Litigation

It would be nice if we could all just get along. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. Community association disputes come in many forms. Sometimes, its a unit owner who won't obey the rules. Other times, it's a board who is overly aggressive in making or enforcing rules. Sometimes, its a neighboring property owner who wants to pollute, or to develop in an inappropriate manner. Sometimes its a developer or a contractor who cut corners to increase profits.

We have extensive litigation experience, inside and outside of the community association industry, that has prepared us to assist associations in whatever disputes may arise.Our community association representation has included the following:

Construction Defect Litigation

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, a major construction and development boom in Park City and Deer Valley Utah resulted in the development of dozens of community associations. Unfortunately, many of those projects were plagued with serious construction and design defects. Lincoln Hobbs was involved in many of the resulting lawsuits, representing several associations and dozens of unit owners in connection with these defects.

In 1996, the Utah Supreme Court decided a condominium defect suit in the case of American Towers Owners Association v. CCI Mech. In that case, the Utah Supreme Court significantly limited the rights of associations and individuals who suffer as the result of defective construction, by holding that the "economic loss rule" barred many claims related to negligence in construction and design. Lincoln challenged this ruling on behalf of individual homeowners who had suffered as the result of construction defects, in the case of Hermansen v. Tasulis, the Utah Supreme Court significantly limited the American Towers holding, by deciding that a claim in negligence does exist in those cases where "a duty exists independent of any contractual obligations of the parties."

Lincoln remains active in representing individual unit owners and community associations that have suffered as a result of construction defects; he remains an advocate for the reconsideration of several Utah Supreme Court opinions that he feels unduly restrict homeowners' rights to redress for construction defects.

Intra-association Litigation

Sometimes, disputes arise within an association. It may be the unit owner who cannot, or will not, comply with the association's reasonable rules, sometimes it's the unit owner (or owners) who challenge the board's authority, and sometimes, it's a board that improperly asserts its authority, or breaches its duties to the association.While these intra-association disputes are never pleasant, they must be addressed, and an association that faces them needs experienced counsel with experience in the industry. These disputes are not simple commercial disputes, rather they are disputes that involve peoples homes, their lives, and their communities. We can help your association, or you as an individual, if you face these problems, and we have the knowledge and experience to seek their resolution through litigation alternatives.