Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Fountain Court Condos - The Fountain Of Information - Supplemental Report On Special Owner's Meeting

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"
-- Tuesday, May 19, 2009 --

HEADLINE - Supplemental Report On Special Owner's Meeting On May 14, 2009

After reviewing the hand-outs that they gave out at the door when entering the Special Owner's Meeting, please note the below VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

There was an item on the agenda called "5. New Business", scheduled to be discussed that night, before the Board and Alcor decided to cancel the meeting since they didn't want any Mortgagees at the meeting... what do they have to hide???

This "New Business" item reads as follows: "5. New Business - Proposed Amendment to By-laws to formally and legal [Sic] set standards regarding number of rentals from this point forward - relates to new Owners from this point forward only."

So... is the Board and Alcor admitting, once again that I was right and that they ILLEGALLY changed the By-laws when they ILLEGALLY changed the "Rules And Regulations - Exhibit E" back in 2008 when they added a new rule limiting the number of rental units and giving the Board and Alcor control of the units available for rent? YES THEY ARE!!! What this also means is that if you have a vacant unit that you wanted to rent out right now, you should be able to do it without having to follow the ILLEGALLY passed "Rule" from 2008. Remember though... that since the current Board and management contract are also ILLEGAL, anything they try to do "legally" right now would also be considered illegal. They really need to dissolve the Board
themselves, hold new and legal elections for Board members, legally appoint new Officers, etc... and then the legal Board can start to make legal changes as long as they continue to follow the Condo Documents, which says that the Condo Documents can only be changed by following those three pesky little steps... meaning they have to ASK THE OWNERS and get an 80% approval
from the owners before they can just go around changing things. WOW... WHAT A NOVEL IDEA... ASKING THE OWNERS BEFORE JUST DOING WHATEVER THEY WANT TO DO! Folks... I think things will finally be starting to change around FCCA... and if they do not do it voluntarily, then the Court will eventually ORDER them to do it!

I previously reported that changing the Rules to put these kinds of restrictions on people, who never had a restriction when they bought their unit, was ILLEGAL but as we've seen in recent weeks TFOI's, the current and past Boards and managers of FCCA haven't really cared much about following the rules... the same rules they try to shove down everyone else's throats and demand that you follow them or they will threaten, harass, fine or sue you if you don't.

Now... speaking of renting out your unit...

Here's a couple of little hints if you choose to use the "Official" lease that one of the previous illegal Boards added to the "Rules And Regulations - Exhibit E", without first getting an 80% approval from ALL of the owners. In that "Official" lease, available for download from the Fountain Court website, there is a section in the lease that basically says the Lessor (Owner) is responsible for providing maid service to the Lessee (Tenant), so you may want to read through that lease and make a few changes to it.

On page 3, of the "Official" lease, under the section "MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR", it currently reads as follows: "Lessor will, at his sole expense, keep and maintain the Unit and appurtenances clean, sanitary, orderly and in good condition and repair during the term of this Lease, except for those repairs due as a result of Lessee's or his visitor/guest's misuse or neglect, which repairs will be at Lessee's expense."

What this says, is that the "Lessor" (the Owner) will keep and maintain the unit in a clean, sanitary and orderly condition during the term of the lease... meaning the Lessor (Owner) is promising maid service as part of the lease.

Another thing you may want to add to the lease, is the option to raise the rent in January, 2010, or anytime prior to that date, in the event Alcor and the Board legally or illegally raise your Condo Dues. I suspect that a $50.00/month increase will be proposed soon, in order to try and balance the books since Alcor and the Board currently show the books as hemorrhaging red ink... READ ON!

The next VERY IMPORTANT issues were noticed in reading the handouts.

Under the "LIABILITIES AND CAPITAL" section of the "Balance Sheet" that was handed out, they list "Total Current Liabilities" as "0.00", which is A BIG LIE!!! I'm not a CPA, but if you look at the same "Balance Sheet", under the section, they call "Current Assets", they have two items, "Katrina/Gustav Ins. - Oper" and "Katrina Insurance Fund - MM" and these two line items have balances of $23,570.99 and $34,504.98, respectively. These two lines, I believe, is the money that Alcor and the Board is currently holding back from owners who have not completed their Katrina repairs. I know there are still at least two units in the rear courtyard that have not been completed and I've heard from a few folks in the front courtyard who say they haven't received all of their money from the Gustav claim. So... is Alcor and the Board reporting this money as an asset but not showing the reciprocal liability line item since most of this money is actually owed to the owners for whom the money was originally intended? This "Balance Sheet" seems to violate the Bylaws which require the FCCA Books be kept according
to generally accepted accounting guidelines.

As previously reported, the line item for "Edward Jones Account" has gone down from over $175,000.00 to now showing only $36,798.49, meaning around $140,000.00 is gone from that account since September, 2008, the last time that I received a "Balance Sheet" from Alcor.

Next, under "Capital", you'll see that Alcor has the "Beginning Balance Equity" listed as $349,672.36, then "Retained Earnings" listed as a NEGATIVE $173,827.96 and the "Net Income (Loss)" listed as a NEGATIVE $56,689.23, so the "Total Capital" has gone down from $349,672.38 to $119,155.15 and this figure is still listing the $58,000.00+ of Insurance proceeds that is owed to some of the owners, but not listed as a liability... meaning the actual "Total Capital" is REALLY LESS THAN $61,000.00.

The "Insurance Reserve Account" ONLY has $920.57 in it... WOW.. not much of an Insurance Reserve.

FCCA IS HEMORRHAGING RED INK RIGHT NOW AND IT'S UP TO THE OWNERS TO TELL THE BOARD AND MANAGER TO QUIT SPENDING THEIR MONEY LIKE A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN SAILORS... no offense to drunken sailors who are actually more responsible than Alcor and the Board seem to be. Maybe I need to change that "drunken sailor" parody to "Washington politician" since politicians are much more irresponsible than a drunken sailor could ever be.

I really think one or more owners should bring this "Balance Sheet" and one or more of the previously issued "Balance Sheets" to their own accountant for a quick review. If they tell you what I think they will tell you, you don't have to sue Alcor and the Board yourself, just come and join us since we are already suing over some of these issues and can amend our current lawsuit to add these new issues. It would be much less expensive for you to join us than it would be to start up your own new lawsuit... but that is also an option for you.

I will be scanning and uploading the above reference documents (and some other recent documents) so you should be able to download them from http://TheFountainOfInformation.blogspot.com by clicking on the FileFront link included in the header of every page. This will be done in the next day or two.

Until next time, let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

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Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Painting, Gutters Cleaned, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

[hoanet] Banks Leery Of Lending In Some (HOA) Communities (especially Condos)

From: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hoanet/

1. Is This Happening in HOAs All Across the Nation?
Posted by: "Koreen" chaote987@...
Date: Mon May 18, 2009 9:20 pm ((PDT))

Banks Leery of Lending in Some Communities

By MICHAEL W. FREEMAN
The Reporter Editor

Published: Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.

FOUR CORNERS For the construction industry, the timing couldn't have been worse: new, expensive subdivisions opened for sale just as the housing bubble was bursting, leaving entire developments with a huge inventory of unsold units.

That high inventory made it tough to sell any of the newly built homes. The competition for so few buyers was fierce, and as a result prices have plummeted.

But now some local Realtors say these subdivisions are facing a new, equally serious challenge: collapsing homeowner associations that can no longer afford to pay basic bills, because so few of the remaining homeowners are sending in their monthly HOA dues.

"The HOAs are a mess right now," said Sean DePasquale, a senior loan officer with Florida Mortgage Partners Inc. He said this is a particular problem for condominiums that have a lot of unsold or foreclosed units, and it's tough to get a mortgage these days for anyone interested in buying one of these units at a bargain basement price.

"Condos are not even on the radar right now for loans," he said.

Pete Howlett, a Four Corners Realtor, said some of the local subdivisions are plagued by a high number of short sales, where the owner can no longer afford their mortgage and attempts to sell the property at a loss. Their hope is the bank will agree to accept the lower asking price and write off the remaining debt.

"Some of them have so many short sales right now," Howlett said. As a result, banks are leery of writing loans to potential buyers who want to take advantage of the low prices.

"I have seen that in several communities that have HOAs," Howlett said.

Homeowner associations were intended to be self-governing boards that oversee new developments and subdivisions built in unincorporated areas like Four Corners, Celebration and Poinciana. HOAs set the rules that the homeowners within the development live by, and collect the dues that finance everything from landscaping and upkeep on the common grounds, to
construction of new roads or clubhouses within the community.

But many of the subdivisions that started construction at the height of the housing market in 2004 and 2005, when demand for new properties seemed highest and many of the units pre-sold before construction work was even completed, suffered painfully from the market crash. Some people cancelled their contracts to purchase a home within the development, even if it meant losing a hefty down payment, while other units fell into foreclosure, and some of these subdivisions have come to resemble ghost towns.

For a lot of the HOAs that govern these subdivisions, the rising foreclosure rate has meant the dues they collect are disappearing.

As a result, Howlett said, these subdivisions have a bad reputation and banks are reluctant to finance loans to new buyers who want to get into one.

"Most of the buyers we get, we take them to places without HOAs," Howlett said. "Otherwise they have major problems with people who have not paid their HOA dues. These dues have to get settled at closing. The banks are not lending these days in HOA communities."

Howlett said he's seen instances where as an inducement to buyers, the developer offered free cable. But some HOAs have been unable to pay their cable bills and the cable companies have shut off service to the entire subdivision or condo development.

"In one instance Bright House didn't get paid, and it was quite the stalemate for a while there," Howlett said, adding that the cable company finally agreed to set up accounts with the individual homeowners still living in the development.

"I think they realized they would not get paid by the HOA, so they might as well allow the individual homeowners to get the service," he said.

