interesting details. Watch for them in a future article.

The judge did not grant b, c, d.

Here is what the judge decided. The Court has granted a Preliminary Injunction against me, enjoining me from 

1. Communicating with the Board regarding the affairs of the Association, in which Plaintiff has no standing to intervene;
2. Attending any meetings of the Members or the Board of the Association; and
3. Communicating with employees or agents of the Association.

So now I am prohibited from communicating with the Board of Directors. That's no loss for me, since they don't want to hear from me.

I am prohibited from attending meetings. That's no loss to me, either. I'll be told what happens at meetings, and I already know that the Minutes do not reflect everything the Board does.

I am prohibited from communicating with employees or agents of the Association. That's no loss to me, because the Association doesn't have any employees. I'm pretty sure the women in the office have been told not to talk to me.

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