Kids, Pools and Problematic Rules – a Fair Housing Reminder
As the weather gets warmer, pools open, children get out of school for the summer and people spend more time outdoors and engaging in recreational activities. Associations want to make sure that everyone is safe and has access to common area amenities, but too often we see rules adopted by boards that violate fair housing […]
U.S. Supreme Court’s New Loper Bright Decision: Boon to Contractors Subject to OSHA and Other Federal Agencies?
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises has significant ramifications for administrative law, specifically by overturning the Chevron-deference doctrine. Chevron deference, established by the 1984 case of the same name, directed courts to defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes that the agency administers—as long as the interpretation was reasonable. Under […]
Changes Coming to HOA Living: Summary of 2023 Legislation Affecting Homeowners Associations
The 2023 Session of the Minnesota legislature was filled with partisanship and politics. Several bills directly affecting homeowners associations were introduced in the last legislative session. As is typical for any legislative session, only a few of those bills became law. Restrictions on In-Home Daycare Facilities Tucked into the massive, 1400+-page long Omnibus tax bill […]
Will Amending our Governing Documents Help with the Insurance Crisis?
You have to be living under a rock not to know at least something about what is happening with insurance these days. With rising premiums and other related issues, many associations are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They can’t afford to buy insurance but cannot afford not to have it. Additionally, MCIOA […]
Changes in to Parenting Time in Family Law – Bringing Back Temporary Relief and Expanding Attorney Fees
Rounding out the major changes to the family law statutes taking effect August 1, 2023 (in addition to changes to spousal maintenance and antenuptial agreements) are changes to parenting time. Family law used to revolve heavily around temporary hearings, but the practice of early neutral evaluations and initial case management conferences changed all that. But […]
Attorney Spotlight: Neven Selimovic
In what area of law do you practice and why did you choose this? I am a business litigation attorney who handles some intellectual property issues. I think that this law chose me rather than choosing it myself. I always envisioned myself as a full-time patent attorney, but after exploring a litigation position and litigating […]
What to do When One of Your Board Members Violates the Rules
Many associations have at least one or two homeowners that think that they can do whatever they want and/or act as if the rules do not apply to them. It can be difficult enough to deal with someone who refuses to follow the rules, but what if that person is on the board? Despite what […]
Changes to Antenuptial Agreements – The Good and the Bad, but Not Ugly
There is a big change looming in the law regarding antenuptial agreements taking effect August 1, 2024, and it is good. But, it might go unnoticed with some of the other changes taking center stage, including changes to the laws regarding spousal maintenance. In order to enjoy the presumption that the antenuptial agreement you have […]
IMPORTANT CONTRACTOR UPDATE: Good Faith Estimates Required Before Signing Insurance Proceeds Contracts
In addition to the new employee misclassification laws (my summary of that law can be found here: https://hjlawcontainers.sites.eightmoon.com/important-contractor-update-changes-to-employment-independent-contractor-laws/), another law was recently passed targeting insurance restoration contractors. Effective August 1, 2024, when signing a contract that involves insurance proceeds, the customer must be given a good faith estimate of total project cost before the contract […]
Want to Leave Your Retirement Account to Your Minor Child? Consider These Things First
Your retirement account may be one of the most valuable things you own. Many people consider naming their children as the beneficiaries of these accounts because they think it is a way of easily transferring their wealth if something happens to them. However, there are several factors that make this type of transfer more complicated […]