HABITAT
Subscribe for Daily Updates!
We just had our annual shareholder meeting and it was a disaster. We found the board changed the voting to a staggered voting system without notice to the shareholders. The by laws state that every seat is up for re election every year and it was never changed. There is nothing in the by laws stating the board can change bylaws whenever they want. House rules? Yes. But not the by laws. The President stated he is retiring next year and his daughter has cheated her way onto the board. She was sitting at the board table going through documents and dealing with paper work before she was even voted on the board. She was laughing with the co-op attorney and were all friendly. My wife was running for a seat because she truly wants to help make a change. She is not with games and b.s. She is worried something is going on. The meeting date was changed a few days before the meeting when it showed my wife was the only person new running which basically guaranteed her a seat. Then all of sudden 3 more candidates entered their name. The daughter was going around both buildings collecting proxies from shareholders who knew no better and was asking if they were voting for my wife.
The meeting was so crazy that management stated they will count the votes over night and results will be emailed. The daughter was the only running candidate that won a seat on the board. We all know the daughter is going to slide into the President seat next year.
I found out she is involved in lawsuit with another co-op where our former management company is suing her and the board over at the other co-op. That management company left last year and when we had our meeting last year the board stated $150,000 in bills were not paid and at this years meeting they still have no answer. They are blaming the other management company. I think the attorney is corrupt also.
Me and my wife are not ready to move and buy a house yet. I wanted to know what can be done to try and stop this from going on. All of these shareholders walk around scared of the board and I cant believe it. This is the kind of horror stories you see on news when its too late to make a change the something bag happens to all the shareholders.
I would appreciate any kind of help in pointing me in the right direction.
I believe you can call for a special meeting to remove members of the board. You need to check your bi laws and make sure you have 2/3 of a quorum. In my bi laws it states board members may be removed with or without cause.
Good luck
d made an excellent suggestion, but there may be special rules that need to be followed in order to hold the special meeting. There should be a section in your by-laws about holding a special meeting. Make sure you follow the instructions to the letter or else it won't be legal!
My co-op's Special Meeting section said...
"It shall be the duty of the President to call a special meeting of the Corporation as directed by resolution of the Board of Directors or upon a petition signed by 20% of the members having been presented to the Secretary. The notice of any special meeting shall state the time and place of such meting and the purpose thereof. No business shall be transacted at a special meeting except as stated in the notice."
Introduce yourself to other members of Board Talk! Log in below or register here.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.
Habitat u
visit habitat uHabitat U: learn about how to manage a building, and what you should know as a co-op or condo board member.
Archives
search
Search, by word or phrase, all magazine articles from January 2002 to present. You may print or email your results. Print subscribers receive free access to the Habitat Article Archive.
Ask the Experts
learn moreLearn all the basics of NYC co-op and condo management, with straight talk from heavy hitters in the field of co-op or condo apartments
Professionals in some of the key fields of co-op and condo board governance and building management answer common questions in their areas of expertise
Subscribe
join nowGot elected? Are you on your co-op/condo board?
Then don’t miss a beat! Stories you can use to make your building better, keep it out of trouble, save money, enhance market value, and make your board life a whole lot easier!
Based on your description of the meeting and the board in general, the best advice is to hire an attorney. If you take *any* action on your own you'll only sink deeper into the quicksand.
If things are as bad as you portray them, I'm sure other shareholders are similarly aware. Talk to them. See who is willing to contribute to hiring an attorney.
Put together a full slate of candidates for the next S/H meeting. The more like-minded people who run the better the chances of getting one or two on the board.
Check your bylaws but I believe you're entitled to receive a full list of shareholders and their mailing addresses. Ask for it. Even if you don't use it, it will throw a scare into the incumbent board.
Form a private group for your coop on facebook. Make it as tightly closed as you can with tight verification. This is where the list of S/H from the M/A comes in. You are *not* required to give membership to anyone who asks, no matter how many free speech demands are made.
Do a one-page flyer and slip a copy under each apartment's door letting S/H's know about your Facebook group.
Finally, and this is a longshot, contact the NY Attorney General's office. They are so overworked that you may not hear back for months, but at least get on their radar.
I feel your best, albeit most expensive option is to discuss the situation with an attorney to see if you have any basis for litigation. Find one who specializes and co-op and real estate law, and not the least expensive one. You get what you pay for, just like the suggestions I'm giving you now.
Good luck!
Thank you for rating!
You have already rated this page, you can only rate it once!
Your rating has been changed, thanks for rating!
Board Talk members who registered prior to March 9th, 2016 will need to reset their password.