Question:
A guest of one of our residents was sitting outside a condo eating a smoothie yesterday when our grounds crew started to spray Ortho Weed-B-Gone on the grass approximately 10 feet from where he was seated. He claims to have suffered blurred vision, migraine-type headache above right eye, raw throat, chest pains, and nausea. He is seeking reimbursement for clothing he claims to have destroyed and help with the emergency room bill he encountered. I know you are not an attorney; but, I am asking what the policy is in condo associations with regard to spraying a relatively innocuous lawn product such as Weed-B-Gone. We are trying to decide whether it is best to turn it over to our insurance company, write a letter of apology, put up signs in the future that we will be spraying, or to offer some remuneration with a disclaimer for further liability. We are also checking into what local companies do when spraying. Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
Anyone who sprays pesticides are required to be licensed and notice is to be given. No matter how little you spray. If your employee is not, both the association and your employee may be liable.
Contact your insurance agent and notify him of your situation. The association most likely has a medical rider to take care of such claims. Your refusal to try and help with the cost could bring in an attorney for the "Injured." Then it really gets expensive.
If the cost is pretty low, the Board my want to just pay the costs from the association operating funds, thereby avoiding a claim with the insurance. But whatever you do you should always notify the Insurance Agent and let him tell you what the next step should be.
If it was an outside landscape contractor who did the spraying then the homeowner and the association can go after them, whether or not they are licensed. I would be very careful on this as it could turn ugly.
Question:
Our association, at the president's urging, has just replaced its second management company in less than a year; he has hired his common-law wife to manage the property, his father to make repairs, his sister to take minutes of meetings. He has appointed Board members without votes of the Board. What steps might the Board take to control this individual?
Answer:
The Board President has a direct conflict of interest and should remove himself from the board or terminate his family members.
You can have the board call a special meeting of the members by submitting a petition signed by 25% or the owners to discuss this conflict, all in accordance with Arizona Revised Statutes.
If nothing changes, you can do the same to remove a board member.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Questions & Answers on Common Issues for HOA Homeowner Associations
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Are black wedding dresses becoming popular?
The trend of wearing white dresses on weddings is getting un-popular with the modernization. Now more brides prefer dresses which are out of the tradition and this is the main reason why brides now choose black wedding dresses. The trend of wearing black wedding dress is getting more and more popular with time.
There are a few people who scoff at the concept of wearing black wedding dresses because of their traditional thinking that this is the tradition of Gothic community. But, no matter who has started the trend, it is a fact that more and more women choose black wedding dresses all over the world and this has changed the life styles as well.
There can be many reasons behind the selection of black wedding dress on wedding day and one of these reasons is the season. This means if your wedding is near Halloween, you may prefer to wear black wedding dress. The other reason most of the time behind the selection of the black wedding dress is the liking of bride as she may feel that fabric in black color will flatter her more.
One other important reason behind the popularity of black wedding dresses is change in the trends as most of the weddings are now about style. Bride feels that she does not need to wear the traditional white dress to show her purity and faithfulness. Now she likes to look beautiful and stylish and this is the reason behind the acceptance of different colors for the selection of bridal dresses.
Another good reason behind the change in trend is that the bride can wear her black dress again as well. White wedding dresses are no more usable for most of the women while by wearing black dress, they can make some easy alterations in the dress and wear it again on some occasion. Thus they can fully utilize the money spent on the purchase of the dress.
There is one problem if you want to choose black wedding dress on your special day and that is the unavailability of these dresses at every bridal store as this trend is still new and is still not that much common among the brides. But this does not really mean that you cannot find your dream dress. You just need to explore some of the wedding stores and you will surely find your perfect dress which will suit you.
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