[Contact Michael Freeman about this article at Reportermailbox@gmail.com]

Monday, May 18, 2009

Fountain Court Condos - The Fountain Of Information - DID YOU KNOW???

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"
-- Monday, May 18, 2009 --

HEADLINE -

DID YOU KNOW... WHY THE CURRENT AND PAST BOARDS/OFFICERS ARE ILLEGALLY
ELECTED???

The Fountain Court Bylaws state in part:

ARTICLE III, BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

Section 1. NUMBER AND QUALIFICATION.

"The Board Of Directors shall be composed of three (3) persons, all of whom shall be Unit Owners or spouses of Unit Owners, Mortgagees (or designees of Mortgagees)..."

Section 2. POWERS AND DUTIES.

"The Board Of Directors shall have all of the powers and duties necessary for the administration of the affairs of the Unit Owners Association and may do all such acts and things as are NOT by the Condominium Act, the Declaration or by these Bylaws REQUIRED to be exercised and done by the Unit Owners Association..."

Section 3. ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE, states in part:

"(a) At the first annual meeting of the Unit Owners Association, the term of office of one (1) member of the Board Of Directors shall be fixed at three (3) years, the term of office of one (1) member of the Board of Directors shall be fixed at two (2) years, and the term of office of one (1) member of the Board of Directors shall be fixed at one (1) year. At the expiration of the initial term of office of each member of the initial Board of Directors, a successor shall be elected to serve for a term of three (3) years...."

Section 15. LIABILITY OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, UNIT OWNERS AND UNIT OWNERS ASSOCIATION, states in part:

"(a) The officers and members of the Board of Directors shall not be liable to the Unit Owners Association for any mistake of judgment, negligence or otherwise EXCEPT FOR THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OR BAD FAITH.

ARTICLE IV, OFFICERS (in part)

Section 1. DESIGNATION. The principal officers of the Unit Owners Association shall be the President, the Vice President, the Secretary and the Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may appoint an assistant treasurer, an assistant secretary and such other officers as in its judgment may be necessary. The President and Vice President shall be members of the Board of Directors.

Section 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS. The officers of the Unit Owners Association shall be elected annually by the Board of Directors at the organization meeting of each new Board of Directors and shall hold office at the pleasure of the Board of Directors.

Section 6. SECRETARY. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of ALL meetings of the Unit Owners Association and of the Board of Directors; have charge of such books and papers as the Board of Directors may direct; maintain a register setting forth the place to which all notices to Unit Owners and Mortgagees hereunder shall be delivered; and in general, perform all the
duties incident to the office of secretary of a non-profit corporation organized under the Louisiana Not-For-Profit Corporation Act.

Section 7. TREASURER. The Treasurer shall have the responsibility for Unit Owners Association funds and securities and shall be responsible for keeping full and accurate financial records and books of account showing all receipts and disbursements, and for the preparation of all required financial data; and be responsible for the deposit of all monies and other valuable effects in the name of the Board of Directors, the Unit Owners Association or the Managing Agent, in such depositories as may from time to time be designated by the Board of Directors; and, in general, perform all the duties incident to the office of treasurer of a non-profit corporation organized under the Louisiana Not-For-Profit Corporation Act...."


As you see in Article IV, Section 2, the Officers (President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary) SHALL be elected by the Board of Directors, NOT the Unit Owners... meaning that NONE OF THE PAST SIX YEARS ANNUAL OWNER'S MEETINGS ELECTIONS WERE HELD PROPERLY. Since the Board and Officers were not legally elected, then anything and everything they've done are also NOT LEGAL.

Here's the proof...

(a copy of all of the below referenced documents are available for download if you visit http://thefountainofinformation.blogspot.com/ and click the FileFront link near the top of the page)

In the monthly "Management Report" for the "Month of November, 2003" , it states in part, "... There was a vote for Vice President for a 3 year term with only one nominee, Fred Rapp, Unit #68. Prior to the vote the President asked if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none. The vote for Fred Rapp was unanimous. It should be noted that there was not a quorum for this Annual meeting and as a result the VP vote did not have a quorum. President Mirza explained that the Condo Document and the By Laws did not address such a situation, and therefore made the decision to validate the vote for VP. President Mirza advised that Management will consult with an attorney for a legal opinion...".

Now, lets examine what the above paragraph is saying. First, the Unit Owners ARE NOT ALLOWED to vote for Officers... only for Board Members. See Article III, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Section 3., ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE for how the Unit Owners shall elect the Board of Directors; and then see Article IV, Section 2., ELECTION OF OFFICERS, for how the Board of Directors shall elect/appoint the Officers. Board Members are elected by the Owners for three year terms. Officers are elected/appointed by the Board of Directors, for one year terms. NEITHER OF THESE TWO VERY SIMPLE SECTIONS OF THE BYLAWS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWED FOR AT LEAST THE PAST SIX YEARS, MEANING THAT NONE OF THE BOARDS OR OFFICERS HAVE BEEN LEGALLY ELECTED FOR AT LEAST THE PAST SIX YEARS... meaning NOTHING that has been done for the past six years is legal... meaning the changes to the Rules aren't legal (which we already know wasn't legal since they didn't let the owners vote), meaning the hiring of Alcor isn't legal, meaning the illegal fines, threats and lawsuits aren't legal, etc., etc., etc.

After the above illegal election, the so-called Board Of Directors, was comprised of a so-called elected President Sultan Mirza, a so-called elected Vice President Fred Rapp and a so-called elected Secretary/Treasurer Ronald Breath. These three, while probably trying to do a good job for Fountain Court, continued to follow bad "professional management by Chet Hingle" advice and/or bad legal advice and continued to do things ILLEGALLY.

In the "Management Report" for the "Month of January, 2005", it ends with a notice, IN ALL CAPS, saying, "PLEASE REMEMBER THE OWNER'S MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2005, 7:00 P.M. IN THE FRONT BUILDING RECREATION ROOM. THE AGENDA IS TO CHANGE THE VOTE REQUIREMENT TO 50% FROM 80%, SAME AS LAST MEETING. IF YOU CAN'T MAKE THE MEETING, PLEASE SEND IN YOUR PROXY WHICH WAS LEFT WITH YOU. IF YOU CAN'T LOCATE YOUR PROXY SLIP, CALL THE OFFICE AND ONE WILL BE DELIVERED TO YOU.

There are TWO MAJOR problems with this proposal. First, NONE of the previous illegally elected Boards/Officers have ever properly notified any of the mortgagees of any of the annual owner's meetings or special owner's meetings, as required by the Condo Documents. Second, as previously reported in a recent "Did You Know?" column, mortgagees would have to give 100% approval, in writing to any "material change" to the Condo Documents and since they were never notified, mortgagees were subsequently never asked to give their 100% approval for the change from 80% to only 50% substantially lower voting standards. There is a reason that the Louisiana Condo Act calls for at least a 77% vote of ALL OWNERS, saying YES, before the Condo Documents can be changed and there is a reason that there is an even higher standard of 80% in the Fountain Court Condo Documents... this is to protect ALL OF THE OWNERS from a runaway, illegally elected/appointed Board and/or Officers from trying to infringe on the rights that are given to each owner. There is also a reason that 100% of mortgagees have to give their written consent to materially or substantially change the Condo Documents.

In the "Management Report" for the "Month of February, 2005", it states, in part, "... Congratulation again on having a quorum and passing the resolution at hand at the meeting, February 16, 2005. As mentioned, many condominium complexes have been striving for many years unsuccessfully to amend their Condo Documents as Fountain Court has...."

The MAJOR PROBLEM, once again, is that the so-called elected Officers calling themselves the Board did not legally and properly notify ALL of the mortgagees and get their 100% written approval for this "material change" to the Condo Documents... so it simply is NOT LEGALLY DONE... not just because the legal notice was not sent to the mortgagees but because the
Officers/Board were not even legally elected pursuant to the Condo Documents.

In the "Management Report" for the "Month of February, 2006", it states, in part, "... The deferred Annual Owner's Meeting will be held Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 7:00 P.M.... There will be a vote for the position of Board of Director/President. ANY UNIT OWNER MAY SUBMIT TO THE SECRETARY, DON GAUTHREAUX, UNIT #39 BEFORE MARCH 26, 2006, A NOMINATING PETITION... FOR THE VACANCY OF BOARD OF DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT... Our insurance agents and attorney will be invited."

Once again, they are asking the owners to vote for an Officer/Board Member at the same time, in violation of the above clearly written instructions on how the Board shall be elected by the owners, for three year terms, and then the Officers shall be appointed for one year terms by a duly elected Board. Unfortunately, Fountain Court has not had a duly elected Board in many years and even the illegal Boards have not followed the Condo Documents where they pertain to the Board electing/appointing Officers for their one year terms.

