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An
Opinion By Jan Bergemann
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
Published
June 18, 2010
An
attorney, not normally dealing with association law, had to rescue his
mother's home from foreclosure for a small amount of unpaid dues. After
dealing with one of Florida's biggest CAI (Community Associations
Institute) law firms, he said that in his opinion attorneys willing to
throw elderly people out of their homes for small amounts of unpaid dues
need to have a twisted mind.
To
be honest, I have had the same thought. I don't think it makes any sense
to allow anybody to kick a family out of their home because they didn't
pay a small amount of maintenance dues -- no matter what reason for
non-payment. How would you feel if the government could take your car for
an unpaid parking ticket?
That
leaves the question: DOES IT TAKE A TWISTED MIND TO FORECLOSE ON
FAMILIES FOR SMALL AMOUNTS OF UNPAID ASSOCIATION DUES?
Recent
newspaper articles may confirm that there is something to it!
Last
week two CAI attorneys, well known in their states as mouthpieces of the
CAI, made the headlines in their local newspapers.
In
Houston, Texas
attorney William Gammon was arrested for alleged possession of
child pornography and was ordered held without bond by a federal
magistrate. Gammon was deemed
a threat to society. Gammon was well known as the leading attorney
for foreclosures in the Houston area. The website HOA
DATA lists him as the NO.1 on the charts for foreclosure filings.
His "foreclosure stories" made headlines in the newspapers for
abusive tactics on elderly folks. And Gammon was always one of the CAI's
leading advocates opposing owner-friendly legislative reforms for
community associations.
In
Tempe, Arizona
attorney Augustus Shaw IV made headlines when he announced his
candidacy for state senate. Shaw’s
candidacy was endorsed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who the New
York Times honored with the title of "America's Worst Sheriff" because of a well-documented trail of inmate
abuses, unjustified arrests, racial profiling, brutal and inept policing
and wasteful spending. Shaw is
known for his courtroom antics and his abusive collection tactics. How
about a judge disallowing Shaw to collect attorney's fees, but Shaw is
trying it anyway by intimidating the homeowner? The judge didn't take too
kindly to this behavior and wrote in a minute entry that Shaw's actions were
an example of "abusive litigation practices run amok." By the
way, even the AZ BAR wasn't too happy about his lack of ethics. Shaw is
one of the most infamous CAI attorneys in Arizona, according to homeowners' advocates.
Above
are just media reports from last week, but these are the same kind of
attorneys who create headlines like:
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Almost
homeless over $100 in late fees
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Homeowner's
Fees Turn Into Foreclosure Nightmare -- $106
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Woman's
property foreclosed over $63.50 fee
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Carrollwood
Homes Group Sells House For Unpaid Fees - $ 390
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Dream
Home Lost Over $120 Bill
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HOA
Threatens Foreclosure Over $375 Fees
As
you can see, none of these examples deals with amounts over $500. I know,
folks will say the association boards hired the attorney to initiate the
foreclosure process. But it's like with drugs: The attorney can always say
NO!
Wouldn't
you agree that it takes quite a twisted mind to create such headlines as
shown above?
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