Speeding Fines Issued by Condo Association

[CondoPerson]

My question involves a condominium located in the State of: Connecticut

I have owned my condominium for 20 years. I am familiar with the bylaws and rules. I clearly understand and accept that the Board is empowered make and enforce rules by imposing fines.

With that said, I recently received a letter that my vehicle was seen speeding and I was issued a fine by the Condo Association. The posted limit is 15 mph. I was not speeding. I was not told who reported seeing my vehicle speeding. Does the board have the right to issue a fine merely on the fact that someone reported seeing my vehicle speeding? I have requested a hearing as outlined in the bylaws. How can I challenge this fine appropriately?

[Mr. Knowitall]

How else would they know you were (allegedly) speeding, other than by having somebody report it to them? I'm more interested in how they measured or estimated your speed.

If the bylaws specify how the hearing is to be conducted, they should describe how you would present your case at a hearing and what the hearing officer(s) must find in order to uphold the fine.

[CondoPerson]

I attended a hearing (6 board members) on the Fine. They asked me what addtional info I had to provide them before they make their decision on the Fine.

Here is what I said:

I must ask you to consider the following:

If I reported to another board member that I saw one of you speeding, would you issue a fine to that board member based on my word. If not, why is my word that I saw you not as good as the person who claims to have seen me?

When I say I was not speeding, why is my word not as good as the anonymous person who reported me?

Unless you can demonstrate that I was speeding you have no basis to issue this fine.

The only response I got was - Is that all you have to say? I said Yes. They said thank you and we will send you a letter regarding our decision.

Three Days later I received a letter indicating that the Associations policy is to first issue a warning. Since I did not receive a warning the were waiving the fine but if I was seen speeding "again" a fine would be issued.

I have no issue If I am speeding and they have proof I should be fined. That was clearly not the case here.

Let's see if anymore anonymous reports come in...

[legalquest44]

Wow, condo boards are often run by petty little tyrants, but this really takes the cake. Fining you based on an anonymous report is outrageous - you should have a right to confront your accuser - as you rightly point out, someone who dislikes you can obviously continue to report you as a grudge. I would review your condo documents as well as the laws of your state. Depending on how much the fines are and how often you get reported, it might be worth your while to have a lawyer send your condo board a letter to put an end to this nonsense.

[Beantown]

A couple of obvious points come to mind...

1) As stated by 'legalquest44' how does the board know that this mystery person doesn't have a grudge or some other agenda? Maybe he/she is prejudice in some way towards you (race, gender, religion, political affiliation, etc)?

2) How did this person calculate your speed? Did he/she use a speed gun? If so, when was it last calibrated? Are they certified by an authorized association to use the speed gun?

[ashman165]

I join in knowitall's question. How was your speed determined?

But as far as what evidence can be used in that hearing, I don't know. It isn't a court of law.

And he wasn't fined. He was warned.

OP, you say you're familiar with the bylaws and rules of the area in which you live. There should be some process in there as to what the hearing board can consider and what they must find to determine the commission of something like this.

While I agree with you about the why is so and so's word better than mine, that's not really a compelling argument. Why would someone say you're speeding when you aren't?

Are they to presume that people are just making it up? Or simply wrong?

While that's possible, it's far easier to argue that in your 20 years of living there this is the first complaint. So, you could present something like: why then, after 20 years of excellent behavior, would you believe that that day was the day I decided to hell with it and wanted to speed?

Or, you could submit that an anonymous complaint while perhaps a cause for a letter of caution, shouldn't be relied on to such an extent that it's worth determining the guilt or innocence of someone. If the person complaining truly cared about it and believed, then they should come forward and present their case. Since they didn't (at least I assume they didn't), it clearly wasn't important enough to them, which shows the esteem to which they hold this board's time. That your time isn't valuable enough. Which is to say they'll file the complaint with you and make you have to do something about it, but that it's not important enough to them for them to take their time to come here and testify while forcefully taking your time to deal with it.

That's how I'd have done it. ^_^

Is there an appeals process in the bylaws?

[CondoPerson]

If I never hear another word on this from the association I have achieved my objective. I am not interested in petty pursuits. They got to "warn" me and if they feel good about that then great.

[shimony]

"While I agree with you about the why is so and so's word better than mine, that's not really a compelling argument. Why would someone say you're speeding when you aren't? "

Of course it's a compelling argument: there are all sorts of reaons why someoone would make a false report as already noted (a grudge, etc)

But the real wway to deal with these condo board tyrants is simply to tell them you'll make a YOUTUBE VIDEO mentioning the condo, the management firm, etc. These can be very very damaging. And since most condo management firms manage many condos, such a video could easily badly damage their business.

Of course you have to be careful to tell the truth; simply give the sordid details, as truth is an absolute defense against libel or slander.

As they say, "the pen[or movie] is mightier than the sword"

[valvo]

hey shimony is RIGHT. when a hospital tried to mess with me I posted a Utube video blasting the hospital. Within 3 weeks over 400 peoploe saw the video, the hospitol begged me to take it down and If inally did.The hospital then had to take out a very expensive tv ad campaign to repair their image.Utube is great for righting wronges