Did Gus Run Up the HOA's Legal Fees?

At the February 3rd Board Meeting, one homeowner offered his opinion that I had run up the HOA's legal fees during its case against me.

Last year another homeowner had told me that "my case" was costing the HOA a lot of money.

First of all, it wasn't "my" case. It was the HOA that sued me, not the other way around. And, technically, it wasn't even the HOA that had sued me. Danny Trapp had the case filed in the name of the HOA, even though

  • it was prohibited by the CC&Rs;
  • the Board had never approved it;
  • the Board never authorized Danny to file it;
  • the Voting Members were never asked to approve it; and
  • the Voting Members never did approve it.

The HOA paid the bills from the lawyers. And no one on the Board ever complained about those illegal disbursements. They were illegal disbursements, because the Board had never approved the litigation!

I suspect that Danny and the lawyers never expected me to defend myself to the extent that I did.

When a lawyer told me he'd charge me $30,-$50,000 to defend me all the way through, I knew I had to defend myself. And I did. It's called pro se.

I beat the HOA on "the big" half of its TRO request.

I beat the HOA when it accused me of violating the TRO.

I lost when I asked the Court to dismiss the lawsuit because it had been improperly filed.

I lost when I asked the Court to remove Danny from the case as President of the Board.

I lost when I asked the Court to remove the lawyers from the case. 

I lost when I asked the Court to remove the Association as Plaintiff*.

I didn't dislike the lawyers. I think we respected one another. They were trying to win a case that never should have been started.

Did I run up the HOA's legal bills?

I gave myself the best defense that I could. That involved Motions, Response, and court appearances. 

I could have saved the HOA a lot of money by "rolling over". I didn't. 

The Board should prepare a comprehensive report on the lawsuit and present it at a Board Meeting, as well as posting it on the website. How many hours of legal work were involved? What was the total cost to the HOA, including the August 2024 Cease & Desist Letter?

Will the HOA collect from Danny Trapp? He started it in the name of the HOA, but without the approval of the Board.


* The lawyer mis-stated my Motion as "removing the Plaintiff". I asked the Court to remove the Association "as Plaintiff", not to remove the Plaintiff.

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