Association Member’s Attorney Properly Excluded from Board of Directors Meeting

California Appellate Court decision (May 22, 2013).

A California Fourth Appellate District Court ruled that a homeowners association properly excluded a member’s attorney from a meeting of the association’s board of directors. After the association’s board of directors refused to allow a member’s attorney to attend a meeting of the association’s board of directors, the member, a limited liability company that held title to the separate interest property, the member filed suit against the association seeking an injunction compelling the association to allow the attorney to attend the board meetings on behalf of the member. The court relied upon the facts that the attorney was neither a member or a manager of the limited liability company that owned the member’s unit. Thus, he was not authorized to manage the business and affairs of the limited liability company. Furthermore, the association’s governing documents and applicable statutory law prohibited the owner from transferring any rights associated with membership in the association to the attorney (with the exception of voting by proxy rights).

The court further found that the association’s board of directors had the authority to determine how to conduct its meetings and, thus, the power to prevent a nonmember such as the plaintiff’s attorney from attending and participating in board meetings on behalf of the member.

See case decision: SB_Liberty_LLC_v_Isla_Verde_Association_(2013)_-_California_Case