I have the actual NOTICES that have gone out for nearly every Owner's Meeting for the past six years and the NOTICES parrot the same illegal language. Even the last two NOTICES that Alcor has sent out for the 2008 Annual Owner's Meeting and the May 14, 2009, Special Owner's Meeting, he also references illegally electing a new Officer/Board member, so even though you all are paying him twice as much as previous managers, he is giving you all the same crappy so-called professional advice. His crappy so-called professional advice has led to many illegal rules, fines, threats, lawsuits, etc., costing the owners tens of thousands of dollars... money that should be used to repair the crumbling walls, leaking roofs, breaking water lines and failing sewer lines.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW??? that when Alcor took over, FCCA had $175,000.00+ in the Edward Jones account and still had that amount of money as of September, 2008? In the hand-out given at the May 14, 2009 Special Owner's Meeting, the Edward Jones Account is now down to $36,798.00... MEANING AROUND $140,000.00 IS GONE FROM THAT ACCOUNT. UNDER ALCOR AND YOUR CURRENT ILLEGALLY ELECTED BOARD, FCCA IS SPENDING MONEY LIKE A BUNCH OF DRUNKEN SAILORS... (no offense to drunken sailors intended)... AND AT THE CURRENT RATE, THE EDWARD JONES ACCOUNT WILL BE DEPLETED PRIOR TO THE ANNUAL OWNER'S MEETING IN NOVEMBER, 2009, AND AT THAT POINT, THEY WILL ASK YOU FOR ANOTHER INCREASE IN YOUR CONDO DUES TO COVER THEIR SPENDING SPREE. IN THE BALANCE SHEET HAND-OUT, THEY EVEN SHOW THE "NET INCOME" AS BEING A NEGATIVE $56,689.23, SO FAR THIS YEAR [indicated by "Net Income (Loss) - (56,689.23)] AND THIS FIGURE IS ONLY A Y-T-D (Year To Date) FIGURE. AT THEIR CURRENT RATE OF DRUNKEN IRRESPONSIBLE SPENDING, FOUNTAIN COURT CONDOS WILL BE BANKRUPT BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

In conclusion, I hope and pray that enough of the owners will start to get involved... including becoming co-plaintiffs in our lawsuit against the FCCA to force FCCA to start following it's own Condo Documents and start doing things legally around here. There are many owners who are active right now, but unfortunately, many of them are blindly following the illegal activities of the current illegally elected Officers/Board so those owners are not of much help to the owners who want things to start being done legally and proper around FCCA.

Until next time, let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.thefountainofinformation.blogspot.com/
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

Advertisement:
Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.neighborhoodhomeservices.com/
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Fountain Court Condos - The Fountain Of Information, Thursday Night, May 14, 2009

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"
-- May 14, 2009 - Late Night --

Just a preliminary report about what happened and didn't happen at the "Special Homeowner's Meeting"... the meeting that didn't happen.

After arriving at the meeting, Thomas Schmidt and myself, as Mortgagees took our seats and shortly afterwards, Ryan Lee, the illegally elected President of FCCA, announced the opening of the meeting and then turned everything over to Al Oglesby, of The Alcor Group. Al Oglesby then asked for a show of hands of "the owners in attendance" and there were approximately 30 owners present and about a dozen other attendees. Al Oglesby then asked Thomas Schmidt and me to stand up and introduce ourselves. We did. He never asked any of the other non-owners to stand up and introduce themselves. After we introduced ourselves, he then went on to say that since Thomas Schmidt was not only a mortgagee, but also the attorney for Suzanne Halprin and me, Al said that their attorney advised them that if we attended, the Board would be at a distinct disadvantage and that they should adjourn the meeting if anyone motioned to have the meeting adjourned. Immediately, an owner raised their hand and motioned for the meeting to be adjourned and a second owner seconded the motion. At that point the meeting was adjourned to be re-scheduled to another date.... or more than likely NOT!

Here is why.

Suzanne legally notified the Board that she had executed mortgages to me and Thomas Schmidt, and as mortgagees, we have the right to attend Owner's Meetings, examine the books, request and receive audited financial statements and all other rights of mortgagees as outlined in the Condo Documents which I also outlined earlier in the week.

Since there was no longer an official "Owner's Meeting", we were no longer entitled to be at the "Unofficial" meeting that took place afterwards with all of the folks that hung around.

According to phone and email reports that I've received so far, the meeting was "all about Lenny". Aren't I special! ;-)

Al Oglesby went on to do a slide show and presentation at this "Unofficial" meeting trying to lambast everything about me. Unfortunately, he only gave his slanted spin which did not resemble the truth very much. More to come on that later.

Al Oglesby also tried to say that they won this big Judgment against Suzanne and me but they didn't. We did do a simple settlement agreement the morning of Court for the first of many phases of the legal proceedings in which only two things were actually resolved. One thing was that I would caulk the rear windows of our unit, something I've been willing to do for two years
but they threatened us with legal action if I did this. They finally agreed to let me do it and it has been done. They didn't tell you that, did they! They had threatened us with legal action if I was to caulk the windows for the past two years, but once they got to Court, they realized how silly they were acting and knew the Judge would probably frown on their actions so they agreed to let me do what I've been wanting to do for two years. That caulking around the windows still does not resolve the FACT that the walls and the top of windows still leak whenever there is a hard or wind-blown rain blowing against that wall. The rain water is coming in through the brick walls, just like they do on many other downstairs units, like Unit 61, 62, 63 and others. The rain water would come through their walls so bad that water would puddle on the floors of the back rooms of those units. I even helped those owners fight the old Board and they finally conceded and paid to have the brick wall sealed to form a new vapor barrier since the vapor barrier inside the wall had rotted away in those units. The problem with our windows is that the wood and vapor barrier around the tops of our windows is rotting away so caulking around the frame of the window will not fix the problem and rain will continue to come in through the brick wall and continue to rot away the wood. See the last two paragraphs below for photos of other units that are also rotting away due to leaking walls and rotting/crumbling vapor barriers.

The next thing we agreed to do as part of this initial settlement was that I would make one my trucks "look prettier", which seems to be a big problem for some folks around here... WHILE THE WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN. I already did the first phase of making my trucks look prettier and will be doing more in the coming days. Please note that the Board NEVER ONCE wrote to Suzanne or I and asked me to try and make my trucks prettier and there really isn't anything in the legal Condo Documents addressing the aesthetics of someone's vehicle. The first letter that we got from FCCA was a threat of a $100.00 fine if I did not move one of my trucks off of the property but then in our depositions, I pointed out that the rules say I can have two vehicles... which is all that I have. If some folks around FCCA are worried about all vehicles "looking pretty", maybe the Board needs to buy us all brand new vehicles so we'll all have pretty vehicles! I personally think there are a few other vehicles that are pretty darned ugly but I don't have a problem with them and they aren't violating any of the rules so I don't worry about it... I guess some others have nothing else to do but worry about other people's vehicles... but once again, FCCA has only been selectively harassing, threatening and attempting to enforce these "Pretty Vehicle" rules against only me... but I'm a big boy, I can handle it! I figure that as long as they are busy trying to bother me, they are leaving the rest of you alone so at least you all aren't being bothered by their pettiness.

Everything else that they claimed that they won were things from one or two years ago that were resolved as soon as they brought the matter to our attention.... even though they were selectively harassing and threatening only Suzanne with these so-called violations of the illegal rules made up by an illegal Board. If I had known back then, what I know now, I may not have
complied with every one of their requests since they are not a legally elected or appointed Board and Officers and the Rules and Regulations they purport to be enforcing are also illegal as I explained and clearly showed ALL of the owners in the daily emails the past four days.

More to come as I get a chance to read these email reports and review my notes from my phone in reports.

Now here is what I talked about a little earlier and further referenced with the "WHILE THE WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN" comment...

Don't say I didn't warn you all (since I've reported on this many times) but you can see how the actual 2x4's are already completely rotted away at the base, in Unit 63, by looking at the photos here...

http://image53.webshots.com/153/5/71/5/512857105mYFikQ_fs.jpg - Puddling on
the floor when it rains hard

http://image75.webshots.com/75/6/21/19/2099621190081930608ynlQIS_fs.jpg -
Three Studs in Middle Rotting Away at the base and crumbling vapor barrier

http://image75.webshots.com/75/7/97/33/2956797330081930608POSzFG_fs.jpg -
Close up of the three studs and wet base stud and crumbling vapor barrier

Notice how these units all have tile flooring... not because they liked tile flooring but because their carpeting kept getting ruined, moldy, mildewed... and soaking wet, every time it rained hard against their back wall.

You can see more photos of other water damage in other units and more photos of the crumbling vapor barrier in unit 63... something that the FCCA Board needs to repair BEFORE this unit can ever be renovated. That's a BIG REASON why this unit remains gutted three years later.
http://news.webshots.com/photo/2956797330081930608POSzFG

Fortunately, after these three owners and this author reported and fought the old Board long enough, they eventually decided to seal the rear brick wall on that building, to turn the brick wall into a vapor barrier, but this will have to be done every 5-10 years or the walls will just start leaking again. FCCA still has done nothing to repair the rotting and crumbling rear wooden framing... the wood 2x4's actually hold up the building, not the bricks. Since this is a load bearing wall that is rotting away, it means that one day, that wall will probably collapse and the upstairs unit will then be a split-level unit. I hope and pray that nobody gets hurt... but if they do, they'll have one WHOPPER of a lawsuit against Fountain Court Condos for the current and past Boards failure to properly repair these rotting walls.... but at least our vehicles will "look pretty"... well, except for the ones that park next to that wall, when it comes tumbling down. ;-)

Until next time, let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

Advertisement:
Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Fountain Court Condos - "The Fountain Of Information", Thursday, May 14, 2009

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"
Thursday, May 14, 2009

HEADLINE -

-- WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU CONTINUE TO ALLOW YOUR BOARD AND MANAGER TO BREAK ALL OF THE RULES... OR YOU CAN JOIN US IN OUR ATTEMPTS TO STOP THEM FROM BREAKING ALL OF THE RULES --

To recap the information provided in the past four days of "The Fountain Of Information", leading up to today... the day of our Special Homeowner's Meeting at 6:30 P.M., below are MANY recent articles showing WHY there is a mandatory provision of the Condo Documents requiring the books to be audited by an independent accountant each year... although the current board and manager and many or most of the past boards and manager have FAILED TO HAVE THIS MANDATORY AUDIT DONE!!!!

