FINAL APPEAL TO REASON
As of January 7, 2006, I am preparing for the worst and have updated this
page in a final attempt to appeal to reason and logic before it is too late.
I am able to say in good conscience that I have done everything I could
reasonably do to help bring this matter to an amicable resolution and
without any more unnecessary trouble and expense for either side. I
understand all too well, however, that while you can lead a horse to water,
you cannot make him drink, and I can only hope that the HOA will realize, in
time,
that it is thirsty.
For members of the HOA, if you do not receive something from Heritage
Management Company in the next few weeks letting you know that this matter
has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both me and the HOA, then at the end of this month
you can start checking "The Latest Updates" to find out what is happening
and what parts of this web page have new information added. I know
these pages contain a lot of information, but I want to make sure that
everyone who is interested
can find out what is going on with respect to this matter if they so desire. If you think this
dispute is an isolated problem, you should check out some of the litigation
links, articles and other information at the website of the American Homeowners Resource
Center - www.ahrc.com. Please note
that while some of the folks who post information on the AHRC site are a little
over the top, it certainly is thought-provoking.
So far, I have been following logic and my sense of fairness and justice
as tempered by my legal training and background in deciding how to proceed
with this matter. I do not profess to know
all of the answers and have not yet determined the relative strengths or
weaknesses of mine and the HOA's respective sides - only time will tell -
although it is safe to assume that I believe I have a better chance of
winning than I do of losing.
You certainly can rest assured that if I thought there was a good chance I
would lose, or if I thought there was a realistic chance I might be liable
for the HOA's attorney's fees which can only continue to be exorbitant, I
have enough sense to cut my losses and take the
December 30, 2005 counterproposal offered to me by counsel for the HOA. While I like my chances, I certainly understand
that the only thing that is certain at this time is that (i) my firm and I will develop
some expertise in this area of the law (which I consider to be a plus as the
firm continues to expand and grow its business), and (ii) there will be a
good bit of time and money spent by both sides on this matter. For the
life of me, I cannot figure out how it makes any sense for this litigation
to continue, and I have hope that the HOA will come to its senses before
both of us feel we have too much invested to walk away.
Understand that because I am representing myself both as an attorney and a
litigant, I have not to date had any contact with any past or present
members of the HOA Board other than through the
December 13, 2005 mass mailing to all of the neighbors, the information
I have posted on these web pages, and my correspondence to the HOA's counsel. Legal
ethics prohibit a lawyer from contacting a party represented by another lawyer,
even though litigants are free to talk all they want without their attorneys'
involvement. While I certainly believe I would be within my rights to talk to the HOA Board
members in my capacity as one of the litigants, it is a grey area that I
purposefully have avoided to date and will continue to avoid unless the HOA
Board or its individual members initiate the contact.
Although I find it crazy that we
neighbors all would not at
least sit down face to face to discuss our differences (even if the end
result was that we all agreed to disagree with each other), I am constrained by
my ethical obligations
from initiating any direct contact with any of the HOA Board members about
this matter other than through the HOA's counsel.
I renew the offer contained in the first and second full paragraphs of page
2 of my
December 13, 2005 letter to the HOA's counsel to meet with the HOA Board and/or its counsel in an attempt
to stop this train wreck from happening. That meeting will now have to
take place in my home, the home of one of the HOA board members, or in my
office in Cumming. I also welcome any HOA Board member who wants to discuss
this matter with me directly to do so and advise such Board member to clear
same with counsel if such Board member deems doing so necessary. If
you are a member of the HOA and have any relationship whatsoever with an HOA
Board member, by all means encourage him or her to talk to me.
Please understand that under no circumstances will I agree to anything that
costs me any more money or opportunity costs than this has already cost me to date,
and what I proposed in my
January 3, 2006 letter to Mr. Pontrelli is a sensible resolution of this
matter. I remain ready, willing
and able to explain myself in person to anyone on the HOA Board (or in the
neighborhood) who thinks talking to me would be helpful. We live at 4250 High Gables East,
our
phone number is (770) 887-9283, and anyone who wants to come to visit with
us is
always welcome. Our children are involved in sports and other
activities, but we are generally here in the evenings after 8:00 p.m.