Street Fighting; Politics in a Home Owners Association

I was quite genuinely surprised to find that filing a lawsuit could be such a satisfying experience. As a new board member of our neighborhood homeowners association, I was originally against such a threat to non-paying dues members. 

Our housing development is nearly thirty years old, but for the first twenty years or so, the members did not pay any dues. Then came the flood. Even though our CC&R's were entirely specific that the HOA was to maintain a large drainage area on our common land, and was to obtain liability insurance, the original twenty-six homeowners were not convinced. Shortly after my husband and I moved into the neighborhood, the poorly maintained and overgrown drainage system backed up and flooded a neighbor's house. The neighbor himself literally risk his life trying to unblock it on the dark and stormy night of the flood. Complete renovation was costly, as was appropriate insurance and professional maintenance, and annual HOA dues became a sudden reality.

One neighbor, who was a raging Democrat, instantly became a libertarian on the issue of HOA dues and for five years, refused to pay. Two other homeowners were deeply offended as well; they paid for a year or two and then stopped.  The board's treasurer was particularly unpopular with these delinquent  members. As a former manager of much larger HOA's, the treasurer persistently tried to convince the board to begin lawsuits for non-payment. As board members, we deliberated the fate of these three homeowners with great earnestness. Having given them many warnings, including a lawyer's demand letter, we reluctantly pulled the trigger. 

Upon starting a lawsuit, one's first realization is how bloody expensive it is to engage a lawyer. They seem like friends, they have your interests at heart, but they charge by the nanosecond. We began our legal education with the unrepentant libertarian. Much as I'm sure he would like to have fought on, he was also paying a lawyer and at some point discovered that he couldn't win but could loose his house. He struck a deal; game over. And now the true realization comes. Not only does the homeowner as defendant pay the dues, he pays all the legal fees it took to fight the case. Of course, we all know that from watching TV, but you don't really know it until you've accrued a frightening legal tab and experience the great satisfaction of seeing someone else pick up the bill.