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...
Disputes Between Homeowners and Contractors
CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNER AND CONTRACTOR DISPUTES OVERVIEW A dispute with a contractor can turn into a nightmare for a homeowner. In fact, most homeowners are familiar with the horror stories surrounding shoddy workmanship, project abandonment, and outright fraud...
Definitions of Common Words and Phrases Used in Civil Litigation in California
COMMON CIVIL LITIGATION TERMS AND PHRASES USED IN CALIFORNIA Throughout the litigation process, you’re bound to run into a variety of terms and phrases that you’ve never heard before, or that you may have heard, but don’t really understand. This article seeks to...
The ABC’s of Civil Litigation in California
THE ABC’S OF CIVIL LITIGATION IN CALIFORNIA OVERVIEW Often, when people hear the word “litigation,” they tend to picture a courtroom—with a judge, jury, lawyers, and witnesses all playing their parts. And there’s nothing wrong with that picture. Trials are, after all,...
Owner’s Guide to California HOA Laws
CALIFORNIA HOA LAWS: A GUIDE FOR PROPERTY OWNERS GOOD HOA v. BAD HOA A good HOA plays an important role in maintaining your property values and ensuring your quiet enjoyment of your property. A bad HOA can decrease the value of your home, force you to needlessly waste...
Accessing an Employee’s Private Social Media Accounts
ACCESSING AN EMPLOYEE’S PRIVATE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS IN CALIFORNIA OVERVIEW A lot of my corporate clients ask me whether they can monitor employees' private emails and social media accounts while the employee is using the employer's network, computer equipment, etc....
Disputes Involving Your Neighbor’s Trees in California
CALIFORNIA NEIGHBOR TREE DISPUTES: YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS OVERVIEW It might surprise you to know that trees are among the most frequent causes of disputes between neighbors. Tree-related neighbor disputes take many forms, including, most commonly, disputes related to:...
Can an HOA Prevent Members Who Have Not Received the COVID-19 Vaccine From Using the Association’s Amenities?
CAN CALIFORNIA HOAS BAR UNVACCINATED MEMBERS FROM AMENITIES? Here's a question a client of ours posed last week. Since I think it's bound to come up a lot more once the weather warms up and COVID-19 restrictions are eased, I thought it might be worth while to post my...
Should You Operate Your Business as a Corporation, LLC, or Sole Proprietorship?
CORPORATION VS. LLC VS. SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP IN CALIFORNIA OVERVIEW One of the most important decisions an entrepreneur will make is deciding how to structure the business. Should the company be operated as a sole-proprietorship or partnership? Or should the owner form...
AVOID Generic NDAs
WHY GENERIC NDAS CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR CALIFORNIA BUSINESSES OVERVIEW Nowadays, it seems like everyone has been asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement (“NDA”)—from employees and independent contractors, to people looking into buying a business. For example, your...
Should My Company Bother with Employee Severance Agreements?
SHOULD YOUR CALIFORNIA COMPANY USE EMPLOYEE SEVERANCE AGREEMENTS? OVERVIEW Most business owners know that California is, at least in theory, an at-will state. In other words, except in cases of discrimination (e.g., race, gender, religion, etc.) or retaliation (e.g.,...
Getting Your Attorneys’ Fees Back When You Sue Your HOA in California
CAN YOU RECOVER YOUR ATTORNEYS’ FEES IF YOU SUE YOUR HOA? OVERVIEW By far, the most common concern that homeowners have when considering whether to sue their HOAs is whether they'll get their attorneys' fees and costs back if they win. The answer is relatively...
Can a California HOA Member Sue Their HOA in Court?
IDR & ADR WITH YOUR CALIFORNIA HOA OVERVIEW Homeowners Associations (“HOAs”) are associations formed, most often as non-profit corporations, to own and manage common interest developments in California. The shareholders of an HOA (or “members,” as they’re more...
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