RE: EAST LAWN GRADING.
One sentence changed the entire case.
The existing drainage depression creates an unattractive interruption in usable lawn space. Please have the contractor level the area and utilize the new underground drainage line instead.
Signed:
Constance Drewry
HOA President
I sat at the kitchen table staring at it.
Denise came behind me.
"What?"
I turned the laptop toward her.
She read the email.
Then looked at me.
"She knew."
"Yeah."
"She told them to do it."
"Yeah."
"And then spent three years telling us it was natural."
I leaned back.
"Yeah."
Denise was quiet.
Then she smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
"So what happens now?"
Daniel sent the HOA a formal demand letter.
Thirty-two pages with attachments.
Restore the historic drainage route.
Stop discharging concentrated runoff toward my property.
Repair damage.
Reimburse engineering costs.
Negotiate compensation for documented property damage.
The HOA had thirty days.
Constance responded by scheduling a "special homeowner hearing."
I attended with Daniel.
That changed the atmosphere immediately.
Constance was used to homeowners showing up angry and alone.
She wasn't used to one arriving with counsel and three binders.
The clubhouse meeting room was packed.
Word had spread.
Tom Alvarez sat at the board table.
So did board members Linda Carver, Rick Mason, and Paul Baines.
Constance sat in the center.
White blazer.
Pearls.
Reading glasses.
Of course.
"This meeting concerns Mr. Hollenbeck's allegations regarding drainage conditions."
Daniel spoke first.
"They aren't allegations."
Constance looked over her glasses.
"You are?"
"Daniel Mercer, counsel for Mr. Hollenbeck."
A small murmur moved through the room.
Daniel presented the original plat.
Then Rachel's engineering report.
Then the contractor proposal.
Then Constance's email ordering the swale leveled.
Nobody interrupted after that.
Tom Alvarez leaned forward.
"Constance, did the board approve that change?"
"The landscaping committee had discretion regarding implementation."
"That's not what I asked."
She stiffened.
"The board authorized the project."
"Did we authorize filling the drainage swale?"
Silence.
Linda Carver started flipping through papers.
"I don't remember that."
Neither did Rick.
Paul said nothing.
Constance finally answered.
"The alteration was operationally necessary."
Daniel asked, "Was an engineer consulted?"
"The contractor was qualified."
"Was the drainage easement formally modified?"
No answer.
"Was the county notified?"
No answer.
"Was Mr. Hollenbeck notified that clubhouse runoff would be redirected toward his property?"
Constance's voice sharpened.
"Stormwater naturally flows toward lower elevations."
There it was.
The sentence.
The one I'd heard for three years.
Daniel calmly slid the engineering report across the table.
"Not this stormwater."
The room went quiet.
Then Earl spoke from the back.
"Tell them about the loan."
Constance's head turned.
Daniel didn't smile.
But I wanted to.
He placed another document on the table.
The loan agreement.
For the first time since I'd known her, Constance looked uncertain.
Daniel explained that the HOA's lender had been provided documentation representing that the clubhouse property and associated improvements complied with applicable recorded easements and property requirements.
If that representation was materially inaccurate, the board might have an obligation to notify the lender.