McGill v. Lion Place Condo. Ass’n

Paul McGill and Michael Henery, the developers of the Lion Place Condominium, both offered to purchase the limited common elements adjacent to Henery’s commercial units. The unincorporated unit owners association that governed the condominium voted to accept Henery’s offer and transferred the limited common elements to Henery. McGill filed a derivative action on behalf of the association against Henery and the association challenging the sale of the limited common elements. The district court concluded that the sale and conveyance were void and that title to the limited common elements remained with the Association because the sale was only approved by 77.7 percent of the association and there was no agreement signed by the requisite number of unit owners. The court awarded McGill his attorney fees and expenses. The Supreme Court (1) concluded that equity allows a derivative suit on behalf of an unincorporated unit owners association; (2) affirmed the judgment invaliding the sale, holding that the governing statute requires both approval by eighty percent of the votes in the association and unanimous agreement by the owners of units to which the limited common elements are allocated; and (3) vacated the award of costs and expenses, as the relevant statute does not permit the recovery of expenses. View "McGill v. Lion Place Condo. Ass’n" on Justia Law