CAI Amicus Program

The Supreme Court of North Carolina unanimously determined that a condominium has the power of sale for foreclosure for nonpayment of an assessment given the plain language of the North Carolina Condominium Act of 1985 and the condominium association’s declaration. The court reversed the decision of the North Carolina Court of Appeals and remanded the decision back to the lower court to address certain arguments it declined to initially address.

In April, CAI’s Amicus Curiae Committee approved and filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the matter of Executive Office Park of Durham Association, Inc. v. Martin E. Rock. Cynthia Jones, an attorney with Sellers, Ayers, Dortch, Lyons in Charlotte, N.C., authored the brief.

“This is an important decision for North Carolina communities because the supreme court applied the plain language of the condominium act concerning power of sale foreclosures and its applicability to a condominium formed prior to the effective date of the statute,” says Jones, a fellow in CAI’s College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL) and chair of CAI’s Business Partners Council. “Although the decision concerned a condominium, it also will have an impact on planned communities because of similar language in the Planned Community Act. This decision confirms that any community formed prior to the effective date of the applicable statute, which does not have an express provision to the contrary, may utilize the power of sale foreclosure process in the collection of assessments.” Learn more about this ruling here.

If your association, municipality, or state is being faced with a poorly formulated legal opinion, CAI encourages you to consider contacting our team and completing an amicus brief submission request for consideration by the Committee. Good laws are essential to the success of the community association housing model and CAI is here to support your efforts.

Please check out CAI’s website to learn more about our amicus curiae brief program. If you have any questions or comments related to filing an amicus brief on behalf of CAI, please contact Phoebe Neseth, Esq. at pneseth@caionline.org.

CAI also has a case law database, which is an indispensable resource for community association lawyers across the country. Whether your practice focuses on community association litigation, regulation, or legislation, please keep CAI’s database in mind as a resource.

Sincerely,