How Much Has Lawsuit Against Gus Cost?
How much has the lawsuit by the HOA against Gus Philpott cost - so far? And how much more will it cost the HOA, before it's over?
Danny Trapp caused the lawsuit to start. He was never authorized by the Board of Directors to do so. The Board of Directors never approved it. Furthermore, they couldn't approve it.
Danny Trapp had the lawsuit filed in the name of the Association, even though the Board never approved it. Was it filed illegally?
The Board should have been given an estimate of fees and costs in December 2024. The Board should have been asked to approve "up to $______" for lawsuit expenses.
The Board couldn't have approved the lawsuit, even if it had wanted to. The CC&Rs (Art. XIII, §10) prohibit it!!!
But what the heck! The HOA wasn't spending their own money. The Board was spending your money. Remember. It was that Board (the old Board of Danny Trapp and four directors who voted unquestioningly with him), not the "new" Board that was elected on November 18, 2025.
Legal work by the law firm should have been billed as performed, and paid for as billed. Perhaps it was. The HOA should have paid the invoices on time and in full. A large legal fee would have followed the original filing on December 28, 2024.
Lawyers always know exactly where they stand on client billings. Being at the year-end, there is no reason to think that Turner Padget didn't get invoices out for all work in December. It's hard to know what the "remittance terms" are. Is payment to be made in 15 days? 30 days? The Board should know.
A December 31, 2024 invoice from Turner Padget should have been paid in January. Was it? No. The HOA paid only $530.00 in legal fees in January 2025 (Line 6500).
How much did the HOA pay in legal fees (Line 6500) in February 2025? $305.00
There is no way that the massive legal work to file a lawsuit would have cost the HOA only $835.00 in two months. How much of the bill was not paid?
As of August 31, 2025 (the last Expense Report posted on the website by CAMS), Line 6500 was $16,224.44. The September 30, 2025 financials have not been posted.
As of the October 31, 2025 monthly Expense Report, prepared by Town & Country, shows total Legal Expenses (re-named as Line 5405) of $19,003.29. How much more is pending payment?
How much will future legal work on the lawsuit against Gus Philpott cost the HOA?
The HOA's lawyers twice delayed scheduling the trial in this case. Gus was ready both times. Now there is a "Trial Roster" of February 9, 2026.
Will the HOA end up spending $50,000 on this lawsuit that was started illegally by Danny Trapp?
What has the HOA gotten out of this?
- Gus cannot attend meetings.
- Gus cannot communicate with the Board members.
- Gus cannot communicate with the office.
Was that worth $30,000?
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