Woman Accused Of Bilking Association of $484,196.00 -
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090508/NEWS01/905080323/0/NEWS01/Woman+accused+
of+bilking+association+of++484+196

Treasurer Guilty Of Forging Checks -
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090512/NEWS01/905120338/-1/newsfront2/Treasurer+guilty+of+forging+checks

Casablanca Condos Homeowner's Association Fraud -
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/casablancacondosfrau

Condo Fraud Cases Prompt Calls For Advice -
http://www.ccfj.net/condofraudadvice.html

Owners Of HOA-Management Firm Accused Of Fraud, Theft -
http://www.ccfj.net/HOAAZmanagerfraudtheft.htm

"Manager of a 268-unit homeowners association stole $1.5 million during a seven-year period before his activities were discovered" -
http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/AMMagArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=7100

Man Accused Of Condo Fraud Pleads Guilty -
http://www.hoanewsnetwork.com/media/news/man-accused-of-condo-fraud-pleads-guilty.php

An Owner Lists An Online Complaint About Their Problems -
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/mill-pond-homeowners-association-c114915.html

HOA Bill Designed To Stop Fraud -
http://www.chore.us/050719%20AZ%20-%20HOA%20bill%20designed%20to%20stop%20fraud.htm

"This is about good people demanding to know and having a RIGHT to know where the hell their money is going, and why they shouldn't have to pay for the incestuous illegal shenanigans of entrenched and crooked HOA boards, lawyers and managers working in cahoots against innocent homeowners."
http://www.ahrc.com/new/index.php/src/news/sub/article/action/ShowMedia/id/2284

HOA Board Member Faces Six Fraud Charges -
http://www.hoanewsnetwork.com/media/node/1194

Two Arrested In Condo Association Scam (Manager & Contractor) -
http://www.hoanewsnetwork.com/media/video/two-arrested-in-condo-association-scam.php

Manager getting kickbacks from service companies and contractors hired to work on condo property.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/1559993,CST-FIN-roeder06.article


The following four articles/documents will further help with information on how-to prevent fraud... BUT... IF OUR BOARD/MANAGER WILL JUST START FOLLOWING OUR CONDO DOCUMENTS, THERE ARE ALREADY BUILT-IN PROTECTION AND PREVENTION CLAUSES... SUCH AS FULL DISCLOSURE TO ALL OWNERS AND MORTGAGEES AND FOLLOWING THE CONDO DOCUMENTS WHEN PROPOSING NEW CHANGES OR PROPOSALS SO THAT THE OWNERS GET TO VOTE ON THESE PROPOSALS... ESPECIALLY PROPOSALS WHERE THEY ARE TRYING TO ILLEGALLY CHANGE THE CONDO DOCUMENTS, WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE OWNERS.

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20010418_fraud.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2364987_prevent-fraud-against-homeowner-associations.html

http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20040324_hoastandards.htm

http://www.becker-poliakoff.com/pubs/newsletters/cu/cu_2009_v04.pdf


I hope to see everyone at the Special Homeowner's Meeting tonight!!! Remember, it starts at 6:30 P.M. and should be over no later than 8:30 P.M., according to the Notice that was sent out last week.

Until next time, let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

Advertisement:
Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Fountain Court Condos - The Fountain Of Information - May 13, 2009

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"
- SPECIAL EARLY EDITION -
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

(PLEASE PRINT OUT SEVERAL COPIES OF THIS NEWSLETTER AND DISTRIBUTE THEM TO YOUR NEIGHBORS WHO MAY NOT HAVE EMAIL OR BE ONLINE TO READ
http://TheFountainOfInformation.blogspot.com. Thank You!)

-- HEADLINE --
ANOTHER "DID YOU KNOW?" COLUMN -

(NOTE - This column is a follow-up to the May 12, 2009 edition of "The Fountain Of Information" so please read it first and/or have it handy for reference purposes.)

Did you know, that the Fountain Court Condominium's By-laws, ARTICLE III, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, SECTION 2. POWERS AND DUTIES, states the following, in part:

"Section 2. POWERS AND DUTIES. The Board of Directors shall have all of the powers and duties necessary for the administration of the affairs of the Unit Owners Association and may do all such acts and things as are not by the Condominium Act, the Declaration or these Bylaws required to be exercised and done by the Unit Owners Association. The Board of Directors shall have the power from time to time to adopt any Rules and Regulations deemed necessary for the benefit and enjoyment of the Condominium; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that such Rules and Regulations SHALL NOT be in conflict with the Condominium Act, the Declaration or these Bylaws. In addition to the duties imposed by these Bylaws or by any resolution of the Unit Owners Association that may hereafter be adopted, the Board of Directors shall on behalf of the Unit Owners Associations:

...(f) Make and amend the Rules and Regulations

...(l) Keep books with detailed accounts in chronological order... Such books and vouchers... shall be available for examination by the Unit Owners, their duly authorized agents or attorneys, during general business hours on working days at the times and in the manner set and announced by the Board of Directors for the general knowledge of the Unit Owners. ALL books and records shall be kept in accordance with good and accepted accounting practices, and the same SHALL BE AUDITED AT LEAST ONCE EACH YEAR BY AN INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT retained by the Board Of Directors who shall not be a resident of the Condominium or a Unit Owner. The cost of such audit shall be a Common Expense.

...(q) Do such other things and acts not inconsistent with the Condominium Act, the Declaration or these Bylaws which the Board of Directors may be authorized to do by a resolution of the Unit Owners Association."

Now, lets examine what this says and means...

"The Board shall have the power from time to time to adopt any Rules and Regulations...; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that such Rules and Regulations SHALL NOT be in conflict with the Condominium (Documents)... by any resolution of the Unit Owners Association that may hereafter be adopted..."

So, yes, the Board can adopt Rules and Regulation, "PROVIDED, HOWEVER," they are in compliance with the Condo Laws & Documents and as you saw in the May 12th edition of "The Fountain Of Information" there are those pesky "Three Simple Steps" that the Board has to follow as part of adopting or amending any Rules and Regulation, including Step 2., "A resolution adopting a proposed amendment... and after being proposed... MUST be approved by the Unit Owners... Such approvals MUST be by NOT LESS THAN EIGHTY (80%) percent in number of the Unit Owners." THE CURRENT BOARD AND MANAGER AND THE PAST BOARDS AND MANAGERS HAVE NEVER ALLOWED THE OWNERS TO VOTE ON ANY PROPOSED AMENDMENTS OR CHANGES TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS, IN ABSOLUTE VIOLATION OF THE CONDO DOCUMENTS.

BUT... since the Board "thinks" that the above Article III, Section 2, does give them the power to "make and amend Rules and Regulations" (even thinking they can do this without a vote of the owners), then why have they continually failed to read down a little further in that Article III, where it says that the "books... SHALL BE AUDITED AT LEAST ONCE EACH YEAR BY AN
INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT..." (and in a couple of other parts of the Condo Documents, they SHALL provide a copy of said audited financial report to each and every owner within 90 days of the end of each year. Did anyone get their copy of the audited financial report by the end of March, 2009? Or any other time in the past ten years? NO, YOU DID NOT... BECAUSE THE
CURRENT BOARD AND MANAGER AND SO MANY OF THE PAST BOARDS AND MANAGERS HAVE DECIDED TO IGNORE THIS VERY IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR CONDO DOCUMENTS... but they did find $10,000.00 for a security camera system and another $10,000.00 for attorney's fees for their illegal threats, harassment and lawsuit against certain owners!)

IN CONCLUSION, THE BOARD AND MANAGER ARE NOW CRYING ABOUT FINANCES AND WILL BE ASKING YOU FOR MORE OF YOUR MONEY TO PAY FOR THEIR $20,000.00 SPENDING SPREE FOR NON-ESSENTIAL THINGS LIKE THE CAMERAS AND HIGH-PRICED LAWYERS, NOT COUNTING THE $15,000.00 MORE EACH YEAR THAT YOU ALL ARE PAYING FOR ALCOR COMPARED TO WHAT YOU ALL PAID FOR PAST MANAGERS... ALL THIS SPENDING BEING DONE, WHILE IGNORING THINGS THAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING PURSUANT TO THE CONDO DOCUMENTS, LIKE THE ANNUAL AUDITED FINANCIAL REPORTS. BUT REMEMBER, ANY SPECIAL ASSESSMENT THAT THEY TRY TO IMPOSE ON YOU HAS TO BE VOTED ON... AND TWO-THIRDS (66%) OF THE OWNERS HAVE TO APPROVE ANY SPECIAL ASSESSMENT BEFORE THEY CAN JUST TRY AND FORCE YOU TO PAY IT... HOWEVER, BE WARNED, THAT PAST BOARDS AND MANAGERS HAVE IGNORED THE SECTIONS OF THE CONDO DOCUMENTS THAT REQUIRE A VOTE OF THE OWNERS BEFORE PASSING A SPECIAL ASSESSMENT, SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THIS POTENTIAL VIOLATION OF THE CONDO DOCUMENTS. NOW, YOU KNOW THAT THEY CAN NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOUR 66% APPROVAL... DARN.. THEM PESKY RULES THAT PROTECT THE OWNERS, GETTING IN THE WAY OF THE BOARD AND MANAGER'S ILLEGAL PLANS AGAIN!!! THEY SURE LOVE TO SHOVE THEIR RULES DOWN OUR THROATS WHILE IGNORING ALL OF THE RULES THAT APPLY TO THEM... SOUNDS ALMOST LIKE CONGRESS AND WASHINGTON, D.C., DOESN'T IT! MAYBE THEY CAN ASK PRESIDENT OBAMA FOR A BAILOUT! ;-)

Until next time, let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

Advertisement:
Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

Fountain Court Condos - The Fountain Of Information - Tuesday, May 12, 2009

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION", Tuesday, May 12, 2009

(PLEASE PRINT OUT A COUPLE OF COPIES OF THIS NEWSLETTER AND GIVE IT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS WHO MAY NOT BE ONLINE)

-- Special Edition --

HEADLINE --

-- Another "Did You Know?" Column --

Did you know that MANY... make that MOST of the "Rules & Regulations, Exhibit-E", found on the official Fountain Court website at http://www.fountaincourtcondos.com/rules_regulations/rules%20&%20regulations.html which the current and past Boards have changed were illegally changed/amended by the current and past Boards and are therefore NOT legally enforceable??? This means that all of the fines, rules, threats, harassing letters, etc... some of which have led to the current lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, costing the owners TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN LEGAL FEES are all based on illegal acts done by past and current Boards, because they listened to BAD ADVICE from the Manager-du-jour or the Lawyer-du-jour.

