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THE FADING SETTLEMENT OPPORTUNITY

I posted the following information on January 3, 2006 in conjunction with a settlement counterproposal I sent to counsel for the HOA:

If you have read nothing else on this web page to date, please do yourself (and me) a favor and read the following regarding the proposals to settle this matter and the waste of time and resources that has taken place to date. Unfortunately, it appears that this trend will continue, and we are quickly approaching the point of no return.

At this point, the following is all you need to know (please read all the way to the end, if you can stand it), and I would encourage those who read this who are members of the HOA to care enough to inform themselves and the rest of their neighbors about this situation. If this thing does not get resolved by this Friday, January 6, 2006, the association members should plan on seeing me coming to their doorsteps over the next few weeks to enlist their help in calling a special meeting so we can resolve this matter before it is too late.

I am sad to say that the HOA has decided it does not desire to settle this litigation in a reasonable manner, unless, of course, you think that me paying $7,000.00 in attorney's fees that the HOA has supposedly incurred to date with its attorneys, Stites & Harbison, is reasonable. I have been in this business for nearly 15 years, and while I have seen excessive fees before, I cannot fathom the kind of file-churning that must be going on at Stites & Harbison to generate those kinds of fees on this kind of matter at this stage of the litigation - literally nothing has happened other than the two sides drawing their respective lines in the sand. At this rate, I can only assume it will take $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 of the HOA's money to see this matter to a conclusion. The good news for the HOA, however, is that because I filed a counterclaim, some of its costs might get paid through whatever insurance policy it has, and that is why you will be starting to hear from Peter York of Hawkins & Parnell in the coming weeks and months. As you may know, Messrs. Pontrelli and York and their respective firms represented the HOA in its litigation with the Creech family.

I said and meant that I would only make one offer to settle this matter (my December 13 letter), but in a final attempt to stop the insanity, I have responded to Mr. Pontrelli's latest counterproposal with one of my own. I welcome the input of my friends, neighbors and/or enemies regarding the competing settlement proposals and whether any of them think it would be prudent for me to write a $7,000.00 check to the HOA now or face the possibility of a $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 attorney's fee bill (not to mention another $10,000.00 to $15,000.00 in possible fines) at the conclusion of the litigation.

While those numbers are staggering (not to mention completely avoidable), they pale in comparison to the stupidity of this exercise. I am not sure when my friends and neighbors intend to get off their collective duffs and bring an end to this absurdity, but there is no time like the present. You need to make yourselves be heard, and rest assured that I will not go quietly into the night.

I offered to settle this matter on
reasonable terms by letter dated December 13, 2005

Dec 13 Settlement Proposal to Pontrelli

Full Text of Dec 13 Ltr to Pontrelli

It makes sense to stop the madness, especially
with the HOA attorney's fees allegedly at $7,000.00 (according to Mr. Pontrelli),
and counting (although it appears that new counsel has entered the Action on the
basis of my counterclaim and this may defray some of the costs incurred by the HOA
as a result of insurance carried by the HOA)

Dec 30 Counterproposal from Pontrelli

I cannot, in good conscience, agree to anything
that prohibits me from letting my side of the story be known to
those who care to inform themselves about it

Jan 3 Counterproposal to Pontrelli

I know that when it comes right down to it, many of my friends and neighbors are willing to look the other way about this matter because they think it does not involve them and is not their problem. The few that have approached me about this matter assume that the HOA dropped its Complaint once I poured my driveway, and they seem surprised when I tell them it did not. Once I let them know that, however, and presumably because there is no direct real cost to them and they have better things to do anyway, they wish me luck against the HOA Board and put it out of their minds. Too many neighborhood associations have run amok for too long, and most people find themselves trying to stay below the radar rather than confronting head-on some of the unreasonableness they see.

If you do not believe this is something that can or will affect you, guess again, especially if you happen to live in a neighborhood with so-called "protective" covenants. It may only be a matter of time before a new group of HOA Board members with a vendetta or peculiar "hot buttons" decides that a particular "violation" of their neighborhood covenants is no longer okay and that they should do something about it. While there are legal and equitable concepts like laches and estoppel that may save the day, it still could cost a substantial amount in attorney's fees to make those arguments and most of us do not have the resources or stamina to fight the necessary fight.

Believe me, if I was not an attorney, I could not afford one, and I have no desire to spend the time and resources it will take to litigate this Action unless I absolutely have to do so. Nevertheless, I will make available whatever time and resources are necessary to fight what I believe to be a just fight. While I do not like endeavors that waste time and money, sometimes one has no choice but to proceed.

As you review the terms of the counterproposal offered to me by the HOA, ask yourself why it would be important to neighbors who are making decisions for their neighborhood to silence one of their most vocal critics, for what right could be more fundamental than to disagree with others and make that disagreement known to all the world? Whether I am right or wrong, why should the resolution of this matter hinge upon what I choose to say to my friends and neighbors about it?

If this Action is settled on the terms I counterproposed by letter dated January 3, 2006, I will be satisfied. Otherwise, I make no apologies for defending myself zealously and for pursuing my own claims against the HOA (and others, if applicable), in the same fashion.