Condo Media - February 2020 - 49

but presently the proposal is for a ninemember board to be composed of two
members of the house of representatives,
three unit owners appointed by the
governor (such owners cannot be
board members), two individuals who
are presently on a condo board to be
appointed by the governor, one condo
lawyer also appointed by the governor,
and one member of the New Hampshire
bar to be appointed by the President
of the N.H. Bar Association. At no time
could more than 3 members of the DRB
be involved professionally or financially
in the condo industry.
HOW WILL IT WORK?
An aggrieved unit owner will be able to
file a petition with the DRB along with
a $250 filing fee. Ten days in advance of
filing the petition, the petitioner must
provide 10 days' notice to the "opposite
party" which effectively means the condo
board. The DRB will then review the
petition to determine if it is frivolous.
If the petition has merit, a hearing will
be scheduled where the petitioner and
board will have the opportunity to
present its side. The DRB will then issue
a written decision with a finding of
facts. Parties will have 30 days to appeal
an adverse decision.

weed out frivolous claims, the NHLAC
believes that such claims will sneak
through the vetting process as the DRB
will only be reviewing information
presented by the unit owner. Under that
line of thinking, the NHLAC has sought
to provide boards with the ability to
respond to a petition before the DRB
makes a decision on whether a hearing
is granted. Hopefully the chance to file
a response will be included in the final
bill and that will allow condo boards
to avoid hearings on frivolous claims.
It should be noted that the NHLAC
was highly successful at convincing
the Commerce Committee to not pass
several other bills that would have been
horrific for N.H. associations.
WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?
My belief is that the $250 filing fee,
which is a multiple of a small claims
filing fee, will dissuade owners
from filing frivolous claims and that
associations will not be inundated with

petitions that must be defended.
When an owner objects to a fine or
other decision made by the board, my
best advice is to explain the decision to
the owner so that they understand
why the decision was made.
By being transparent and hearing out
an aggrieved owner, boards can hopefully
avoid having petitions filed with the DRB.
Additionally, invite aggrieved owners to
a board meeting so that both sides can
talk it out. Sometimes a face-to-face
conversation can be what's necessary to
get owners to back off taking legal action
to address perceived wrongs.
A little time spent with the owner
in the beginning can mean a whole
bunch of time saved trying to defend
yourself later.
n DEAN T. LENNON, ESQ. IS A
PARTNER WITH THE LAW FIRM MARCUS,
ERRICO, EMMER & BROOKS, P.C.

WHAT HAS THE CAI NHLAC
DONE ABOUT THIS?
The CAI NHLAC has fought this bill
throughout the legislative process,
appearing at multiple public hearings
and presenting testimony in opposition
to the legislation at such hearings. While
successful with such efforts in the past,
ultimately, if a committee wants to get a
bill passed, it can do so, and no amount
of lobbying can turn that ship around.
That has happened here.
In addition to trying to outright block
the bill, NHLAC sought amendments
to make the bill less harmful to condo
associations. The primary harm NHLAC
members see is that associations will
incur considerable legal expense in
having to defend themselves against
frivolous owner complaints over fines
and such. While the DRB is supposed to
February 2020 CONDOMEDIA

49
https://www.nsins.com/
Condo Media - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Condo Media - February 2020
