HOA's Lawyer Raises Counterclaim Questiion

In a last-minute filing before tomorrow's court date in the HOA's lawsuit against resident Gus Philpott, the HOA's lawyer filed (in documents recorded on October 30, 2025 5:02PM) that "Defendant has asserted no counterclaim..."

That is true.

No counterclaim has been filed - YET.

A counterclaim may cost me $150.00 to file.

It will cost the HOA thousands of dollars. The HOA will have to defend against it. Otherwise, I'll win by default. So far, I've held off on filing a counterclaim, because of the cost to you.

You, the Members (the homeowners), pay for the actions (errors) of the Board of Directors. If the directors had to pay personally and not use the HOA's piggybank, I would have filed a counterclaim months ago.

Just as the HOA has tried to bury me in Motions, I'll return the favor. For the HOA, it wouldn't be a matter of a person spending his week-end typing and formatting his responses and arguments for submission to the Court.

For the HOA it will require one or more attorneys (at $300-500/hour) to spend hours crafting a proper legal response with every "i" dotted and every "t" crossed. Full of legalese and jargon to please the court. 

I have not overlooked the opportunity to consider and file a counterclaim. 

The case against me was filed illegally. Danny Trapp caused it to be filed in the name of the Association but without the approval of the Board of Directors. 

I've asked the Richland County Sheriff's Department and the South Carolina Attorney General to investigate this. Is it illegal to file a lawsuit in the name of a corporation without the approval of the corporation's Board of Directors?

RCSD blinked and won't do so until the civil case against me is concluded. RCSD told me that the Richland County Solicitor won't get involved. That could change, when the decision is rendered after tomorrow's Hearing. 

Members should hope that, later this month, Voting Members will elect only directors who will comply with the CC&Rs and the By-Laws. 

If Voting Members do so, then I believe the new Board will settle with me and the lawsuit will be dismissed, thus avoiding a counterclaim.

What can you do? Contact your Voting Member and ask him/her to vote responsibly on November 18. Ask him/her to elect directors who are 

  • of the highest caliber, 
  • selected for interpersonal skills,
  • dedicat(ed) to the betterment of our Association and community, and 
  • free of any personal agenda.

(Source: HOA Mission Statement, Nominating Committee)

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