Focus Areas
The team of lawyers at Kaman & Cusimano are able to handle every aspect of your community association's legal needs. The following is a brief listing of common legal issues that we are involved with on a day-to-day basis.
COLLECTIONS IN 2008, WE COLLECTED MORE THAN
$2.7 MILLION IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION DELINQUENCIES FOR OUR CLIENTS. We
involve ourselves in every step of the collection process to better protect
associations against delinquent owners. We advise on all collection issues -
from establishing an aggressive collection policy, through the collection
letter and lien process, and finally through foreclosure or bankruptcy
proceedings. Our collections computer program allows us to monitor every
collections matter on an up-to-the-minute basis.
GOVERNING DOCUMENT AMENDMENTS Each of our attorneys is thoroughly versed in the language of governing documents. No two governing documents are the same. We work with boards to help them understand, interpret, and enforce their specific provisions. We work on amending document provisions that are antiquated, illegal, and/or those that no longer serve the needs or interests of the association. In numerous instances, we have entirely rewritten governing documents. Our office is uniquely capable of handling all aspects of the amendment process, from reviewing the documents and determining the need for amendments, to the preparation of ownership consent forms through the preparation of the final amendment document that is recorded with the county.
LITIGATION As stated in our Firm
Philosophy, we believe in "communication not litigation." However, there are
those times when negotiation and/or mediation fails and litigation is the
only available remedy. Our litigation practice ranges from covenant
enforcement to complete construction defect litigation.
ASSOCIATION OPERATIONS The association's operation practice encompasses the broadest spectrum of work the firm handles. The operations practice includes every aspect of running a community association from answering board member questions, drafting legal opinions, attending annual meetings, to drafting compliance demands for covenant enforcement. A brief sample of just a few of the topics recently handled by our attorneys include:
- Bank Loans
- Real Estate Tax Appeals
- Satellite Dish Contracts
- ADA/Fair Housing Disputes
- Insurance Policy Review
- Contract Review and/or Drafting of Contracts
- Developer Related Matters Including Transition
- Employee Handbooks and Personnel Matters
- Staff Performance Problems
- Determining of Responsibility for Repairs
- Compelling Insurance Carrier to Defend Association
- Elimination of Mechanic's Liens
ASSOCIATION MEETINGS Our attorneys are
well versed and experienced in the proper procedures involved with
association meetings. We stress community association spirit. We assist
our community association clients with the drafting of proxies, the issuing
of meeting notices and the establishment of a quorum. All of our attorneys
frequently attend meetings with our roles varying in degree from specialized
presentations on individual topics to moderating an entire meeting from
start to finish.
