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The information below was provided by Chris Pinaire, ILPOA Legal Chair. If you have any questions you can reach Chris at bod.cpinaire@ilpoa.org.

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Fellow Members:

This past week there have been developments in the three lawsuits the ILPOA is party to.

In case number 19CF-CC00003, Indian Hills Civic Association and plaintiffs Brunts, O’Fallon, Wideman, and Williams vs. Indian Lake Property Owners Association (defendant), there is one count remaining.  It is count V, Fraud.  Originally this count was requested to be dismissed by the plaintiffs.  However, there was a motion filed to remove the dismissal, so we are going back to court to set the trial date for this count.  Our next court hearing is August 11, 2020.  In case you have not been following the emails and social media posts, I have summarized the counts and judgements for counts II – IV below.  Count I was not an actionable count, therefore it never went to trial.

The judgement on Count II Declaratory Judgement was as follows:

• Annual Assessments declared under the BUR may only be amended by 2/3 of the property owners in writing and are the only assessments in which a lien upon real estate is applicable.
• The bridge design and construction assessments through our by-laws were passed in accordance with our by-laws  and were legal and within the powers of the board of directors.
• Boat registration fees and fines provisions are not considered assessments and therefore valid under the rules and regulations of the ILPOA.
• Interest provisions are not considered an assessment and therefore legal and within the powers of the ILPOA.
• For Count III Injunctive Relief, Judgement was declared in favor of the Defendant, ILPOA.

Additionally, for those that attended the recent member meeting on Saturday, July 11^th, 2020, you heard one of the plaintiffs, Dale Brunts, mentioned that our case will most likely go to appeal.  This is disheartening as it will require us to spend more money on legal fees (which requires us to set asides thousands of dollars in our budget that could be put toward more useful projects) as well as more hours preparing for court.  To date, we have spent nearly $35,000 of your money on this case.  We hope for a quick resolution so that we can pick up the pieces and re-build the infrastructure in this community. 

Several members have also asked about filing a counter-suit against the plaintiffs.  While as members of this community we may be frustrated, it is the Board of Directors position to not file a countersuit.  We want closure on this case so we can move forward as one community.  However, at the member meeting several members asked about forming a committee to file the countersuit.  The BOD cannot control this as members can do as they wish.  I hope, though, that we can all move forward as ONE community

In our second lawsuit, the Trail Road case has been dismissed.  The property has been sold and is no longer in a lawsuit to determine if trail road is a public or private road.  It will remain private and is no longer a threat of unauthorized entry to our community. 

Our third lawsuit is with All-Type Fence.  There have not been many updates at this time.  Our court date is set for bench trial on October 28, 2020.  As more information comes to light, I will share it with the community. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me or another board member directly should you have any further questions.

Love the Lake,

Chris Pinaire

ILPOA Legal Chair