Here is why!!!

In the original Declarations (part of the "Complete Set of Original Condo Documents" also found on the above website link, and after downloading, scroll down to page 187/187 of that .PDF document, since page 187 is actually page 1... yes, they scanned the 187 pages in reverse order so you have to read the pages from the bottom up), you'll see that page 187/187 is the cover page, then page 186/187 starts the "FOUNTAIN COURT CONDOMINIUM INDEX" listing ALL of the various entitled documents that make up the 187 pages. On page 186/187, half way down, you'll see "CONDOMINIUM DECLARATION", which then starts to list the various attachments and exhibits that make up the Declaration. When you reach the bottom of that page, scroll up to page 185/187 and start reading down and about half way down on that page, you'll see that the "Articles of Incorporation - Exhibit C", the "Bylaw - Exhibit D" and the "Rules and Regulations - Exhibit "E" to the Condominium Declaration", etc.... SO the Rules and Regulations - Exhibit "E", ARE PART OF THE ORIGINAL CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS AND ONE OF THE MANY EXHIBITS MADE A PART OF THE ORIGINAL CONDOMINIUM DECLARATIONS.

Now, here is where it gets really interesting and is the reason for this "Did You Know?" column.

While still looking at that 187 page document, scroll up to page 104/187, which is Article XI, AMENDMENT, of the Declarations, which is re-printed here in its entirety:

"The Condominium Declaration and ALL exhibits thereto may be amended in the following manner:

1. NOTICE: Notice of the subject matter of the proposed amendment in reasonably detailed form shall be included in the notice of any meeting at which a proposed amendment is considered.

2. RESOLUTION: A Resolution adopting a proposed amendment may be proposed by either the Board of Directors of the Association or by the Unit Owners meeting as members of the Association and after being proposed by either of such bodies MUST be approved by the Unit Owners. Owners not present at the meeting considering such amendment may express their approval in writing or by proxy. Such approvals MUST be by NOT LESS THAN EIGHTY (80%) percent in number of the Unit Owners.

3. RECORDING: A copy of each amendment shall be certified by at least two (2) Officers of the Association as having been duly adopted and shall be effective when filed for record in the Conveyance Records of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Copies of same SHALL be sent to each Unit Owner in the manner elsewhere provided for the giving of notices but the same shall not
constitute a condition precedent to the effectiveness of such amendment.
(END OF ARTICLE XI)

Now... lets examine what this says.

Yes, the "Declaration and ALL exhibits thereto may be amended" but they have to follow these specific and simple rules for doing so. Since the "Rules and Regulations - Exhibit E" are one of the "exhibits" in these original documents, these same three simple steps have to be followed in order to amend the "Rules and Regulations - Exhibit E" just as if you were trying to amend any other part of the Declarations, By-laws, Articles Of Incorporation, etc.

NEITHER THE PAST OR CURRENT BOARDS HAVE EVER FOLLOWED THESE THREE SIMPLE STEPS... why not???... because these steps require them to have the owners VOTE on any amendments or changes and 80% of the owners have to vote YES in order for the amendment or change to be approved. And remember in yesterdays, "Did You Know?" column, if the amendment or change is a "material" or substantial change, like when they did the illegal amendment lowering the 80% down to only 50% of the owners, then ALL of the Mortgagees(mortgage companies) must also be in the loop and give their 100% written approval of the "material" or substantial change to these original Declarations and ALL exhibits.

Now... there is other language in the By-laws that says that the Board has the right and authority to "promulgate" new rules and regulations from time to time... but while they have the right to "promulgate" these rules, the rules still have to be approved by the Owners by a vote of 80% or more saying YES to the new rules before they become LAW. NONE OF THE PAST OR
CURRENT BOARDS HAVE DONE THESE THREE SIMPLE STEPS.

Now, lets look at the word, "promulgate".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/promulgate - states in part: 2 a: to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promulgation - states in part: Promulgation or enactment is the act of formally proclaiming or declaring new statutory or administrative law when it receives final approval. The power to enact laws lies with authority having appropriate jurisdiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Congress - states in part: "An act adopted by simple majorities in both houses of Congress is promulgated, or given the force of law, in one of the following ways:

-Signature by the President of the United States,

-Inaction by the President after ten days from reception (excluding Sundays) while the Congress is in session, or

-Reconsideration by the Congress after a presidential veto during its session. (A bill must receive a 2/3 majority vote in both houses to override a president's veto).

The President promulgates acts of Congress made by the first two methods. If an act is made by the third method, the presiding officer of the house that last reconsidered the act promulgates it."

Now, lets examine what "promulgate" means. In all three of the above references, "promulgate" does not mean that the Board can just make up or amend the Declarations, By-laws, Rules and Regulations etc.. by just typing up an amendment and saying it is so. THEY ARE NOT GOD! They can "promulgate" (that is "make known or public the terms" OR "formally proclaim... WHEN IT RECEIVES FINAL APPROVAL" OR even in Washington, D.C., "promulgate" has to go through a few steps, including public hearings, committees and sub-committees, votes of both Houses of Congress, Presidential approval or Veto, etc., before a newly proposed "law" actually
becomes LAW.

A copy of this "The Fountain Of Information" has also been forwarded to my Attorney since this research adds a WHOLE NEW TWIST to the current lawsuit and counter-lawsuit going on. Basically, in my opinion, ALL OF THE RULES, FINES, ETC., that FCCA are selectively threatening, harassing, intimidating, fining and ultimately suing us (Suzanne Halprin and myself) over are ALL ILLEGAL since they were not legally amended and/or enacted according to the Declaration's section dealing with amendments. I wonder how much more of YOUR money the current Board will waste in Court trying to enforce all of these illegal rules. Only time will tell but I can assure you that Suzanne and I are going to continue to fight for the rights of ALL OF THE OWNERS at Fountain Court so that the current and future Boards will start to follow the LEGAL rules, like they try to force the rest of us to do with their ILLEGAL rules.

You know... there's an old saying, "Ignorance is no excuse!", but the current Board, Manager and their HIGH-PRICED LAWYER (who is milking the Fountain Court cash cow for all it's worth... raking in over $10,000.00 of YOUR money in the past two years, most of it in the past two months) would rather remain ignorant of the above and just keep on doing things illegally, the way that others have done in the past. There's another old saying, "Ignorance is bliss!"... so it appears that the current Board, Manager and their HIGH-PRICED LAWYER are blissfully dancing around together right now while they continue to WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!

IN CONCLUSION, YOUR CURRENT MANAGER AND BOARD HAVE SPENT OVER TEN THOUSANDS ($10,000.00) DOLLARS IN UNNECESSARY LEGAL FEES AND OVER FIFTY THOUSAND ($50,000.00) DOLLARS IN SO-CALLED PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT FEES AND BOTH THE LAWYER AND THE MANAGER HAVE BEEN GIVING HORRIBLE ADVICE TO THE CURRENT BOARD... ADVICE THAT CONTINUES TO COST EACH AND EVERY OWNER THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND AFTER ALL OF THE CURRENT LAWSUITS AND COMING LAWSUITS ARE FINISHED, THEY WILL HAVE COST FOUNTAIN COURT OWNERS NEARLY ONE-HALF MILLION ($500,000.00) DOLLARS, MEANING EACH AND EVERY OWNER WILL HAVE TO PAY OVER FIVE THOUSAND ($5,000.00) DOLLARS IN ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS JUST TO COVER THE COST OF ALL OF THIS LITIGATION... ALL STARTED BY YOUR CURRENT MANAGER AND BOARD IN THEIR QUEST AND ZEAL TO ILLEGALLY TRY AND CONTROL PEOPLES LIVES... THINGS THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO WITHOUT FOLLOWING THOSE DARNED "THREE SIMPLE STEPS" ABOVE. HOPEFULLY, AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THE OWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO SUE THE LAWYER AND MANAGER, AND THEIR INSURANCE COMPANIES, DUE TO THEIR BAD ADVICE AND RECOVER ALL OF THE OWNER'S MONEY THEY HAVE WASTED AND CONTINUE TO WASTE.

Until next time... maybe even every day this week... let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.thefountainofinformation.blogspot.com/
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

Advertisement:
Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.neighborhoodhomeservices.com/
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

Fountain Court Condos - The Fountain Of Information - Tuesday, May 12, 2009

"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION", Tuesday, May 12, 2009
(PLEASE PRINT OUT A COUPLE OF COPIES OF THIS NEWSLETTER AND GIVE IT TO YOUR
NEIGHBORS WHO MAY NOT BE ONLINE)

-- Special Edition --

HEADLINE --

-- Another "Did You Know?" Column --

Did you know that MANY... make that MOST of the "Rules & Regulations,
Exhibit-E", found on the official Fountain Court website at
http://www.fountaincourtcondos.com/rules_regulations/rules%20&%20regulations
.html
which the current and past Boards have changed were illegally
changed/amended by the current and past Boards and are therefore NOT legally
enforceable??? This means that all of the fines, rules, threats, harassing
letters, etc... some of which have led to the current lawsuits and
counter-lawsuits, costing the owners TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN LEGAL
FEES are all based on illegal acts done by past and current Boards, because
they listened to BAD ADVICE from the Manager-du-jour or the Lawyer-du-jour.
Here is why!!!

