The Law Offices of
J. Roger Wood, PLLC 1628 East Southern Avenue, Suite 9-310 - Tempe, Arizona 85282
- Putting the “H” Back in HOA: Advice and Litigation for Arizona Homeowners -
For Immediate Release
Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Arizona Homeowners Against
Arizona HOA Management Companies Alleging Millions of Dollars of Damages for
Violations of Federal Debt Collection Laws and Arizona Law
(Phoenix, Arizona - September 20, 2012) - Two Arizona homeowners, have filed a class action lawsuit
against twenty-seven Arizona community association management companies (“CAMs”).
There are thousands of Homeowners Associations and Condominium Associations in Arizona. A
majority of those HOAs contract with management companies to assist the HOA and its Board with the
day to day operations of the Association. In addition to the every day tasks, some Arizona CAMs also
have made agreements to assist HOAs in collecting past due homeowner assessments.
The complaint alleges that these CAMs, acting as third-party debt collectors, have engaged in unlawful
activities in their attempts to collect past due assessments from Arizona homeowners. The plaintiffs
allege that the CAMs have and continue to pursue Arizona homeowners by charging collection costs
and related fees that are not authorized by law. Public court and county property records show that
CAMs have wrongfully filed and recorded thousands of liens, lawsuits and judgments in violation of the
federal Arizona Court Rules, the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, the Arizona Constitution
and Arizona’s wrongful lien laws.
The plaintiffs allege that the CAMs’ collection activities violate Arizona’s rules regarding the
unauthorized practice of law. The public record shows that CAMs sign and record liens, file lawsuits,
negotiate the legal rights of third parties, appear in Court and collect fees for these services. Arizona law
does not allow non-lawyers to act on behalf of a third parties in legal matters. Such activities require a
law license and these violations trigger liability under federal debt collection laws. The CAMs’ unlawful
fees for these activities have cost Arizona homeowners millions of dollars.
The lawsuit seeks to end these unlawful practices and also seeks an award of damages for the named
homeowners and the thousands of other Arizona homeowners who have been victimized by these CAMs
and their unlawful collections activities.
The Law Offices of J. Roger Wood represents Arizona homeowners who have disputes with their
Homeowners Associations or Condominium. Watters and Watters are trial lawyers representing
Arizonans in civil litigation, including employment issues or toxic tort exposures. The firms are working
together on this case, seeking to right these serious wrongs. They can be contacted at
Watters & Watters, PLLC P.O. Box 65147 - Tucson, Arizona 85728
3 comments:
Outrage from John Stossel and the other Republican proponents of tort reform in 3, 2, 1...
Wonder how many of these management companies are members of the Community Associations Institute trade group?
To Anonymous above:
Community Association Institute member, or affiliation is easy to find out. Just Google specifics. Isn't the term "CAMs" specific to some in their membership, or their "credentialed professionals" operating property management companies? Maybe, just in certain locales.
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