Karen, on the other hand, had almost completely disappeared. We did not see her outside. Her car stayed in the garage. And when she did leave the house, she avoided looking toward our driveway. But the HOA board was not finished yet. A week later, another meeting was scheduled. This time, the subject was not our car. It was the review of Karen’s conduct as HOA president. The room was not nearly as full as the previous meetings, but the board members looked much more serious. The attorney was there again. Karen sat at the same table she had controlled just a week earlier, but the situation had completely flipped. She was not running the meeting anymore. The vice president was.
He opened the discussion calmly. “The board has completed its review.” Karen did not look up. The attorney spoke next. “Based on the documentation, several enforcement actions were taken without board authorization.” Karen’s voice was quiet now. “I was trying to enforce the rules.” One of the board members responded, “You created fines without evidence.” Another added something else. “And you involved law enforcement unnecessarily.” Karen did not argue. For the first time since the situation started, she did not have anything left to say, because the evidence she created herself had already told the entire story.
The vice president looked down at the notes in front of him. Then he looked up at Karen. “The board has discussed the situation with counsel,” he said calmly. Karen did not respond. She just stared at the table. One of the board members spoke next. “Several actions taken during this dispute violated normal HOA procedure.” Karen shook her head slightly. “I was trying to enforce the rules.” The board member answered quietly, “You enforced assumptions.” The attorney added something else. “And those assumptions exposed the HOA to unnecessary legal risk.” Karen finally looked up. “So, what happens now?” The vice president did not hesitate. “The board has voted to remove you as HOA president.”
The room went silent. Karen blinked. “You can’t do that.” “Yes,” he said, “we can.” Another board member spoke. “The bylaws allow the board to appoint a new president if necessary.” Karen’s voice rose again. “This is because of them,” she said, pointing toward my wife and me. The vice president shook his head. “No.” Then he said something simple. “This is because of your actions.” Karen sat there for a moment. Then she laughed quietly. “You’re all overreacting.” The attorney closed his folder. “Actually, the board is preventing a larger problem.” Karen looked back at him. “What problem?” “Legal exposure.” The room was silent again. Karen looked around the table. For the first time since the situation began, she had absolutely no authority left in the room.