In the original Declarations (part of the "Complete Set of Original Condo
Documents" also found on the above website link, and after downloading,
scroll down to page 187/187 of that .PDF document, since page 187 is
actually page 1... yes, they scanned the 187 pages in reverse order so you
have to read the pages from the bottom up), you'll see that page 187/187 is
the cover page, then page 186/187 starts the "FOUNTAIN COURT CONDOMINIUM
INDEX" listing ALL of the various entitled documents that make up the 187
pages. On page 186/187, half way down, you'll see "CONDOMINIUM
DECLARATION", which then starts to list the various attachments and exhibits
that make up the Declaration. When you reach the bottom of that page,
scroll up to page 185/187 and start reading down and about half way down on
that page, you'll see that the "Articles of Incorporation - Exhibit C", the
"Bylaw - Exhibit D" and the "Rules and Regulations - Exhibit "E" to the
Condominium Declaration", etc.... SO the Rules and Regulations - Exhibit
"E", ARE PART OF THE ORIGINAL CONDOMINIUM DOCUMENTS AND ONE OF THE MANY
EXHIBITS MADE A PART OF THE ORIGINAL CONDOMINIUM DECLARATIONS.

Now, here is where it gets really interesting and is the reason for this
"Did You Know?" column.

While still looking at that 187 page document, scroll up to page 104/187,
which is Article XI, AMENDMENT, of the Declarations, which is re-printed
here in its entirety:

"The Condominium Declaration and ALL exhibits thereto may be amended in the
following manner:

1. NOTICE: Notice of the subject matter of the proposed amendment in
reasonably detailed form shall be included in the notice of any meeting at
which a proposed amendment is considered.

2. RESOLUTION: A Resolution adopting a proposed amendment may be proposed
by either the Board of Directors of the Association or by the Unit Owners
meeting as members of the Association and after being proposed by either of
such bodies MUST be approved by the Unit Owners. Owners not present at the
meeting considering such amendment may express their approval in writing or
by proxy. Such approvals MUST be by NOT LESS THAN EIGHTY (80%) percent in
number of the Unit Owners.

3. RECORDING: A copy of each amendment shall be certified by at least two
(2) Officers of the Association as having been duly adopted and shall be
effective when filed for record in the Conveyance Records of Jefferson
Parish, Louisiana. Copies of same SHALL be sent to each Unit Owner in the
manner elsewhere provided for the giving of notices but the same shall not
constitute a condition precedent to the effectiveness of such amendment.
(END OF ARTICLE XI)

Now... lets examine what this says.

Yes, the "Declaration and ALL exhibits thereto may be amended" but they have
to follow these specific and simple rules for doing so. Since the "Rules
and Regulations - Exhibit E" are one of the "exhibits" in these original
documents, these same three simple steps have to be followed in order to
amend the "Rules and Regulations - Exhibit E" just as if you were trying to
amend any other part of the Declarations, By-laws, Articles Of
Incorporation, etc.

NEITHER THE PAST OR CURRENT BOARDS HAVE EVER FOLLOWED THESE THREE SIMPLE
STEPS... why not???... because these steps require them to have the owners
VOTE on any amendments or changes and 80% of the owners have to vote YES in
order for the amendment or change to be approved. And remember in
yesterdays, "Did You Know?" column, if the amendment or change is a
"material" or substantial change, like when they did the illegal amendment
lowering the 80% down to only 50% of the owners, then ALL of the Mortgagees
(mortgage companies) must also be in the loop and give their 100% written
approval of the "material" or substantial change to these original
Declarations and ALL exhibits.

Now... there is other language in the By-laws that says that the Board has
the right and authority to "promulgate" new rules and regulations from time
to time... but while they have the right to "promulgate" these rules, the
rules still have to be approved by the Owners by a vote of 80% or more
saying YES to the new rules before they become LAW. NONE OF THE PAST OR
CURRENT BOARDS HAVE DONE THESE THREE SIMPLE STEPS.

Now, lets look at the word, "promulgate".

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/promulgate - states in part: 2 a:
to make known or public the terms of (a proposed law).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promulgation - states in part: Promulgation or
enactment is the act of formally proclaiming or declaring new statutory or
administrative law when it receives final approval. The power to enact laws
lies with authority having appropriate jurisdiction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Congress - states in part: An act
adopted by simple majorities in both houses of Congress is promulgated, or
given the force of law, in one of the following ways:

-Signature by the President of the United States,

-Inaction by the President after ten days from reception (excluding Sundays)
while the Congress is in session, or

-Reconsideration by the Congress after a presidential veto during its
session. (A bill must receive a 2/3 majority vote in both houses to override
a president's veto).

The President promulgates acts of Congress made by the first two methods. If
an act is made by the third method, the presiding officer of the house that
last reconsidered the act promulgates it.

Now, lets examine what "promulgate" means. In all three of the above
references, "promulgate" does not mean that the Board can just make up or
amend the Declarations, By-laws, Rules and Regulations etc.. by just typing
up an amendment and saying it is so. THEY ARE NOT GOD! They can
"promulgate" (that is "make known or public the terms" OR "formally
proclaim... WHEN IT RECEIVES FINAL APPROVAL" OR even in Washington, D.C.,
"promulgate" has to go through a few steps, including public hearings,
committees and sub-committees, votes of both Houses of Congress,
Presidential approval or Veto, etc., before a newly proposed "law" actually
becomes LAW.

A copy of this "The Fountain Of Information" has also been forwarded to my
Attorney since this research adds a WHOLE NEW TWIST to the current lawsuit
and counter-lawsuit going on. Basically, in my opinion, ALL OF THE RULES,
FINES, ETC., that FCCA are selectively threatening, harassing, intimidating,
fining and ultimately suing us (Suzanne Halprin and myself) over are ALL
ILLEGAL since they were not legally amended and/or enacted according the
Declaration's section dealing with amendments. I wonder how much more of
YOUR money the current Board will waste in Court trying to enforce all of
these illegal rules. Only time will tell but I can assure you that Suzanne
and I are going to continue to fight for the rights of ALL OF THE OWNERS at
Fountain Court so that the current and future Boards will start to follow
the LEGAL rules, like they try to force the rest of us to do with their
ILLEGAL rules.

You know... there's an old saying, "Ignorance is no excuse!", but the
current Board, Manager and their HIGH-PRICED LAWYER (who is milking the
Fountain Court cash cow for all it's worth... raking in over $10,000.00 of
YOUR money in the past two years, most of it in the past two months) would
rather remain ignorant of the above and just keep on doing things illegally,
the way that others have done in the past. There's another old saying,
"Ignorance is bliss!"... so it appears that the current Board, Manager and
their HIGH-PRICED LAWYER are blissfully dancing around together right now
while they continue WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!

IN CONCLUSION, YOUR CURRENT MANAGER AND BOARD HAVE SPENT OVER TEN THOUSANDS
($10,000.00) DOLLARS IN UNNECESSARY LEGAL FEES AND OVER FIFTY THOUSAND
($50,000.00) DOLLARS IN SO-CALLED PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT FEES AND BOTH THE
LAWYER AND THE MANAGER HAVE BEEN GIVING HORRIBLE ADVICE TO THE CURRENT
BOARD... ADVICE THAT CONTINUES TO COST EACH AND EVERY OWNER THOUSANDS OF
DOLLARS AND AFTER ALL OF THE CURRENT LAWSUITS AND COMING LAWSUITS ARE
FINISHED, THEY WILL HAVE COST FOUNTAIN COURT OWNERS NEARLY ONE-HALF MILLION
($500,000.00) DOLLARS, MEANING EACH AND EVERY OWNER WILL HAVE TO PAY OVER
FIVE THOUSAND ($5,000.00) DOLLARS IN ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS JUST TO COVER
THE COST OF ALL OF THIS LITIGATION... ALL STARTED BY YOUR CURRENT MANAGER
AND BOARD IN THEIR QUEST AND ZEAL TO ILLEGALLY TRY AND CONTROL PEOPLES
LIVES... THINGS THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO DO WITHOUT FOLLOWING THOSE DARNED
"THREE SIMPLE STEPS" ABOVE. HOPEFULLY, AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THE
OWNERS WILL BE ABLE TO SUE THE LAWYER AND MANAGER, AND THEIR INSURANCE
COMPANIES, DUE TO THEIR BAD ADVICE AND RECOVER ALL OF THE OWNER'S MONEY THEY
HAVE WASTED AND CONTINUE TO WASTE.

Until next time... maybe even every day this week... let "The Fountain Of
Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

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Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General
Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

Monday, May 11, 2009

The Fountain Of Information - Fountain Court Condos

Monday, May 11, 2009 -

HEADLINES - (Three of them today!)

- An Anonymous Letter To Suzanne Halprin
- MORE Illegal Acts By YOUR Board (Re: Special Owner's Meeting Notice)
- Introducing The New "Did You Know?" Column

---------------------------------------------

-- AN ANONYMOUS LETTER TO SUZANNE HALPRIN --

Please see the attached "scanned" copy of the hand written anonymous letter to Suzanne Halprin, which she received last week. It is attached to this emailed edition, file name "2009-0508-FCC-Sue's First Hate Mail from ANONYMOUS". Following is a re-print of exactly what it says (the SIC's indicate spelling errors in the hand written letter):

-------
Sue,

Everone (SIC) here always felt you were not to (SIC) bright, but lately you proved us all correct!

Your association w/ trouble maker, shit stirrer Lenny takes it all. You win first prize on screwing yourself, along with everyone else here. Do you not see basically you are sueing (SIC) yourself, devalueing (SIC) your property.

You best think more about what you are doing. Are you that deparate (SIC) for a friend to chum with someone who has nothing but a big mouth? He has nothing to lose, whereas you own property here with no place else to go. This property is not worth much now, once people find out of the law suits (SIC) and problems, none of it will sell & be of less value. This will
encourage less & less desirable people to move here & you will be on (SIC) stuck among them.

