Update on HOA's Lawsuit Against Gus Philpott

Last Thursday (May 28) I received a Motion for Contempt from the lawyers for the HOA. It was a surprise, because I know with certainty that I have not violated the Order of the Court.

On March 11th Judge Coble, of the Richland County Court of Common Pleas, Fifth Judicial Circuit, granted three requests of the HOA.

Judge Coble enjoined me (Gus Philpott) from:

1. Communicating with the Board regarding the affairs of the Association, in which the Plaintiff [sic] 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.

That's it. Period. Simple. Easily understood. Easily followed.

Read #1 carefully. Spot the error? If you don't know who the Plaintiff is, it's the HOA. The error appeared in the original court filing on December 28th and just got copied forward by the lawyers.

Judge Coble did not grant three other restrictions that were requested by the HOA. They were:
  • Communicating with residents of The Summit, including any of the neighborhoods, regarding the affairs of the Association;
  • Communicating with the South Carolina Attorney General or other law enforcement agencies regarding the affairs of the Association; 
  • 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.
A Plaintiff's Memorandum in Support was included. I filed my Response this morning, blasting the Memorandum to smithereens. Two Exhibits contained 18 posts from my blog.

One of them I suspect the lawyers didn't even read: "A Typo a Day Keeps the Doctor Away". That one is about a typo in the electronic visitor register in Turner Padget's building lobby. I was there this morning. That typo ("Padgent") still hasn't been corrected!

At the time I thought about letting them know, but then I thought, "Why be Mr. Nice Guy?" They had referred to me as a "mere resident" in a filing with the Court. Ouch! That hurt! 

Now for the frosting on the cake.

In the Motion for Contempt, the HOA asks the judge to make me pay for the lawyers' costs and fees to obtain the Court's Order (for Contempt) and "such other relief as the Court deems just and proper".

Danny Trapp is the HOA's contact with the lawyers. Did he come up with the idea of a contempt charge, or did the lawyers suggest it? 

The expense is the HOA's expense, except that it shouldn't be, because the whole lawsuit is prohibited under the CC&Rs (Art. XIII, Section 10 Litigation).

Seventy-five percent (75%) of the homeowners in 28 Neighborhoods never approved the lawsuit. The Voting Members never approved it. The Board of Directors didn't approve the lawsuit. The Board of Directors didn't authorize Danny to tell the lawyers to file.

Maybe the HOA or some Members (homeowners) should sue Danny Trapp?

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