The Consequences of California’s Balcony Law
CALIFORNIA SB 326 BALCONY LAW: CONSEQUENCES FOR HOAS AND HOMEOWNERS OVERVIEW In the wake of several high-profile balcony collapses, California’s Balcony Law—with mandatory inspections set to start in less than one year—has become hot topic with real estate lawyers,...
A Few More Q’s & A’s Regarding California HOAs
CALIFORNIA HOA QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR HOMEOWNERS Q: Our HOA used to have a problem with board members who had served 10, 15, or even 20 years on the board. About 5 years ago, after a few of those legacy board members moved or died off, we finally gathered enough...
An Overview of the Corporate Transparency Act: Beneficial Ownership Requirements, Reporting Obligations, and Exemptions
CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY ACT: WHAT BUSINESS OWNERS NEED TO KNOW UPDATE—December 3, 2024 On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the CTA described in the article...
Mandatory Annual Disclosures that CA HOAs Must Make to Members
CALIFORNIA HOA MANDATORY ANNUAL DISCLOSURES TO MEMBERS OVERVIEW The Davis-Stirling Act, a set of laws that governs California's HOAs, requires HOAs to provide its members with a whole host of annual disclosures. These mandatory annual disclosures, which must generally...
New HOA Laws for California Homeowners for 2024
CALIFORNIA HOA NEW LAWS 2024: KEY STATUTORY CHANGES HOMEOWNERS MUST KNOW OVERVIEW Each year, the number of California homeowners living in common interest developments communities governed by homeowners associations (HOAs) continues to grow. Since all common interest...
The Top 10 Reasons You Should Read Your HOA’s CC&Rs
TOP 10 REASONS TO READ YOUR HOA’S CC&RS IN CALIFORNIA OVERVIEW When you purchase a home in a community governed by an HOA, you automatically agree to abide by the HOA’s covenants, conditions, and restrictions (the “CC&Rs”). The CC&Rs are a set of rules and...
Key Tips for Operating Your Member-Managed LLC in California
OPERATING A MEMBER-MANAGED LLC IN CALIFORNIA: KEY TIPS OVERVIEW Starting a limited liability company (“LLC”) in California is a popular choice for entrepreneurs who want the liability protection of a corporation combined with the tax efficiencies and operational...
The Top 20 Things to Remember Before Your Deposition
TOP 20 THINGS TO REMEMBER BEFORE YOUR DEPOSITION OVERVIEW Depositions play an indispensable role in civil litigation. Simply put, a deposition is the questioning of a witness under oath, in the presence of a court reporter, who is trained to take down every word of...
Score One for California’s Elder Abuse Statute
CALIFORNIA’S ELDER ABUSE STATUTE: RECENT VICTORY AND ENFORCEMENT INSIGHTS MBK CHAPMAN ATTORNEY VICTORIOUS IN PROTECTING A SENIOR CITIZEN'S RIGHTS UNDER CALIFORNIA'S ELDER ABUSE STATUTE On September 5, 2023, a Long Beach jury ordered Ken Allen Lamphear, a seasoned real...
Everything You Wanted to Know About Reserve Studies
CALIFORNIA HOA RESERVE STUDIES: WHAT HOMEOWNERS NEED TO KNOW OVERVIEW HOAs in California are largely governed by the Davis-Stirling Act, a series of statutes located in the Civil Code. In other words, all HOAs in California must abide by the Davis-Stirling Act, as...
Section 230: Free Speech, the Internet, and Terrorism
SECTION 230, FREE SPEECH, AND ONLINE LIABILITY OVERVIEW This week, the United States Supreme Court is set to hear two separate cases challenging the legal immunity that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (“CDA”) has provided to online platforms and...
The CCPA and CPRA: Will Consumers in California Enjoy Increased Privacy Protections?
CCPA AND CPRA: CALIFORNIA’S EVOLVING CONSUMER PRIVACY LAWS OVERVIEW In 2018, the State of California passed a sweeping consumer privacy protection law called the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). Then, in November of 2020, voters in California passed...
Why is my HOA Testing for Asbestos?
WHY YOUR CALIFORNIA HOA MAY BE TESTING FOR ASBESTOS OVERVIEW Most people have heard of asbestos, and most people have even seen the commercials for law firms looking for class action parties whose “loved ones suffer from mesothelioma.” At the same time, many people...
Top 5 Concerns that Homeowners Have About Their HOAs
TOP 5 CONCERNS CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNERS HAVE ABOUT THEIR HOAS OVERVIEW We recently ran a statistical analysis of over 5,000 separate fact patterns to determine the nature of the most common disputes involving HOA members and their HOAs. The following represents the top...
Your Roof is Damaged and You Live in an HOA. Now What?
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR ROOF IS DAMAGED AND YOU LIVE IN A CALIFORNIA HOA OVERVIEW As a homeowner, protecting your property is always a top priority. The roof is among the most important parts of your home—not only because of its size, but also because of the relative costs...
Misappropriation of HOA Funds
MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS BY CALIFORNIA HOAS OVERVIEW Managing an HOA’s finances is among the most important duties that HOA members (i.e., homeowners) entrust to their board of directors. Such management responsibilities include everything from collecting and...
Weaponizing the Concept of Phantom Income
WEAPONIZING PHANTOM INCOME IN CALIFORNIA OVERVIEW Given how important the issue of phantom income is to anyone who owns shares in a corporation (or a membership interest in an LLC), one would expect most business owners to at least be familiar with the concept....
Can California Homeowners Disband Their HOAs?
CAN CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNERS DISBAND THEIR HOAS? OVERVIEW Every so often we hear from homeowners who want to know whether it's possible to disband their homeowners association ("HOA").* Often such an inquiry arises because the homeowners are unhappy with how their HOA is...
Requirements for California Home Improvement Contracts
CALIFORNIA HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW The larger the residential construction project, the more anxiety homeowners feel—and not just because they have to live with the inherent noise and mess that go hand-in-hand with home improvement or...
The Basics About Buying a Franchise in California
BUYING A FRANCHISE IN CALIFORNIA: THE BASICS OVERVIEW While a lot of people are familiar with the words “franchise,” “franchisor,” and “franchisee,” more often than not, if you asked them to explain the difference between those three terms, they’d have trouble doing...
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