If you are fighting a Crime Free Lease Addendum in Arizona that gives your association the right to terminate your lease, the 2014 Arizona Legislature has provided you all the necessary ammunition you'll need. The legislature added ARS 33-1806.01 which provides that "Owner may designate in writing a third party (e.g., residential property manager) to act as the owner’s agent with respect to all Association matters relating to the rental unit, including the official recipient of legal notices." This means that as of 2014, an owner can easily argue before the DFBLS that his/her HOA is attempting to re-interpret the law such that an owner "must" (forcibly, and under the threat of fine or lien) designate the HOA as a third party beneficiary to the lease. This is a clear violation of an owners right as defined in ARS 33-1806.01.
The Travis Law Firm an HOA Law Firm in Arizona whose specialty is Community Association Law and Litigation is in the midst of a lawsuit by a homeowner in the west valley. The Travis Law firm is headed by Attorney Travis Chandler and Attorney Melissa S. Lavonier. In their first complaint, plaintiffs claim that The Travis Law Firm engaged in an abuse of process when they required that plaintiff pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege of reviewing HOA books and records. The Travis Law Firm claims that they didn't bill the homeowner, but rather they billed their client to process these records and that the homeowner (the adversarial party in a lawsuit against the President of the Association at the time) was required to pay the costs of reviewing these records by the court. In their second complaint, plaintiffs claim that The Travis Law Firm aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty by blocking homeowners from succeeding the 1 year director and a director who served in an expired term in order to preserve the majority board. The complaint originated in small claims so that the Plaintiff could recover ~$500 in damages. However, The Travis Law Firm hired an attorney to represent their firm, and thus the matter has automatically moved to the civil division. I will keep you updated.
