LITIGATION COSTS REPORT

Our CC&Rs prioritize dispute resolution through good faith negotiation (CCR 10.4). Regrettably, the Meister/Ackerley board almost always chooses litigation over negotiation and settlement. In addition, they use attorneys for things that could and should be handled (for free) by board members working in-person with homeowners, as prescribed by our CC&Rs. Their approach leads to substantial, unnecessary, and avoidable litigation-related costs for homeowners. Note: These costs include Ogden charges, as well as court and filing fees.

All costs presented are derived from board-approved association records.

FIVE (!) CASES UNDER THE MEISTER/ACKERLEY BOARD

1.) Upon being elected, the Meister/Ackerley board crafted and implemented a community-wide septic policy. They did this outside of an open board meeting and in violation of our CC&Rs. They debited a homeowner $1,750. The homeowner disputed the charge and associated late fees. The Meister/Ackerley board would not settle, thereby forcing litigation. The board lost both claims because they violated three Arizona Statutes as well as our CC&Rs. TFE also paid $1,000 in court costs to homeowner and Ogden removed the inappropriate $1,750 debit from the homeowner ledger. Cost to the HOA: ($18,200).

2.) Based on the same undisclosed and improper community septic policy, and on the same date, the Meister/Ackerley board also took $250 from a different member account to double-pay an already-paid-bill. Homeowners (both of them, independently) reached out nearly twenty times to understand why $250 was taken from their account. The board ignored them. Homeowners filed in Small Claims court. Enticed by the potential for a massive windfall lawsuit (based on false information), the board accused the homeowners of embezzling $250 and raised case to Judicial Court. Case never made it to trial. Homeowners discovered and proved HOA’s accounting mistake. Homeowners recovered their $250. To save the HOA further litigation expense, Homeowners asked board to agree to mutual dismissal. The board refused. Homeowners asked for and obtained dismissal of their case from the Judge. Without homeowners asking for it, the judge spontaneously (and of his own accord) tossed all three Meister/Ackerley board claims. With the appeal deadline expired, litigation ended June 2, 2022. Afterward, Meister described their attorney’s work as “botched” and “screwed up.” Desperate, the Meister/Ackerley board filed a “motion to reconsider” — 3 months after the appeal deadline! Since deadlines matter, the Judge denied their motion and the board again FAILED TO PREVAIL. Cost to the HOA: ~$9,000. A dozen homeowners filed complaint about HOA attorney Daniel Francom with the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona. Francom claimed he returned funds to TFE — amount undisclosed. Case history: click here.

3.) The Meister/Ackerley board failed to provide association records to a member within 10 business days, as required by law (ARS 33-1805). Member was then given some of the records and member offered to settle to avoid $500 fee to TFE and further litigation costs. CASE SETTLED. Cost to the HOA: NOT SPECIFIED BY BOARD.

4.) The Meister/Ackerley board claimed an Arizona law grants an attorney exception to the existing right-to-record laws (e.g., ARS 33-1804 and 13-3005). The board told homeowners that are recording the meeting to “STOP” because “it is against the law to do that in Arizona.” Despite several requests, neither the board nor their attorney citeed the Arizona Statute to support their claim. Litigation ongoing. Cost to the HOA: TBD. est ~$10,000 ($4,566 as of June 30, 2023, and it has not even gone to trial yet.)

5.) The Meister/Ackerley board made misrepresentations that were damaging to the reputations of two homeowners and which subjected them to community ire. To avoid litigation, those homeowners appealed twice to the Meister/Ackerley board during open board meetings. The board ignored them — both times. To avoid litigation, the homeowners then issued a settlement notice, requesting a mutually-agreed-upon statement of facts be published. The board let the deadline pass, so, yet again, the board forced litigation. Left with no other choice, homeowners filed in Superior Court, alleging defamation and false light invasion of privacy. Note, the suit is against both TFE and Kurt Meister, personally — two separate defendants. The board switched attorneys two more times, and each time the homeowners expressed their interest to settle to avoid further litigation costs for TFE. The homeowners still are interested in settling to avoid litigation costs for TFE. Litigation ongoing. Cost to the HOA: TBD, but could be on the order of $100,000 plus punitive or compensatory damages. Actual values not released by board at June 2023 meeting. Case history, click here.