Condominium-Apartment Insider

MARCUS, ERRICO, EMMER & BROOKS, P.C.

Massachusetts - New Hampshire - Rhode Island

Representing Over 3,500 Condominium Associations...One Association at a Time

September 2011

Issue No. 28

CONDOMINIUM ACTS

RESOLUTION LIBRARY

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

UPCOMING EVENTS

NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

MEEB.COM

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CAI MA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

· OPEN TO CAI MEMBERS ONLY ·

Date/Time:

September 22, 2011 @ 05:00 PM

Location:

Ritz Carlton

10 Avery St.

Boston, MA 02111

Sponsored by the CAI Massachusetts Legal Action Committee. Members of the MA LAC include Matthew W. Gaines (Chair), Stephen M. Marcus, Thomas O. Moriarty, Douglas A. Troyer and William F. Thompson

Registration is Mandatory · Limited Seating

For more information and to register please contact:

Claudette Carini - CAI Chapter Executive Director -

781-237-9020 (x13)

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PROPERTY MANAGERS SAY: "DON'T SUE US, WE'RE JUST DOING OUR JOBS!"

All too frequently, property managers find themselves named as defendants in connection with lawsuits brought against the condominiums they represent. One case may concern a contract that the manager helped negotiate on behalf of the condominium. Another might involve a unit owner who has a dispute with the trustees and decides to sue the manager too.

With all the great work that property management professionals perform for their associations, it can be frustrating to be "rewarded" for the effort by receiving a summons and complaint. Fortunately, certain strategies can be employed to help shield property managers from liability and expense when they are sued.

TALE OF THE TURKISH TENANT

Looks can be deceiving. That was certainly the case for the manager of an ultra-luxury apartment building in downtown Boston, when an attractive, well-dressed, well-spoken young woman announced that she needed to rent an apartment immediately. The prospective tenant explained that she had recently arrived from Turkey and had secured a highly-paid position; a letter from her employer, confirmed the $8,000 per month salary she claimed. She was currently living in a high-end hotel, but wanted to be settled in an apartment before her new job began the following Monday.

"No problem," the manager (we'll call her Susan) replied. "We have an available apartment and it won't take long for me to perform a credit check."

Well, the credit check would be a problem, the young woman explained apologetically; because she had not been in the United Stated very long, she did not yet have a Social Security Number, which is required to pull a credit report. "Can we work this out?" she asked.

LOSS OF EASEMENT USE DEEMED PROPERTY DAMAGE UNDER INSURANCE POLICY

In an important insurance-related decision for condominiums and unit owners, the Massachusetts Appeals Court recently ruled that easements constitute "tangible property" and thus claims for damages based upon the loss of use of an easement will likely trigger an insurance company's duty to defend under the standard form condominium unit owner's homeowner's policy.

The underlying dispute in the case of Citation Insurance Company v. Newman involved two adjacent unit owners at a small condominium in Cambridge in 2007. The bone of contention was one unit owner's (Hanratty) through the wall air conditioner which projected into a yard area to which the other unit owner (Newman) held an exclusive easement pursuant to the condominium master deed. Newman continually complained to Hanratty about the air conditioner to no avail. Eventually Newman resorted to self-help by sealing the air conditioner with duct tape rendering it unusable. Hanratty filed suit against Newton seeking to restrain her from interfering with the air conditioner and requiring her to stay 10 yards away from him. Newman filed counterclaims alleging nuisance and trespass as a result of the air conditioner protruding into the exclusive easement. Newman also alleged the use of the air conditioner "creates a substantial and unreasonable interference with [the] use and enjoyment of her property."