Honor a Fallen Warrior

[Keyga8tor]

KVOA Tucson

February 10, 2005 Peter Busch Reports Homeowners association deems Stars and Stripes an eyesore

Every day, rain or shine, the Stars and Stripes beam from Jim LaMont's back yard.

The retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel erected the flag pole outside his Tucson home in January of 2004, in honor of his youngest son, Andrew, who died in a helicopter crash during the first month of the war in Iraq.

Andrew was 31.

"It is a way of showing the appreciation for our son," says LaMont.

LaMont was so stirred upon hearing the news of his son's death, that he even offered to re-enlist.

"I tactfully found out that the Air Force had no vacancies for 79-year-old retired Lieutenant Colonels," says LaMont.

So LaMont made his stand, by raising the flag, but what he sees as a beacon of freedom, others in his neighborhood see as a 30-foot-high eyesore.

"It says my flag pole has been installed without approval," LaMont says.

LaMont's homeowners' association recently sent him a card requesting the flagpole be removed, even though LaMont says, when he put it up, there were no HOA rules prohibiting it.

Inside the HOA meeting Thursday, the issue of LaMont's flagpole was to be raised, but Eyewitness News 4's interview requests were denied by board members and our cameras were asked to leave before the meeting started.

As for LaMont, he says he'll do what the board says, but until then, he'll keep saluting the flag, like he's always done.

[StarCMC]

bttt

[Keyga8tor]

To All,
Never fight a family that are members of the Bar, Attorneys that is! All LtCol LaMont's relatives, excepting me, are attorneys. Can you say Law Suit! I knew you could! Thanks, as always! Gator

[CitizenHelper]

You usually can't beat a HOA because they are so restrictive and have the legalise in writing, but with lawyers in the family you can make the prolonged court case, filings, motions etc. very expensive and wear them down emotionally and financially.

[TheRealDBear]

How was the news crew kept out of the meeting? Freedom of Information trumps all. The reporters should have forced their way in and dared the HOA to try to remove them, cameras rolling.

[ONETWOONE]

Hanging a soldier's uniformed in effigy with tacky political or anti-American messages is an eye sore; not the American flag.

[SandRat]

This just went to KVOA

RE:Homeowners association deems Stars and Stripes an eyesore.

You need to keep going after the HOA Board until you get an on camera interview. This man lost his son in the war is a veteran himself and they find the American Flag an eyesore and a nusance? Get with the VFW, the American Legion, the DAV get all their comments on air about this HOA use the power of the press and really press down on the HOA for being cold hearted Scrooges.

[Axenolith]

Drop hints to them insinuating that if they want to push the issue there might need to be an association wide ADA compliance audit, or threaten to sell at 50% below market, or that there might need to ba a "reminder" to all to make sure to disclose the ____ asbestos containing material (in our case, textured ceiling) in units, Storm water pollution prevention, etc...

When you start bringing up really expensive things, the board tends to shut the heck up.

[doug from upland]

Get us the board member names. It is time to shame them and light them up on the internet.

[dandelion]

God bless this good man, and God bless his son with the knowledge that his father will be defended - by us!

He died defending us; it's the least we could do for him...

[Yaco]

Sue each of the HOA board members individually for infringement of 1st amendment rights. Break them apart from the crowd and then eat them. Have each of the attorneys in your family file separate suits against each board member so they get an idea of what it's like to be under attack!!

[StarCMC]

Well duh - why didn't I think of that?? LOL!

[taxesareforever]

An attorney should take up the case and make it a First Amendment issue, rather than an HOA issue. The First Amendment should trump.

It should, but so much depends on what judge, not the Constitution.

[StarCMC]

Here's mine....

Regarding the story of the Vet who is flying a flag in honor of his fallen son and taking heat from his homeowners association:

Please don't drop this story. I want to know how it ends! This man deserves to honor his son who died fighting for our country - for us. What kind of moronic homeowners association would outlaw flying a US flag in the first place? And if they really had no rule BEFORE he put it up, can they come back and make him take it down? This is ludicrous! Thanks for bringing it to our attention ~ please don't drop it! Thank you!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Every day, rain or shine, the Stars and Stripes beam from Jim LaMont's back yard.

RIP Capt LaMont

[SandRat]

Took the KVOA website story to someone I know who sits on the National Board of the VFW. I won't tell you what he said but it wasn't printable. He said he has to be in Tucson tonight to meet with other VFW Post Commander's and in his words; "This WILL be a topic of discussion!!!"

[Focault's Pendulum]

It is time to shame them and light them up on the internet.

Absolutely.

[Focault's Pendulum]

Please ping me as to any developments. Situations like this, just plain piss me off!!!

