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Landscape committee chairwoman wants to clean house

Q. Does a newly elected condominium board member, who is the new Landscape Committee chairwoman, have the right to "fire" five committee members of long standing? The chair gave no advance notice and had no cause, stating only that she wanted "new blood."

A. Section 108.40 of the Illinois Not for Profit Corporation Act governs committees in condominiums, whether or not the condominium is incorporated. If the articles of incorporation or bylaws so provide, a majority of the board may create a committee and appoint board members or other people to serve on the committee. Presumably, if the board appoints members to a committee, the board (and not the committee chair) would have to remove a member or members from a committee, rather than the chair of the committee doing this unilaterally. That said, the board should take a close look at the association's bylaws to determine if it addresses this issue.

Q. Recently, you wrote about state governing laws for associations. I am concerned about actions taken by my association's board with regard to the Common Interest Community Association Act and the General Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1986, as well as other governing rules. When a board does not abide by association's governing documents or the state laws, is there any way to ensure compliance with these governing documents and laws? If so, how?

A. There are several "remedies" to consider when a board is not following the governing documents, or governing statutes. The first approach is a political approach. That is, seek to elect different board members at the next annual meeting. This requires running a competing candidate or candidates, and soliciting proxies from owners in support of your "slate."

If that time line is too far away, consider seeking to remove one or more of the current board members from the board. This can be initiated by a petition signed by 20 percent of the membership, requesting a special meeting for the purpose of voting on removal of board members and to vote to fill the vacancies created thereby. This would require the board to hold a meeting of the members. Two-thirds of the membership may remove a board member as a director at a duly called special meeting. If the removal is successful, you would need to be prepared to also elect successors to fill the vacancies. Again, this requires having a like-minded candidate or candidates, and soliciting proxies from owners in support of your candidates.

Or, you can file a written compliant with the board of the association for the Illinois Condominium and Common Interest Community Association Ombudsperson Act, claiming the board is violating the Common Interest Community Association Act. Depending on the board's determination of the complaint, beginning July 1, 2020, and if the legislature has appropriated funds, qualifying unit owners may make complaints to the ombudsperson for assistance in resolving a dispute between a unit owner and an association that involves a violation of the Condominium Property Act or the Common Interest Community Association Act.

Finally, if none of this is effective, an owner can file a suit against the board. The suit could seek a court order requiring the board to follow proper procedures, the governing law and the association's governing documents, with respect to the issues you would raise in a suit. However, this is a very expensive undertaking and, in general, a successful owner would not be able to recover their attorney's fees from the association.

• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.

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