Resolving Conflict for Homeowners and Contractors

Mediation: A Better Way to Resolve HOA and Contractor Disputes

CID Resolution provides mediation services to homeowner associations (HOAs) and residents of common-interest developments (CID) such as condominium, townhouse, and apartment communities. We also resolve tenancy-in-common (TIC) disputes, disputes over condo conversion, and homeowner/contractor disputes. Chances are we’ll keep you out of court. And if you’re unable to reach agreement in mediation, we’ll ensure you’ve complied with the requirements of the Davis-Stirling Act before you proceed with litigation.

Over the past five years, we’ve helped homeowner associations, residents, and TIC co-owners resolve every imaginable dispute from pets to parking, assessments to architectural improvements, fences to flower pots, buy-outs to bill payment. We’ve also resolved conflicts among HOA board members to help boards remain productive.

According to the Davis-Stirling Act (California Civil Code §1350–1378), home-
owners who live in a CID must first endeavor to settle in mediation (or some other form of alternative dispute resolution such as arbitration) before they can file a lawsuit for many types of dispute. But statutory mandate isn’t the only reason to try mediation first:

1.  You retain control. Mediators don’t make decisions for you. Litigation and arbitration, in contrast, place control in the hands of judges and arbitrators, which makes the outcome of any dispute highly unpredictable. In an age when people feel less control over their lives, mediation allows you to reassert yourself as the principal decision maker.

2.  You don’t have to settle. Mediation is risk-free. If you decline the terms of a proposed settlement, you won’t in any way prejudice your case in court. The entire mediation session is legally confidential. This means any information disclosed in mediation would only be admissible in court if you chose to include it in a legally binding settlement agreement.

3.  You can still consult with an attorney. We encourage parties to consult with attorneys. Your attorney can help assess your case and provide independent legal advice. Your attorney can also accompany you in mediation if you wish, although most attorneys will generally adopt a consultative rather than a participative role during mediation.

4.  Mediation doesn’t destroy relationships. When the dust settles, parties in
property disputes often have to live together as neighbors. By promoting communication, clarifying miscommunication, and providing a safe environ-
ment to express differences, mediation helps maintain relationships.

5.  Mediation is efficient. Approaching a dispute as a problem rather than a contest, mediation directs parties’ energy into attacking the problem rather than each other. Indeed, we resolve most disputes in a single mediation session rather than the weeks or months you’d likely spend in litigation.

6.  Mediation works. At the beginning of a session, many disputes will look intract-
able to the parties. By the end of the session, in more than 80% of cases, the parties have drafted a written settlement agreement that can be legally binding.

7.  You’ll save a lot of money. Mediation will typically cost each party no more than a couple of hundred dollars. That’s a lot cheaper than litigation. For example, one California homeowner spent $40,000 to sue his HOA over a $750 fence. The homeowner lost in court and was ordered to pay the association’s $61,000 legal fees.