Please for your sake & ours get rid of this bum & any association with him. If he were so damn smart he would be on his own & not always laying on someone else's leg. You must be brain-washed. Think of your future to (SIC). Remember, he has nothing to lose but a sheep.

He is making a fool of FCC Residnce (SIC) & you. THINK!

(Unsigned and no return address on envelope)

-------

OK. Now lets take a look at this letter and analyze what it is saying, paragraph by paragraph and/or sentence by sentence.

First, while the anonymous author called Sue "not to (SIC) bright", in the first sentence, it should be noted that the author made TWO spelling errors in that same first sentence... so maybe they were looking in the mirror when they were writing this letter. ;-) The mistakes continue with a total of NINE obvious spelling errors in a short, one-page hand written letter. Hmmmm.. judging from the fact that Al Oglesby signed his own name and spelled it wrong (it's spelled "Olgesby" in his signature) on the email that he sent out last week about the upcoming Special Owner's Meeting, one has to wonder if he wrote this error laden anonymous letter. ;-) Here is a
copy/paste of exactly how he signed that last email, dated May 3, 2009...

"Sincerely
Al Olgesby, CCIM, CPM, CEA
Property Manager
Fountain Court Condominium Assoc."

I am a BIG proponent of freedom of speech so I don't have a problem with this author's references to me having a BIG mouth, being a shit stirrer and a trouble maker (mainly to those who deserve it, much like the Media are considered trouble makers by lying/cheating politicians and the police are considered trouble makers by criminal enterprises). Neither Sue nor I feel
the want or need to reply to any of the name-calling since those are the author's opinions and everyone is entitled to their opinion. Sue did mention that I am NOT laying on her leg since I pay my fair share of the expenses and she also mentioned that she would rather "chum" around with me than hang around with a "sheep" like the anonymous author. Obviously, the anonymous author is following around the Board and Manager so closely that if they stop, the anonymous author might have to wipe the brown stuff off their nose. ;-)

Next, lets look at this author's claim that Sue is "devalueing" (SIC) the property and "sueing (SIC) yourself". Please NOTE that neither Suzanne Halprin or I sued FCCA first. We only sued FCCA in response to them suing us first and counter-sued FCCA as part of our defense to try and stop the current Board and Manager from continuing to break the by-laws, declarations, rules and even Louisiana law. As you will see in the coming days, weeks and months, MANY of the illegal things they are doing are a BIG reason for any lowering of property values at FCCA and some of their illegal actions could cause many more lawsuits and even some mortgage companies to possibly accelerate the loans on some of the owners at FCCA so the mortgage
company can get out from having any loans on this property because the owners are allowing the Board and Manager to break so many of the by-laws... many of which provide distinct legal protection for mortgage companies. All that I've done for the past several years is expose and point out the illegal activities of the current and past Boards and Managers and all the current counter-lawsuit is doing is trying to force the Board and Manager to follow the by-laws, declarations and Louisiana law so that mortgage companies will continue to make loans on units at FCCA. If mortgage companies ever decide to stop lending... NOW THAT WOULD SEVERELY AFFECT PROPERTY VALUES!!!!

More to come about this in the below NEW "Did You Know?" column.

When we inevitably prevail in our counter-lawsuit against the current FCCA Board, it will force them and future Boards to start being more open to the owners around FCCA, so that owners will be invited to the monthly/quarterly Board Meetings and be able to ask questions and find out what is going on ahead of time, instead of when it's too late! If and when the current and/or future Board(s) start doing things RIGHT, spending YOUR money responsibly (instead of acting like Washington, D.C.) and being fully open to ALL OF THE OWNERS at FCCA, then things will start to improve. Until then, you are right in your assertion that property values will fall. Suzanne Halprin does not control the Board, Manager or the purse strings at FCCA, YOUR Board and Manager controls them and that is who you should be directing your anger towards... not someone who is standing up for everyone at FCCA and is trying to make the Board start following the law... instead of constantly breaking the law.


---------------------------------------------------------


-- MORE ILLEGAL ACTS BY YOUR BOARD (Re: Special Owner's Meeting Notice) --

Even after it has been legally pointed out to the Board and Manager in our counter-lawsuit, they are once again promoting the upcoming election of a "Treasurer" which is yet another direct violation of the by-laws. It has been pointed out many times in TFOI and in letters and now in court proceedings that the declarations and by-laws DO NOT ALLOW THE OWNERS TO VOTE for the Officers of FCCA (namely the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary). What the by-laws do clearly state is that the Owners vote for the Board Of Directors and then the Board Of Directors hold a meeting and vote on who is going to be President, Vice-President,
Treasurer and Secretary. This is one of the MANY by-laws and declarations that FCCA has been violating for MANY years. The way the current and past Boards have been doing things would be comparable to the United States holding an election for King, Queen and Prime Minister... when these titles are not allowed according to our Constitution and U.S. Law. FCCA has been
and is currently trying to hold elections like they were a State or the United States in allowing the owners to vote for the President, V-P, etc., BUT that is not how things are done in Corporate law and FCCA is a Corporation so the stock-holders (aka owners) vote for the Board of Directors and then the Board of Directors decide who is going to be the CEO, President, etc., of the Corporation. I hope this further explains to the current Board and Manager so they will start to understand the by-laws and rules that they so love to selectively enforce on others, while ignoring the by-laws when they pertain to them.

There are also many other inconsistencies where the letter talks about the Proxy being allowed in any May 14, 2009 vote but also will be used in the Annual Meeting, usually held in November, but then on the Proxy itself, it says "For the May 14, 2009 Special Owner's Meeting Only" so who knows what they are going to try to do with these proxies at the Annual Owner's Meeting... BUT WE WILL BE WATCHING!!!


-------------------------------------------------


-- INTRODUCING THE NEW "DID YOU KNOW?" COLUMN --

As mentioned above, I will start publishing a regular "Did You Know?" column where I will re-print an actual by-law, rule or declaration and then examine and explain it... usually it will be one of the MANY that the current and past Boards and Managers regularly violate.

Did you know.... that a past Board ILLEGALLY changed the by-laws in 2003/2004 when they got enough owner's proxies to vote on changing the section of the by-laws pertaining to what percentage of owner's votes are needed to make changes in the by-laws. Yeah, I know that's confusing. LOL

Let's look at the original language in the Declarations and By-laws and how the current and past Boards and Managers have regularly, repeatedly and ILLEGALLY violated the protections set up in the declarations and by-laws.

In the By-laws, Article VI, Section 3, NOTICE OF AMENDMENT OF DECLARATION OR BYLAWS states:

"The Board of Directors SHALL give notice to all Mortgagees seven (7) days prior to the date on which the Unit Owners, in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws, materially amend the Condominium Instruments."

And Section 4. MORTGAGEES' APPROVALS states:

"Unless all Mortgagees SHALL have given their prior written approval, neither the Unit Owners Association shall:

"... (e) Materially amend the Declarations or the Bylaws, including, but not limited to any amendment which would change the Percentage Interests of the Unit Owners in the Project...."

And Section 5. OTHER RIGHTS OF MORTGAGEES states:

"All Mortgagees or their representatives SHALL be entitled to attend meetings of the Unit Owners Association and SHALL have the right to speak thereat. All such Mortgagees SHALL have the right to examine the books and records of the Condominium during normal business hours and to require the submission of annual audited financial reports and other budgetary
information within ninety (90) days following the end of any fiscal year. They SHALL also receive notice of all meetings of the Owners Association and be permitted to designate a representative to attend all such meetings."

NONE OF THESE SECTIONS OF THE BY-LAWS HAVE EVER BEEN FOLLOWED AS FAR AS ANY RECORDS THAT I HAVE SEEN IN THE PAST FIVE TO SIX YEARS.

There's a reason why this language was included in the Condominium Documents... to protect the owners and the Mortgage holders from a Board or Manager that decides to ignore, circumvent or outright break the law concerning the Declarations and By-laws.

In fact, in 2003, when Sultan Mirza, Fred Rapp and Ronnie Breath were the Board of Directors, they garnered enough proxy votes and other owners to MATERIALLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE THE DECLARATIONS AND BY-LAWS by lowering the voting percentage needed to vote in any future changes to the Condominium Documents. There is a reason why the Louisiana Condominium Act and the original documents required a SUPER MAJORITY, not just a 50% plus one majority, to make any changes. This was to protect ALL of the owners, their mortgage companies, etc., from a runaway Board doing things that might be severely detrimental to the overall financial and corporate stability of the condominium association.

Considering the FACT that they DID NOT notify ALL of the mortgage companies of each and every Owner's Meeting for the past MANY years and further have held illegal votes to change the Declarations and/or By-laws without notifying the Mortgage companies and further that they have not had the annual audited financial reports prepared in the past MANY years, these past and current Boards and Managers may be seriously jeopardizing future owners at FCCA in their abilities to get a mortgage. If prospective buyers can't get mortgages, then the prospective sellers will not be able to sell their unit... or will only be able to do cash sales, meaning the property values will go down since there will not be as many qualified buyers available.

DO YOU REALLY WANT FOUNTAIN COURT TO GET SUED OVER AND OVER BY OWNERS AND MORTGAGE COMPANIES UNTIL YOU ALL ARE FORCED INTO BANKRUPTCY COURT BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE OWNERS JUST SIT BY WITH THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND IGNORING ALL OF THE ILLEGAL, UNETHICAL AND IMMORAL ACTS OF PAST AND CURRENT BOARDS AND MANAGERS????

This is just a fraction of an iota of the many more columns, "Did You Know?", that will be highlighting and exposing the MANY other illegal acts that past and current FCCA Boards have and are continuing to do!!! I just thought this one was suiting since the Board called this Special Owner's Meeting and FAILED to notify any of the Mortgage holders... in direct and repeated violation of the By-laws!!!

There is so much more to say and report on but until next time... let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!!!