I'm not sure I can help directly....but sometimes......???

[doug from upland]

What is the name of the association? Who is on the board? We are going to give them very bad publicity.

[doug from upland]

Just called KVOA. They don't have the association name. Let's get it. We will find out the board members and make them "uncomfortable."

[doug from upland]

REAL ESTATE LAW UPDATE


July 2004

MORE FUN WITH HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS (THE LEGISLATURE TRIES TO “FIX” THE “PROBLEM”)


By Nathan B. Hannah

---

At the risk of overdoing the topic of homeowners' associations (commonly referred to as "HOAs"), I feel compelled to come back to it this month because of the Arizona Legislature's attempts in its recently concluded session to "fix" the "problem" of HOAs. I put "problem" in quotes because whether or not there really is a problem is a rather subjective judgment, and whether or not the Legislature can, should, or did "fix" the problem definitely remains to be seen.


One area the Legislature tackled that probably did need some action to rein in the HOAs is the area of fines. Most HOAs are granted in their governing documents the power to assess fines for violations of their rules. If the fines are not paid, they can become a lien that under the previous law could be foreclosed in the same manner as a mortgage. This could, and occasionally has, led to disputes between HOAs and homeowners over such mundane things as parking on the street turning into lawsuits that could result in the forced sale of the home of the offender. Although I think such situations have been very rare and almost always avoidable, the Legislature in House Bill 2402 decided, probably correctly, that HOAs should never have the power to force a sale of a home for unpaid fines.

House Bill 2402 retained the power of HOAs to impose liens for unpaid fines, but added a new requirement that the association obtain a civil judgment against the homeowner before imposing the lien, and limits enforcement of the lien to payment upon a sale or other transfer of the property. In other words, the association first must file a lawsuit against the nonpaying homeowner and convince a judge that the fines were correctly charged, and only then will have the ability to collect the fines from a later sale of the property if payment is not made.

The new rule that the association must file a lawsuit to collect unpaid fines sounds good, but under the old law the association would have had to file a lawsuit to force a sale for unpaid fines anyway. What the new rule really does is prevent the association from placing a lien for unpaid fines without filing a lawsuit. With the new rule we could actually see more lawsuits for unpaid fines, since the association no longer has the option of placing a lien without filing a lawsuit and waiting until the property is sold to collect the unpaid fines.

House Bill 2402 leaves unchanged the ability of HOAs to enforce assessments. The distinction between fines and assessments is an important one. Assessments are the regular monthly fees or dues paid by all homeowners in the association, which are typically used for upkeep of common areas. They are generally necessary for the association to carry out its responsibilities for things like maintaining the landscaping, maintaining the community pool, and perhaps even paying the electric bill for the street lights.

Use of a lien without a lawsuit, which will now be available only for unpaid assessments, is actually an efficient method for the association to collect unpaid charges. If a lien is placed against the home of a nonpaying member but no lawsuit is filed, the lien just sits there until the nonpaying homeowner sells or refinances the property, at which time the association is able to collect the unpaid amounts.

Another new legislative requirement that probably doesn’t do any harm is the adoption of a statute that says HOAs cannot use the sign prohibitions contained in many governing documents to prohibit the placement of political campaign signs on lots within the subdivision. This follows the Legislature’s adoption last year of a law that says HOAs cannot enforce prohibitions against flags to prohibit displaying the American flag. I find it a little surprising that HOAs would attempt to enforce these prohibitions in such contexts. On the other hand, one thing I have learned in dealing with the enforcement of governing documents of HOAs is: never underestimate the desire of some people to argue with their neighbors.

The Legislature also decided to impose a blanket requirement that all HOAs file an annual financial audit. This seems like overkill to me. Most modern governing documents require periodic audits anyway. The Legislature’s action in this area also makes it appear that our lawmakers think that most associations have their own members collecting all the dues and paying all the bills. In reality those functions are usually carried out by management companies who are in the business of running the books of HOAs. Any association board of directors that is not requiring periodic audits of its management company is asking for trouble.

One proposed new requirement that was not adopted would have made HOAs subject to the Arizona “open meeting law.” This may sound good, but consider that (1) current law already requires HOAs to hold annual meetings that are open to all members, and (2) our city councils, school boards, and other such public bodies spend tremendous amounts of time trying to ensure compliance with (and defending themselves against accusations that they have violated) the “open meeting law”, so imagine what would happen if every homeowners’ association in Arizona had to go through the same thing.

As usual with the Legislature, some of the new requirements seem good, while some seem not so good. And while at least some additional complexity was avoided, some new complexity, apparently not all of it intentional, will result. We’ll just have to wait and see whether the added complexity turns out to be worth the cost.