Description: Join the HOA Center, your neighbors and CONO in discussing specific topics and sharing conversation to inspire action in your communities! Special activities and agenda to come!
Description: Join the HOA Center and the Colorado Judicial Branch in Pueblo County in Celebrating Legal Resource Day. There will be a variety of community organizations, Ask-An- Attorney sessions, as well as educational classes on topics regarding domestic relations, landlord tenant, HOA's and estate planning.
Description: Join the HOA Information and Resource Center along with other HOA board members in a round table discussion on how to tackle the issues facing your HOA through an exchange of ideas, tips and information.
Date: 11/6/19 @ 10 a.m.
Topic: HOA Forum: Ask A Specialist on Special Districts
Description: For this forum attorneys Heather Hartung and Trisha Harris of White Bear Ankele Tanaka & Waldron will be explaining Special Districts and how they interact with HOA's.
Description: This class will provide you with an overview of what an HOA is and how one is formed or terminated, the documents and statutes that govern HOAs and how they should be used/ implemented, who the players are in an HOA community, as well as what their roles are and what rights and responsibilities they have.
Description: Join the HOA Information and Resource Center along with other HOA board members in a round table discussion on how to tackle the issues facing your HOA through an exchange of ideas, tips and information.
Description: Join the HOA Information and Resource Center along with other HOA board members in a round table discussion on how to tackle the issues facing your HOA through an exchange of ideas, tips and information.
Description: This class will provide you with an overview of what an HOA is and how one is formed or terminated, the documents and statutes that govern HOAs and how they should be used/ implemented, who the players are in an HOA community, as well as what their roles are and what rights and responsibilities they have.
Description: Join the HOA Information and Resource Center along with other HOA board members in a round table discussion on how to tackle the issues facing your HOA through an exchange of ideas, tips and information.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) refers to any method that resolves disputes without litigation. The two most often used forms of ADR are arbitration and mediation, however, there are some additional types of ADR such as neutral evaluation, negotiation, and conciliation.
Neutral or Expert Evaluation
These processes are sometimes referred to as early neutral evaluation, because of the stage in a dispute in which they are commonly utilized, but they do not have to be used early and could be adopted at any stage, or even be determinative of the dispute.
For early neutral evaluation, the parties appoint a mutually acceptable neutral third person to evaluate their dispute, and usually, that neutral produces an opinion on its likely, or possible, outcome. The neutral's precise instructions, and the consequent nature of his report, will depend on his instructions as drafted by the parties (and their advisers). They may request an evaluation of their positions as a matter of law, and of liability, or of the likely outcome of a trial or arbitration (not necessarily the same thing as their legal positions), the possible reaction of a jury or other tribunal to their evidence, or a recommended best course of action to resolve or progress matters.
Negotiation
Negotiation is almost always attempted first to resolve a dispute. It is the preeminent mode of dispute resolution. Negotiation allows the parties to meet in order to settle a dispute. The main advantage of this form of dispute settlement is that it allows the parties themselves to control the process and the solution.
Conciliation
Conciliation is very similar to mediation in its procedures and first stages, and in the lateral thinking about possible solutions which a conciliator tries to engender. This process differs from mediation in that the neutral (the conciliator) may express an opinion on the merits of the dispute and will recommend a resolution of the dispute if the parties cannot be persuaded to create their own.
Conciliation is often preferred to mediation when the parties need or want the benefit of the mediator's intervention and assistance in the particular confidential form provided. But also when there is a need to be able to define in advance the duration of the process, providing a point at which it may be possible to say that the process has been tried in good faith, and has been completed whether with or without a settlement. Because of this, many contractual ADR provisions which stipulate ADR as a precursor to arbitration or litigation will specify conciliation rather than mediation.
Neutral or expert determination
This process is similar to neutral or expert evaluation and is conducted in a similar manner, except that the neutral or expert will be asked not to opine on what the outcome of a dispute might be in any given context, but rather state what it should be.
It is important to note that the decision of the neutral or expert will not be binding unless the parties agree so beforehand. The agreement to seek neutral or expert determination of a dispute should seek to ensure that the parties will be bound, or if absolutely necessary should specify a time limit and method for challenging the determination by court proceedings.
Arbitration
Arbitration is a simplified version of a trial involving limited discovery and simplified rules of evidence. It is important to note that the decision of arbitration will not be binding unless the parties agree so beforehand.
Mediation
Mediation is the most well known and most frequently used form of ADR. Mediation is a form of neutrally assisted (or facilitated) negotiation. It is a process in which the parties to the dispute select a mutually acceptable independent third party, the mediator, who will assist them in arriving at an acceptable solution to their conflict or dispute. In a typical mediation, the mediator will discuss the problem with the parties, both together in an open forum, and separately in private sessions.
In summary, ADR is a set of dispute resolution processes for finding a solution of the parties' own devising. It is an alternative to litigation and therefore, no award or judgment handed down, and no statement of what is the 'right' or 'just' answer. Instead, the parties themselves choose the form of their preferred resolution process, appoint a neutral intermediary or facilitator to assist them, and then negotiate an appropriate solution which they both find acceptable.
Even in the most harmonious of associations, problems can arise, either between neighbors, between residents and board, or resident-versus-management. Association disputes can morph into costly legal battles.
One of the top conflicts requiring ADR are neighbor-versus-neighbor disputes, which then morph into neighbor-versus-board arguments. For example, an upstairs unit owner may be making too much noise and the downstairs neighbor contacts the board, who then has to enforce the house rules and proprietary lease items involving noise- thus the noise problem becomes a problem with the upstairs neighbor and the board.
So when should owners and board members engage in ADR?
Ideally ADR should be considered as soon as it appears as though the parties will not be able to resolve disputes among themselves through direct negotiations. However, ADR can be suggested or brought in at any time after a dispute has arisen. In fact, mediation can be brought in even after a demand for arbitration has been filed, or even after litigation has been commenced.
Note that if a party unreasonably refuses ADR, the court can take this refusal into consideration when awarding attorney fees to the prevailing party. This is significant, because the prevailing party in an action to enforce the CC&Rs is entitled to recover their reasonable attorney fees and costs. However, if the prevailing party refused to utilize the ADR process, the Court can limit or altogether refuse to award the prevailing party fees.
For an owner or board considering ADR, the first step will be to look at the associations governing documents for the policy on ADR. These policies can provide guidelines when ADR must be sought and who has the responsibility of paying for it.
For more information on conflict resolution and the benefits of ADR take a look Here.
