HOA Lawyer Claiming Attorney-Client Privilege to Inspect My Home

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Paul Riccio

New Member
Jurisdiction
Connecticut
Hello,

My situation is incredibly complicated and I will only ask this one question.

There is an incredibly loud structural defect in my home that creaks when the weight of a body walks across it. It's absurdly loud.


We planned for 4 months to get an inspection and finally did. The morning the report was to be submitted they rejected the report and made the decision to do nothing.

I continued to pursue and finally got contacted by a lawyer representing the HOA. I found him another acoustical expert and he assured that he was here to help. Now they want to do the inspection but deny me access to the report. So, they can include or exclude any information as they see fit to absolve them of responsibility.

He is claiming attorney client privilege. My question is, is this nonsense? Isn't that excluded when there is a 3rd party involved? They have to access my property to do the inspection and I find it highly unlikely that they can legally exclude me from the data gathered. Then again, I know nothing about the law.

It is more complicated but this is where I am stuck. Thanks for your help.
 
What room?

Do you hear it only in that room?

Is there an occupied unit above you?

If yes, have you gone up and asked the neighbors if you can listen from up there when they walk across?

If not, then you should. Be subtle. Don't play the blame game.

I would hope they would be concerned about a potential defect under their feet.

I don't see any flexing of the ceiling in your video. I don't know what good an inspection would do you if it just confirms that there's a noise when somebody walks back and forth. You can figure that out for yourself with a visit to
the neighbors.

As for what the attorney and the HOA people say or do, all I can say to that is "Welcome to HOA living."
 
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Paul Riccio said:
There is an incredibly loud structural defect in my home that creaks when the weight of a body walks across it.
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What does "it" refer to in this sentence? As you have phrased the sentence, "it" refers to your home -- i.e., "There is an incredibly loud [noise] . . . when [someone] walks across my home." How are people walking across your home? Do you mean walking on the roof? I watched about 20 seconds of your video (I'm certainly not watching/listening to nearly 6 minutes!), and it just sounds like someone walking on an uncarpeted floor in a room above where the camera was located. Nothing particularly unusual or indicative of a structural defect.

Paul Riccio said:
We planned for 4 months to get an inspection and finally did.
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An inspection by whom?

Paul Riccio said:
The morning the report was to be submitted they rejected the report and made the decision to do nothing.
Click to expand...

Who are "they"? Your HOA?

Paul Riccio said:
He is claiming attorney client privilege. My question is, is this nonsense?
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Yes, it's nonsense. The attorney-client privilege is a rule of evidence that allows for certain evidence to be excluded (and also allows folks to refuse to respond to discovery questions). Unless there's some sort of litigation pending, the attorney-client privilege has nothing to do with the situation you're describing.

Paul Riccio said:
Isn't that excluded when there is a 3rd party involved?
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Huh?

Paul Riccio said:
They have to access my property to do the inspection and I find it highly unlikely that they can legally exclude me from the data gathered. Then again, I know nothing about the law.
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Let's start with a basic question: Why do you believe your HOA has any obligation do do anything about the noise in your home? What sort of home is this? Single-family residence? Townhome? Condo? Something else?

Even if we assume the HOA has some obligation, the nature of that obligation will be set forth in the HOA's by-laws or the CC&Rs, and no one here has read (or has the ability to read) either of those documents. Similarly, those documents will also govern your right to review any inspection reports.
 
PayrollHRGuy said:
What did the report say was the issue? And who refused it?
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The report was rejected before it was given. The HOA refused it and the management company communicated that they have said that they will not take a report from the expert after planning it for 3-4 months and made the decision on their own to basically tell me to F off.
 
mightymoose said:
Hire your own inspector.
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I have that in the works. Just not sure if they will accept it without allowing their own inspector in my home. Seems unreasonable given that the bylawys clearly state that either they or the occupants above have a responsibility to fix the area above the upward facing area of my ceiling drywall. The sound is absurd. Even people who see the video hear it in person and are astonished.
 
Paul Riccio said:
The report was rejected before it was given. The HOA refused it and the management company communicated that they have said that they will not take a report from the expert after planning it for 3-4 months and made the decision on their own to basically tell me to F off.
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Paul Riccio said:
The report was rejected before it was given. The HOA refused it and the management company communicated that they have said that they will not take a report from the expert after planning it for 3-4 months and made the decision on their own to basically tell me to F off.
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Who ordered the rejected report, you or the HOA?

I think it is time for you to lawyer up. The HOA has and you, at this point, are going to a gun fight with a spoon.
 
Paul Riccio said:
I have that in the works. Just not sure if they will accept it without allowing their own inspector in my home. Seems unreasonable given that the bylawys clearly state that either they or the occupants above have a responsibility to fix the area above the upward facing area of my ceiling drywall. The sound is absurd. Even people who see the video hear it in person and are astonished.
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You're arguing the shape of the table before you even find out what's wrong. Don't expect the HOA to help you.

Find out what's wrong, if anything, then come back to this thread for further conversation. Until then, you are just spinning your wheels.
 
adjusterjack said:
You're arguing the shape of the table before you even find out what's wrong. Don't expect the HOA to help you.

Find out what's wrong, if anything, then come back to this thread for further conversation. Until then, you are just spinning your wheels.
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I tried to. I spent 3 months coordinating with everyone and they refused the findings. Now they want to do it again and wont allow me access to the results. That was my question, can they do that under attorney client privilege.
 
PayrollHRGuy said:
Who ordered the rejected report, you or the HOA?

I think it is time for you to lawyer up.

The HOA has and you, at this point, are going to a gun fight with a spoon.
Click to expand...


The HOA did! After they participated in the painstaking process of coordinating the damn inspection with multiple parties. Lol, well said. Easier said than done. Can't really afford $7500 retainer and that is IF I can find someone that takes this kind of case. I was only able to get one person to quote me a price.

I mean, they use the funds from the community to pay for it while I am just screwed.
 
Paul Riccio said:
The HOA did! After they participated in the painstaking process of coordinating the damn inspection with multiple parties. Lol, well said. Easier said than done. Can't really afford $7500 retainer and that is IF I can find someone that takes this kind of case. I was only able to get one person to quote me a price.

I mean, they use the funds from the community to pay for it while I am just screwed.
Click to expand...

If they aren't going to accept the report that they paid for then you can pretty much give up the idea of them settling this out of court. At least in a way that you would like.

The only option I see, other than selling, is to contact the city building inspector. That much noise from simply walking on the floor above could well be a sign the ceiling is about to fail.
 
I'll ask again...because it matters a lot: Why do you believe your HOA has any obligation do do anything about the noise in your home? What sort of home is this? Single-family residence? Townhome? Condo? Something else?
 

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