Aug. 25, 2022 Town Hall Meeting

Attorneys David Andersson and Matthew Davis held an outdoor Town Hall meeting in front of the gazebo in Homestead Park, to update homeowners on the current lawsuit against 18 Paradise.

Plaintiffs Lisa and Steve Zehm introduced themselves and then various people summarized the history, reasons, and actions in regards to the lawsuit for over an hour. Mr. Andersson explained he had filed an HOA for Homestead as a placeholder in 2020 but always planned to transfer the HOA to plaintiffs Tom Staehr and possibly another plaintiff?

Mr. Andersson’s Updates and Q&A (paraphrased)

Within a month, a judge will decide if the 6th and 7th amendments are illegal.

We are hoping to have a trial date by Feb. or March 2023 but nothing is certain.

The city maintains the asphalt paths and bridges in Homestead Park.

MJ Mgmt was dismissed because Mr. Chen was “hiding behind them.” (many questioned if it simply didn’t come down to deepest pockets)

If someone wants to opt-out, that is up to Judge Freeman

Q&A: Homeowner listed what the maintenance fees pay: repairs for things like the leaking irrigation pipe of storm pond water that was now a muddy mess near utility post, liability insurance, lights, landscaping, trees, gazebo, signs, sidewalks, most of which is COS. He disagreed the fees were just for mowing grass in Homestead park as the HOAG website claimed and asked who would fix these if golf course closed.

Q: If the golf course goes into foreclosure, would that be an opportunity for homeowners?
A: Yes, it would be a great opportunity for homeowners to buy at a low price.

Q: Can this lawsuit be dropped?
A: If lawsuit ends, Mr. Chen will sue Mr. Andersson for legal fees, therefore, we’re in this lawsuit for the long-term.

Q: Can you (Mr. Andersson) show us how the trust fund works?
A: When someone pays into trust fund, then he will show how it works.

Mr. Davis’ Updates

“Golf courses are supposed to be self-sustaining”
This statement was met with very strong disagreement by a group of people but they weren’t given a chance to say why. We tracked them down and here are their reasons:

1. They have experience with other golf course communities and each had fees
2. How golf course communities thrive can vary, based on residents’ priorities
3. Sudden Valley monthly HOA fees are $144 for homes, $600 for condos
4. HOAs have supplemented courses, article from golf property analysts

https://golfprop.com/uncategorized/hoas-and-their-golf-courses

Examples of HOA fees:
https://www.desertluxuryproperties.com/golf-communities
Average fees: $600-800/month. Also check FL and AZ courses.

“Mr. Chen cannot close the golf course”
People disagreed, we asked them why: Each had called and talked with a city employee, was told Mr. Chen, or any other business owner, can close their business if they chose. The City’s contract with owner is to maintain storm ponds only, not to keep their business open.

Mr. Davis announced he had “deposed a representative of 18 Paradise” and read eight questions aloud from the deposition, with their brief responses.

Note: Since a small group of homeowners are paying for these court expenses, and depositions can cost thousands of dollars, we wanted to provide the background for this deposition so you can decide if your money was well spent:

The “representative” deposed was Raymond Chou, General Manager of the Morrison Group. This company, headquartered in Vancouver B.C., invests in banking and real estate according to their website. Here’s a paper trail that led to Mr. Chou being deposed by Mr. Davis:

9-25-2020 – Mr. Chen’s attorney, Ben Vandenberghe, informed Matt Davis, “MJ had the authority to manage the course and common areas…”

9-28-2020 – MJ’s attorney, Philip Buri, quoted the Management & Lease Agreement to Mr. Davis: “18 Paradise delegated its authority to act as declarant to MJ Management.”

11-6-2020 – Eighteen Paradise stated in response to Motion, “18 Paradise delegated all rights and duties to maintain the common areas to MJ.”

1-11-2021 – Mr. Raymond Chou’s Declaration stated, “Pursuant to the Lease, 18 Paradise intended to delegate declarant rights to MJ regarding the common open space.”

11-12-2021 – MJ Management stated in response to Motion, “It is also undisputed 18 Paradise delegated the declarant’s rights and duties to MJ.”

These documents and communications from 2020 – 2021 make it clear the parties involved understood 18 Paradise had an “agency relationship” with MJ Management, meaning MJ (the agent) had legal permission to act on 18 Paradise’s (the principal) behalf.

7-15-2022 – MJ Management is dismissed from the lawsuit

7-29-2022 – Mr. Davis deposed Raymond Chou (via videoconference) to apparently determine (again?) MJ’s authority as an agent of 18 Paradise. The final document was 102 pages, most were not available to the public. What we could view had questions and answers nowhere near as concise as Mr. Davis’s eight-question summary. Nearly all the questions had an objection from defendant’s counsel, therefore, we look forward to hearing each sides’ evaluation of the complete transcript.

Meeting Interrupted

At one point, when people disagreed on issues, Lisa Zehm informed the audience the meeting could not continue unless everyone remained respectful.

Later, a woman named Angelique said she “felt ill” when one group pointed their finger at another group. We appreciated what they said, it’s not easy to do, but we wondered where were they on April 21st when Mr. Davis was shouting and mocking people for asking questions he did not agree with? Many of us also “felt ill” at his bullying but not one plaintiff reminded Mr. Davis to show respect to his own class members. When people commit to being a leader or plaintiff, we should agree the same standard applies to all.

Both sides agreed:

End the lawsuit
Standard HOA or hybrid for representation
Duane Scholten will be an ideal owner, the lawyers agreed.
Amend CCRs

Glitch: None of these can happen until lawsuit ends, and according to Mr. Andersson, that’s not going to be any time soon.