Really need some legal help.

[Haloman1346]

I have lived in my condo for about 6 year now. It has one of them HoA's (Home Owners Association) which means I cannot do anything to the exterior of my house without permission and they are responsible for any outside maintenance and/or damages to the exterior of the house (example: Roof repair, termite damage, mowing, etc.) 6 years have gone by, and i haven't had any problems with the HoA.

2 weeks ago, my A.C. broke on a Friday night. I called a friend of mine to come out and fix the A.C., and he said he would come out the next day and take care of it. I told him I would be staying with my parents for the weekend and to use the key I left for him.

2 days go by (Sunday) and I head to my house after my friend told me the A.C. was fixed. Here is where it gets interesting.

I'm on the phone with my friend, and he also said that there was 2 guys outside my house, removing a tree. I asked him if he talked to them and all he said was "they drove up, cut the tree down, and left. They never said anything to me."

So I get home, and sure enough, there is a tree missing out of the front of my house. The tree used to be about 50-75 feet tall and the base was about 1 1/2 wide. The only thing left was a stump about a foot tall.

I didn't think anything of it. They trim my shrubs, mow my grass, repave the asphalt whenever it needs to be done. I thought maybe they removed the tree for some reason like it was dying or maybe it was pushing on my foundation, who knows... It's not like I liked the tree anyways, the bastard would drip all kinds of lovely's on my car on a daily basis. So I went on with my life, thinking they will come back out and grind a the stump with-in a week or so.

So today I go to the post-office and get a certified letter from the HoA's attorney stating that I am being liable for the tree and the debris that was left behind (Debris being the stump and saw dust) and are seeking payments and leans being put on my house and gonna fine me and blah blah blah....

Literally I was in my car, saying WTF because I had no idea WTFBBQ was going on. So I call up the place and they said they have a witness who saw me with some people who removed my tree. I tried to tell them that I have no idea about this tree and I was out of town when the said tree was removed. What proof do they have? Who the hell did they see removing the tree? How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?

So I'm here, asking if anybody knows anything about HoA's and what I need to do to try to get this settled.

1) I WAS NOT home when this tree was removed.
2) How can they prove that I was responsible for the tree being removed?
3) How can they already get a attorney involved without even speaking to me.


I just worried because I have to somehow prove something for something I HAVE NO IDEA anything about. /end rant

[Dave Coyle]

WOW!!!! I don't know any thing about them but can say this, whith A-HOLES like that, I would be looking for a new place to live!!!! Good luck.

[irocnroll]

Provide them with your Itenerary as proof?

[brandotron]

Time to lawyer up dude.

[Inferno2SS]

Unless you put in a maintenance claim or they have something with your signature on it approving the work I dont see how they can hold you liable. I would go talk with a lawyer, many of them have free consultations.

[irocnroll]

Originally Posted by Inferno2SS

Unless you put in a maintenance claim or they have something with your signature on it approving the work I dont see how they can hold you liable. I would go talk with a lawyer, many of them have free consultations.

Thats probably why you would be held responsible. So what you are saying, if I went behind the associations back and call Joe's Tree Removal service without the associations concent, I wont be held liable? Under this scenario I wouldnt have put in a maintenance claim.

I do agree that he shouldnt be charged for the damage, and if hes got his itinerary or proof he wasnt around during the time of the removal he should be able to work this out without a legal intervention.

[Padre]

File a police report. Some dudes poached your tree. Why? Who knows? Maybe there's a profit in it, maybe they were contracted to do someone else's tree.

But the police report you can send to the HOA's lawyer.

Originally Posted by irocnroll

I do agree that he shouldnt be charged for the damage, and if hes got his itinerary or proof he wasnt around during the time of the removal he should be able to work this out without a legal intervention.

True but, you can call Joe's to have them remove it while you're gone and pay them cash.


Padre

[irocnroll]

Agreed

[Ivas]

Check the HoA hoes' backyards for new stacks of firewood. Maybe they got overconfident and neglected to wipe their prints from the chainsaw.

[Haloman1346]

Originally Posted by Padre

True but, you can call Joe's to have them remove it while you're gone and pay them cash.
Padre

Thats what I'm worried about. They can just say I paid somebody under the table and I'm playing stupid.

All I have is my friend who told me 2 guys took the tree and left. Its the truth but its weak.

[Jay_LHD3]

This reminds me of the guy in Florida a couple years ago that spent a few nights in jail for not watering and cutting his grass.

Only difference was they threatened him over and over before they, HoA, sued him. HoA had the contract that the homeowner signed and the judge put him behind bars.

[Haloman1346]

Originally Posted by Jay_LHD3

This reminds me of the guy in Florida a couple years ago that spent a few nights in jail for not watering and cutting his grass.

Only difference was they threatened him over and over before they, HoA, sued him. HoA had the contract that the homeowner signed and the judge put him behind bars.

Yeap, saw it on Penn and Tellers Bullshit about a year ago.

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Haloman1346

All I have is my friend who told me 2 guys took the tree and left. Its the truth but its weak.

Which is what you tell the police. By filing a report, you are putting yourself in greater legal jeapardy if you are lying, but it will also be a means of legally responding to the HOA with your witness.

And tell the police you're calling them because the HOA is accusing you, when you thought THEY had done it.

Then again, how much is it? If not much, and something less than what you would have been willing to pay for the tree removal (since you didn't like it), pay it with a notarized letter saying you deny having the tree removed but are happy to pay for the cleanup because it also benefits you.

Padre