Mistakes Boards Make...

Is the topic for the Utah Chapter's Managers' Munch this Friday. Two other lawyers (John Morris and Peter Harrison) will be joining me on a panel to discuss what we see as the nine most common mistakes made by association boards.

I'll follow up my comments with postings on this blog, but if you don't want to wait, and/or if you want to see what John and Peter think, you ought to join us. The meetings are at the Cottonwood Club, and the food is usually pretty good. Register here, if you're interested.

Garage Condos -- Coming Soon?

A company called Garage Town USA, which has developed garage condominiums in several western states, including Idaho, is reporting that their franchises have been approved in Utah.


I'm going to try to get my hands on a declaration, since I'd be interested to see a declaration that presumably prohibits residential uses, encourages the parking of cars, and encourages business uses. Those conditions obviously exist in commercial condominiums, but they aren't typically marketed to individuals and families.

Deal, or No Deal?

Probably better to take the deal, according to a study summarized here in the New York Times.

According to the article, "most of the plaintiffs who decided to pass up a settlement offer and went to trial ended up getting less money than if they had taken that offer."

One of the more interesting statements in the article was the assertion that lawyers may be inclined to discourage settlement, in light of the potential loss of revenue.

(What?!?!? Who said that!)

"Playing With Fire"...

An article that I just wrote with that title, dealing with avoiding lawsuits, has just been published in the September/October issue of Common Ground magazine. Members of CAI can read the article here. Nonmembers of CAI can join here. Or, you can get a subscription to Common Ground here.

Then again, if you'd rather hear about how to avoid lawsuits, you can keep an eye out for courses at our Community Learning Center, where we'll cover this material, and more, over the next several months.

Mark Your Calendar...

for the Utah Chapter of CAI's 2008 Trade Show.

Hobbs & Olson and utahcondolaw.com are both proud sponsors, and I will be discussing environmental issues, and participating on the legal panel.

Admission is free for chapter members, and there will be prizes!

For more details, visit the
Utah Chapter website.