On Legal Fees..................

[Marcia Fields]

Hello All..................

Just so some of you who might care have a clear picture on my legal
fees issue over time.

In June 2004, I filed suit against the association for the following 6
claims: 1) Failure to Produce Financial Statements....2) Failure to
Produce Copies of Current Rules and Regulations......3) Failure to
Produce Copies of Board Minutes........4) Permitting the Dissolution
of the Association......5) Invalidity of Recent Board Election (in
2003) and Appointments and.......6) Request for Appointment of
Receiver.

Note: on #4, negligence by not sending into the State the proper
notice and a small fee resulted in our association being dissolved as
a non-profit corporation! After this discovery, the assoc. attorney
at that time warned the board of this dissolution. They neglected to
deal with issue for about 9 more months until a professional mgmt.
company was hired to oversee such requirements.

*****I prevailed on 5 of the 6 claims and Judge Robert Lowrey awarded
me fees of $12,960.16, NOT profit, keep in mind, but reimbursement for
money already spent.

On #6, I withdrew this request since board finally agreed to hire a
mgmt. company in August 2005.

*
* *

In November 2007, I filed suit against the association and the
directors as board members (and not for personal liability) for the
following complaints: !) Abuse of Owner's Voting Rights...........
2) Monetary Irregularities.........3) Inadequate Record
Keeping................
4) Arbitrary and Capricious Actions.

I did NOT ask for legal fees in this action; I was asking the court
for a "writ of mandamus" that would compel the board to perform their
responsibilities as required under the Colo. Nonprofit Corp. Act, the
Colo. Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA), the Covenants and Bylaws
and in accordance with the association's own policies. That was
IT......govern by LAW!!
No one would believe the expense I incurred even if I produced even
half of the invoices for all the time and work done by my attorney to
pursue the benefit and the best interest of our association and which
expense included work on a final settlement. The insurance company
paid me $5,000 to settle with the assoc. and I still believe that
settlement agreement is a fair and workable resolution to those
issues. $5K was a pittance, CHUMP CHANGE, folks, compared to what I
put out. My choice.....not complaining.....just telling it like it
was.

I am aware of the hissing and spitting that goes around claiming that
I file suit at the drop of a hat. FACT: it was 17 months of
information-gathering and careful deliberation from June 2006 when I
first contacted my current attorney on the above issues until I filed
suit on November 14, 2007. Yeh, some "drop of the hat".
I sent each owner a copy of the Complaint with cover letter. Have any
idea how much the printing of 9 pages plus postage to approximately
255 owners cost?? It generated some mild interest but no genuine
concern.
What about the multitude of letters, post cards, flyers around the
complex, etc. to alert and inform owners on disturbing issues over the
years? At whose expense were those printed and distributed??

In order to stop court ratification of the revised Declaration via the
association's petition, I felt it was important to have legal help so
my attorney filed an objection on my behalf. Also important were the
objections filed with the court by about a dozen fellow owners on the
procedural and content issues of concern to them.

I deserve the legal fees and costs Judge Miller awarded to me on April
4, 2012 as the prevailing party in this action, simple as that. It
totals $15,344.23. On this go-round I wanted financial reimbursement
for my efforts. A majority of assoc. members have chosen to remain
silent and safely uninvolved on the sidelines: I decided to become
active and have spent a small fortune over the years for the benefit
of an open and honest Lawful governing of this association which has
NOT YET been achieved with the financial misconduct of a director-at-
large in 2011 that recently came to light.

And thank you, Sharon, for your recent posting on the Home Page
Announcements section re the issue of my legal fees......."Proposed
Declaration......Finality?"

Marcia A. Fields