At the end of the 2023/2024 legislative session, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey signed a comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation, An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers. Included in the bill were two significant changes to the Massachusetts Condominium Act.

“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me.” We’ve all heard that adage and condominium board members may have more reason than most to repeat it. Boards can’t please everyone all the time and there are times when they can’t seem to please anyone ever. There’s nothing new about that. Criticism is part of the board member’s job. But in the condominium world, the criticism has become increasingly harsh, offensive, nasty and sometimes even threatening – words hurled with the force of sticks and stones.

At the close of the last Legislation Session, the Rhode Island Condominium Act § 34-36.1-3.06 was amended, effective upon passage, to require any current applicable By-Laws and Rules and Regulations to be recorded with the Land Evidence Records Department in the City or Town where the Condominium is located.

In an unusual move, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an Order on December 26th reinstating the nationwide preliminary injunction to halt CTA filings. The Court is continuing to review the appeal which questions the constitutionality of the CTA regulations. The oral arguments in the case have been set for March 25, 2025, so it appears that it will be many months before a final ruling takes place. In addition, with the control of Congress changing in January, there is also a likelihood of a Congressional act to end CTA regulations. While MEEB’s position is that CTA regulations do not apply to unincorporated associations or trust entities, at this time, ALL associations and corporate entities have NO obligation to comply with the CTA reporting requirements.

Adding to the already confusing landscape surrounding the Corporate Transparency Act’s (“CTA”) filing requirements, on December 23rd, the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals lifted the nationwide stay regarding the filing requirements.

Although the Court did not address the merits of the constitutional arguments (this will be argued at a later date), the Court stated that it believed a nationwide stay of the filings was not appropriate and that the Federal District Court overstepped its authority by issuing the order.

In reaching its decision, the Court also decided not to extend the filing deadline, however, FinCEN voluntarily extended the filing deadline to accommodate the loss of several weeks requiring all incorporated reporting companies to file their beneficial ownership information reports at a minimum by January 13, 2025. However, as MEEB has previously stated, the CTA regulations are likely not applicable to unincorporated associations and those entities formed by declaration of trust.

A Massachusetts Appeals Court has rejected a long-standing interpretation of the Massachusetts state statute (which prohibits housing-related discrimination) that required condo associations in many cases to pay for common area modifications requested by disabled owners and residents.

The holidays arrived early for one of our condominium association clients, which found $22,000 that belonged to it on the list of unclaimed property held by the State Treasurer’s Office.  The money was in the form of a bank CD the board had not been able to redeem.   

Residents of a Cape Code manufactured housing community (a/k/a mobile home park) appear to have won a five-year legal battle to purchase their community.  At trial, a Superior Court judge ruled that the residents had not met the procedural requirements for exercising their statutory right of first refusal provided under the state Manufactured Housing Act, clearing the way for an investor to purchase the park.  But on appeal, the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled that the Superior Court erred on several key points of law and fact.  The Appeals Court remanded the case back to the lower court and ordered the judge to correct the errors and issue a new ruling based on those corrections.

As previously reported, MEEB filed a pro bono legal action in Federal District Court against the U.S. Treasury Department and FinCEN seeking a declaration from the Court that the Corporate Transparency Act’s (“CTA”) beneficial interest filing requirements do not apply to unincorporated associations or condominium trusts. In response to the suit, the Department of Justice took the position that the case should be dismissed because the CTA’s filing requirements and enforcement mechanisms do not apply to condominium trusts in Massachusetts as MEEB set out in the Complaint. MEEB replied to this motion to dismiss seeking further confirmation from the Court that the CTA did not apply to the Lewis Wharf Condominium Trust, which was the lead plaintiff in this matter.

Do you hear what I hear? Holiday music is already playing everywhere. Children are creating pages-long lists of the gifts they want. And association board members are envisioning the holiday decorations – from the divine to the detestable – that owners will want to display and wondering what on earth to do about them. Decorating tastes differ, and when it comes to holiday decorations, tastes differ a lot. These differences may seem trivial, but the disputes they trigger and the issues they raise are anything but. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and anti-discrimination laws all may come into play if these arguments end up in court, as they sometimes do.