Over the past few years, I have read many comments on Facebook and twitter from frustrated members of HOAs who apparently have lost their Constitutional rights to protect the value of their properties. The E-Book available from my website deals with overcoming this problem; but, it is important for members to to understand how they are losing these rights.
The State laws that I have reviewed for Washington and Oregon clearly provide the language that should protect members from incompetent or abusive Boards of HOAs; but, a powerful self-serving Board that has the support of a majority of the HOA's members can misinterpret or amend governing documents in violation of the super-majority voting requirements for members' approval; and it can misinterpret or ignore State laws and/or County ordinances because lawsuits are expensive to file against an HOA. Therefore, the important question is why have Boards been able to circuvment members rights to Due Process in a Court of Law? The most plausible answer is that a State's Business Judgment Rules (BJR) have been intrepreted in a manner that sets aside the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees a citizen's right to Due Process, meaning that no one shall be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.”
Most States, including Oregon and Washignton, have enacted Business Judgment Rules (BJR) that apply to corporations and non-profit corporations such as HOAs. These Rules are designed to protect the Boards of Directors from being sued for decisons made in good faith when their decisi