UNIT OWNER RIGHTS OF PARTICIPATION DURING ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
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Unit Owner Rights of Participation During Association Meetings
A frequent complaint that has been made to me over my years of legal practice as a community association attorney comes from unit owners who complain that Board Members do not let them participate at the association meetings, and otherwise treat Board Meetings as one-way dialogues that are not to be interrupted. This error on the part of Board Members should be avoided as unit owners have rights established by statute to participate at association meetings. This right of participation however does not extend to non-unit owners holding the proxy of a unit owner, but may extend to a person holding a power-of-attorney from the unit owner as well as a person holding a power of attorney for a corporate owner. Most recently, I received a complaint that a property management company actually cancelled a Board Meeting because the Board President refused to allow a unit owner to video tape the meeting. Unit owners have rights that should be respected, and such act by the Board President and the property manager are actionable. Florida Statute §718.112 establishes several provisions that are automatically provided in the Bylaws of the condominium association documents, with any conflict being resolved in favor of the statutory provision. Section 718.112(2)(c) states that unit owners may tape record or video tape meetings, and have the right to speak at such meetings with reference to all designated agenda items. The Board of Directors of the condominium, through their rule making authority, may establish reasonable rules governing the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner statements. It is recommended that condominium Boards modify their existing rules so that the unit owner rights are protected, while also establishing clear procedures and limitations with the right to participate so as to not affect the effective flow of a meeting. If such rules are adopted, they probably should: 1) Not limit the total number of unit owners authorized to speak 2) Limit a unit owner’s maximum time to three minutes or more per agenda item 3) Establish where video tape and audio tape equipment may be situated so as to not to affect the view of other unit owners, while still protecting the right to obtain the recordings. A question naturally arises if a unit owner brings their legal counsel for the purpose of addressing one or more issues to be raised at the association meeting. Should the Board allow the attorney to address the Board and the other unit owners with their concerns? It is my opinion that based on the attorney/client relationship established between the unit owner and their attorney, that indeed a power of attorney has been granted by the unit owner to the attorney and therefore the attorney should be allowed to address the Board on behalf of the unit owner, as any other unit owner, with all corresponding limitations that are placed on unit owner participation. The Board should be aware that if the attorney is asking a question that requires a “legal response” or the interpretation of documents, that the Board should be careful with such response and possibly respond to such questions by stating that the Association’s attorney will provide an appropriate response to the question in writing. Mr. Andrew Cuevas, Esq., is the President of Cuevas, Ortiz & Cubas, P.A., and oversees its Community Association Division of the firm. If you have any questions regarding this article or any other questions, you can contact Mr. Cuevas at (305) 461-9500 or at acuevas@cuevaslaw.com. If you are interested in reading previous newsletters issued by the firm, please visit www.cuevaslaw.com, select the icon for News Room, then choose Newsletter, and thereafter select the category of Community Association News. The Law Office of Cuevas, Ortiz & Cubas, P.A. is providing this newsletter as a brief summary of certain aspects of community association law. The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The publication of this news letter does not create any attorney-client relationship between the reader and Cuevas, Ortiz & Cubas, P.A.. The hiring of an attorney is a decision that should not be based solely on advertisements or this newsletter. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.
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