Christine F. Li and Robert J. Flanagan III, Co-Chairs of the Community Association Practice Group, will be on the faculty for a live webinar on “Fundamentals of Community Association Law,” to be presented on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 from 9:00am – 1:00pm by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (NJICLE) in cooperation with the NJSBA Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section and the New Jersey Chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAI-NJ).
Ms. Li is the organizer of this popular program. She will introduce and moderate a half-day panel discussion related to the representation of community associations. The program will build on the fundamentals of the practice, with a discussion of current issues and problems to be confronted when counselling associations. The program will offer legal resources to associations and boards and their legal counsel and will also focus on the collaborative effort of other professionals, such as managing agents, accountants, and engineers.
Mr. Flanagan will deliver a presentation on the topic of Delinquent Owners and Collections. The pandemic has left associations with limited recourse against delinquent owners. The increase of unemployment filings and the impact the pandemic has had on the courts have forced associations to consider how best to fulfil their obligation to pursue owners for payment of assessments and to fund association operations. The session will evaluate the options of associations, such as filing liens, and obtaining and executing on judgments, as well as the unique obstacles created by mortgage foreclosures, the abandonment of homes, and the bankruptcy filings of owners.
Other topics to be addressed include:
- Communities and Their Associations – This session will provide an understanding of the documents that form and govern community associations along with the statutes and regulations that dictate the requirements of these documents and how they are to be interpreted. Communities must comply with laws such as the N.J. Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act, the Non-Profit Corporation Act, the Condominium Act, Fair Housing and others, and case law which has interpreted those statutes. The recently adopted “Radburn regulations” pose unique challenges to association governance, elections, and the amendment of documents.
- Transition – This session will examine the law requiring the sponsor to gradually surrender seats on the governing board as homes are closed, with those seats being filled by elected homeowners, who then manage the community. With this turnover comes the investigation of the homes and common facilities constructed by the developer, and association management, to discover the claims, both structural and financial, which the association may have against the sponsor. Understand the process, the involvement of other professionals, and case law in counselling associations in the conduct of transition litigation.
- Governance and Operations – This session will examine the duties and powers of a board and how a board is to discharge its obligations as required by the association’s governing documents. The management of any association takes an understanding of the governing documents, the adoption and implementation of rules and regulations, enforcement to deal with violations, insurance coverage, the interests of tenants versus owners, and partnering with other professionals to provide services to an association.
- Current Issues and Legislative Updates – This session will deliver an update of issues currently impacting associations, as well as pending and recent legislation relating to same. Discussion will include the concerns raised by COVID-19, such as immunity legislation, housing assistance bills, precautions in the usage of common facilities in communities, as well as electric car charging stations, and matters under consideration by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs that impact common interest communities.
Ms. Li is a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Department and Chair of the Planned Real Estate Practice Group. She focuses her practice in real estate, with a concentration in planned real estate development law and condominium law.
Mr. Flanagan is a partner in the firm’s Litigation Department, where his work encompasses all aspects of both state and federal civil and criminal litigation pre-trial, trial, and appellate practice. He serves as general counsel to a number of condominium and homeowners associations.
Additional program details and registration can be found on NJICLE's website.