Fine-Happy Co-op Board Is Back in Court

You think New York City cooperatives are litigious landscapes? You should go up to the Dutchess County town of Fishkill and visit the 144-unit Rombout Village co-op.

Shareholders there have filed 10 lawsuits against the Rombout Village board of directors and its management company over the past decade. The two latest, in state Supreme Court, claim that illegal fines have been used to harass and intimidate shareholders and, ultimately, invalidate their leases, the Poughkeepsie Journal reports.

The reasons for the fines? Squirrels were seen eating bread left in the bed of a shareholder’s pickup truck. Another shareholder was fined for tossing a football with his son in the co-op’s parking lot. A third shareholder was fined for “objectionable conduct” when she complained that her air conditioning had not been repaired by the co-op’s staff. A fourth was fined for taking pictures of construction materials containing black mold that had been removed from one of the apartments.

In each case, management determined that the shareholders had violated the cooperative’s bylaws or house rules. "Respect and adherence to these rules are essential for many people to coexist peacefully in the same space," says Bill Dimmick, Rombout Village's property manager and a former board member.

More plaintiffs may be coming. In what experts say is a rare move in lawsuits against co-op boards, the attorney in the two pending cases is seeking class-actions status. In court papers, attorney Matthew Noviello of Carmel said class-action status is necessary, in part, because many shareholders are so intimidated by the fines and alleged harassment, they are afraid to assert their legal rights.

Lawsuits have been leveled at the board since 2005 by shareholders, a local contractor, the state Division of Human Rights, and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, many alleging punitive actions taken by management. Rombout Village has prevailed in most cases, settled at least one and lost the lawsuit involving the contractor who was not paid for work.

"Life here," says one of the plaintiffs, Frances Hilton, "has been hell."

It’s almost enough to make you want to move to big bad New York City.