Sincerely (and NOT anonymously),

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

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Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
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Sunday, May 03, 2009

TFOI - Sunday, May 3, 2009 - YOUR Board is trying to break the laws again!!!

"The Fountain Of Information" - Sunday, May 3, 2009

HEADLINE - YOUR Board is trying to break the laws again!!!

The following email was sent to me from the owner who is currently involved in litigation, along with me, against the illegal/unlawful actions and activities by the current FCCA Board, manager... and now their attorney. Attachments are NOT attached to this email/post but I have re-printed the contents of those two letters below this email for your ready reference and for publication to the various blogs, bulletin boards, etc... and for the easier forwarding by anyone on this mail list so you can print this for, and/or forward this to other concerned owners/residents of Fountain Court. The only thing not being re-printed with this report are the actual SECTIONS and SUB-SECTIONS referenced in the letters but if you would like a copy of those eight pages, with highlights, please reply and I will forward same to you via email.

Once again, if you would like to see FCCA run properly and legally or maybe you've been the victim of the current BOD's selective harassment or threats, please let us know and/or come join us in our lawsuit against the current FCCA Board to stop them in their tracks.

As Thomas Jefferson said, and it rings so truly not only in our country today... but even more so in FCCA, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson.

Do you want to live in tyranny... fearing retaliation from the Board du jour, as so many do around Fountain Court... or do you want to live with liberty where the Board listens to you and follows the By-laws and rules like they demand that others do???

Until next time, let "The Fountain Of Information" flow!

Lenny Vasbinder, Editor
TheFountainOfInformation@gmail.com
http://www.thefountainofinformation.blogspot.com/
Cell-504-621-1870 eFax-413-318-0742

Advertisement:
Lenny Vasbinder NHSNOLA@gmail.com
Cell-504-621-1870 Fax-413-318-0742
http://www.neighborhoodhomeservices.com/
P.O.Box 74031, Metairie, LA 70033-4031
Handyman Services, Lawn & Garden Care, Residential Contractor, General Cleaning & Trash Hauling, Etc.

-----Original Message-----

From: Suzie Halprin
Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2009 11:06 PM
To: al@alcorgroup.com; info@fountaincourtcondos.com; vtunstall@panamericanlife.com; buftun@aol.com; cablenetno@netzero.net

Subject: FCCA vs. Halprin - Your ILLEGAL threat of a LIEN

May 02, 2009

To: Fountain Court Condominium Assn, Inc., through it's Board of Directors and/or other illegally elected/appointed persons, through their known email addresses:

Please see the attached files.

The first attachment is a copy of the letter that FCCA and/or Alcor had Clarence Favret III send to me, threatening to put an ILLEGAL Lien on my property.

Technically, this threat is no different than any other ILLEGAL threat and it should be a criminal matter... no different than if Favret and Alcor were threatening to RAPE me or STEAL my property... which are ILLEGAL! Because of this, I have filed complaints with the proper authorities, including those governmental agencies who regulate, license and/or discipline
attorney's and real estate persons/entities in Louisiana.

The second attachment is a copy of the letter that I have sent to FCCA and its attorney, Clarence Favret III and I have also sent it to Al Oglesby, personally and The Alcor Group, LLC.

Once again, in my reply letter, you will see that the FCCA Board, Alcor and Favret have failed to read the Declarations, By-laws and Rules and/or are seemingly unable to understand them and are thereby attempting to take illegal actions based on sections of the Declarations and By-laws that are clearly written and defined to show that FCCA, Alcor and Favret CAN NOT do what they are attempting to do... once again, wasting the owners money on attorney's fees and eventual court costs while attempting to do, yet another, illegal action.

So far, the FCCA Board has WASTED over $10,000.00 in legal fees pursuing these illegal actions. How much more are the owners willing to let the current FCCA Board waste before doing something???

I have also forwarded, by this email, a copy of these letters to my attorney, Mr. Thomas Schmidt for his reference, in the event that he needs to amend my current counter-lawsuit against FCCA, to add many other co-defendants-in-reconvention.

If the FCCA Board, Alcor and Favret continue with this threat/conspiracy to try and steal my money/property, I will have no choice but to take further legal action above and beyond what I have already done with my counter-lawsuit against FCCA, my filing complaints against Favret and Alcor with the authorities but by also filing an additional lawsuit or amending my current counter-lawsuit to include these new actions that FCCA, Alcor and Favret are trying to ILLEGALLY take against me.

Since I consider, and it will be shown that the current Board is illegally elected/appointed and/or comprised, I will also seriously be considering amending my counter-lawsuit to PERSONALLY include each of the illegally elected/appointed Officers/Board Members and the illegally appointed "At-large Board Members". You all can then start to feel what you have been trying to put me through... or you can rely on Favret to represent you all... that will be your choice.... but since Favret will also be a co-defendant, he may have a conflict of interest in representing you all so you might have to go hire attorneys to represent each of you.

While the illegally elected Officers/Board Members might be covered by the Directors/Officers insurance for Fountain Court, I doubt that the illegally appointed "At-Large Board Members" are covered since those aren't even titles mentioned anywhere in the By-laws or Condo Declarations so I doubt an insurance company would even issue a policy to cover these illegal
positions. I suggest that Alcor, Virginia Tunstall and Jim Roussell forward a copy of this email and attachments to the other illegal "At-Large Board Members" so they will know what will be coming at them soon if you all continue with your illegal actions.

Please notify your attorney and insurance company of this letter and let me know within 10 days if you will be recalling this ILLEGAL threat. Of course, if you all allow Favret/Alcor to file this ILLEGAL Lien on my property, you will leave me no choice but to file suit against each and every one of you and seek damages for the illegal attempt to steal money from me and or seize my property.

Suzanne Halprin
SuzieHomemakers@Gmail.com
6901 Veterans Memorial Blvd., #65
Metairie, LA 70003
(504) 343-6848


-------------------------


Re-print of Attachment #1


April 27, 2009

Suzanne Halprin
6901 Veterans Boulevard
Unit 65
Metairie, LA 70003

Re: Fountain Court Condominium Association, Inc., vs. Suzanne Halprin, Unit 65

Dear Ms. Halprin:

Pursuant to Section IX, ASSESSMENTS, Subsection 9, LIEN FOR DELINQUENT COMMON EXPENSES and on behalf of Fountain Court Condominium Association, we hereby make formal legal demand for payment of all past due amounts due on your Fountain Court Condominium Association account in the amount of $8,829.34.

Pursuant to the above referenced section and subsection, this letter shall serve as seven (7) days prior written notice of the Association's intent to file a lien on your unit ownership interest. After expiration of seven (7) days from the date of receipt of this correspondence, the lien will be filed
and executed upon thereafter unless payment is received in full.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

With kindest regards,

FAVRET, DEMAREST, RUSSO & LUTKEWITTE

/s/ Clarence F. Favret, III


-------------------------


Re-print of Attachment #2 - Reply by Suzanne Halprin to Clarence Favret, III, the FCCA Board and Alcor/Al Oglesby


CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

April 30, 2009

Clarence F. Favret, III
Suite 1400
1515 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70112

Fountain Court Condominium Association, Inc.
c/o its Attorney, Clarence F. Favret, III

Al Oglesby, personally and
The ALCOR Group, L.L.C.
4430 S. I-10 Service Rd., W.
Metairie, LA 70001-1211

Re: Your letter dated April 27, 2009 - Re: Fountain Court Condominium Association, Inc. vs. Suzanne Halprin, Unit 65

Dear Mr. Favret,

I have reviewed your letter and the referenced sections.

Please note. and your letter even underlines the FACT that these sections deal ONLY with unpaid "Common Expenses" and since you should have read the definition of "Common Expenses" in the Declarations document and the By-laws, which you cited, you will see that these are the expenses that are "commonly" shared by all unit owners. a/k/a the monthly condo dues. Please note further, by the monthly statement which you had attached to your letter, that I have ALWAYS paid my monthly condo dues on time. although the Board/Manager may sometimes not post the payments timely or deposit my checks for days or weeks after I deposited them in the official mailbox for such payments.

Your letter is obviously trying to threaten and intimidate me and you are basing your letter on what is clearly stated as "Common Expenses", not the illegal fines and/or attorney's fees that have been illegally added to my account by Alcor. As you already know, the so-called "Rules" that Alcor/FCCA was trying to fine me over were all ILLEGAL rules. which also means that the fines and anything associated with the rules/fines, such as your attorney's fees, are also ILLEGAL.

I am also filing a complaint with the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board for your ILLEGAL threat for which you knew or should have known that "Common Expenses" are NOT the illegal fines/attorney's fees that Alcor/FCCA has tried to charge me, which have ALL been duly and legally contested.

Your letter is just another example of how FCCA, ALCOR and now YOU are trying to threaten, intimidate and harass me. all of which so far, have been based on selective enforcement/harassment of rules/by-laws and/or ILLEGAL actions by all of you.

I trust that this reply and my complaint to the LADB will cause you to retract your threat but if you do go forward with filing a Lien on my property, I will also add this action to my pending lawsuit for additional damages against FCCA and further, I will add Al Oglesby, Alcor and YOU
personally as parties to the lawsuit since you are either giving FCCA horrible advice or just ignoring the law, rules and by-laws in your efforts to pacify FCCA's and Alcor's want or need to try and control people around Fountain Court.. and/or to run up your bill to FCCA. a bill that I as an owner am partially having to pay with my Condo Dues.

Respectfully,


/s/

Suzanne Halprin
6901 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Unit 65
Metairie, LA 70003
504-343-6848

c.c. -

Mr. Thomas Schmidt, Attorney

Copy attached to complaint filed with:
Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL
4000 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Suite 607
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816

emailed copy to FCCA and Board Members with known email addresses;

(END OF RE-PRINT OF ATTACHMENTS)