Owner v. Master Association
Feb 13, 2013OUTCOME: The master association agreed to amend the relevant provision of its declaration and reimburse Plaintiff for overcharged assessments.
A master association controlled and administered the common elements of the six condominium associations. A dispute ensued when the master association charged one of the condo associations (“Plaint ... iff”) more for the use of certain common elements. The master association believed it could assess one particular association differently than it assessed other associations if that particular association predominately used a certain common element. We represented the Plaintiff who filed suit against the master association alleging that it violated the Illinois Condominium Act in that the master association was charging the Plaintiff higher assessments for certain common elements. The master association argued it could disproportionately charge higher assessments. While there is no specific provision in the Act that delineates how assessments shall be calculated, it is clear that all provisions of Section 18.5 shall be read consistently with the rest of the Act. It is also clear from Section 18.5 that powers of a master association can only be delegated from a unit owner’s association. If a unit owner’s association does not have a power to act in a certain manner, a master association cannot be delegated a power that does not exist. One power a unit owner association does not have under the Act is to disproportionately allocate charges for common elements. A unit owner’s share of the common elements is fixed.
