Over the last 5 years, your HOA and our insurance company have defended a former board member against what we believed were spurious allegations regarding our 2016/17 renovation. Our failure to defend him would have undermined our ability to seek and get good volunteer board members to serve our community. We would do it again if necessary. On 23 August, a judge ruled that we were right all along, that the case had no merit. While there will likely be an appeal, we believe that the end of this journey is at hand.
What has been most disappointing to your board, was our learning from the pleadings that some of our fellow owners were instrumental in supporting this meritless lawsuit. This was in contrast to the beliefs of the vast majority of owners. Meanwhile, we believe that the work in 2016/2017 has helped our unit values more than double over the last 5 years.
You might ask what this adventure cost?
A – The former board member along with several current members spent 100’s of hours preparing for the case.
B – Between the insurance carrier and the HOA, more than $ 750,000 have been spent on legal fees defending against this meritless lawsuit.
C – The cost of our D & O coverage went up significantly for less coverage.
All construction projects have pitfalls and challenges. There is no doubt that some owners wanted to spend more, and some wanted to spend less on the renovation. These issues were discussed, vetted, explored, investigated, and voted on by your board members. The board hired multiple experts to advise them and had the input of the professionals from Vail. As problems arose in the renovation they were openly disclosed, discussed, and the board decided how to proceed. By all measures, the renovation was a great success and the owners and board members who volunteered their time in that effort deserve our profound gratitude.
For a disgruntled owners to bring this lawsuit against one prior board member is simply unfathomable. All owners now carry the financial burden, funds were used that would have been better spent on amenities for our great hotel.
Our next step is to pursue reimbursement for our fees and costs from the plaintiff. Stay tuned.