| Roanoke, Virginia - 2008 has been a tumultuous and traumatic year for many homeowners in homeonwer associations. Homeowner associations have been ravaged by the soaring number of foreclosures. Homeowners, scammed by the denizens of Wall Street and made unemployed in the resulting nightmare, have struggled to stay afloat. At the same time, the usual legal vultures in the legislatures, courtrooms and homeowner associations preyed on homeowners
But the year was not completely bleak. Two families won significant legal victories. In the first, a jury in California awarded $2 million to them in a case against their association. The association was represented by Peters and Freedman. In the second, an appellate court reversed a $820,000 judgment against a couple. The association was once again represented by Peters and Freedman.
On December 23, 2008, the California Supreme Court handed a dramatic victory to homeowners in Los Angeles County. It refused to hear an appeal by Los Angeles County to continue paying excess compensation to the judges of Los Angeles County. A Court of Appeal had ruled that such a practice was unconstitutional. Even though the State of California pays each judge $178,789 a year plus generous benefits and hefty retirements, the County of Los Angeles has paid an estimated $400 million of taxpayer money over the last 20 years to its 400 judges . Last year, this amounted to more than $46,436. to each judge. The judges in turn always ruled in favor the County of Los Angeles in all of the cases that were brought before them.
Taxpayer-advocate attorney Richard Fine, a former Federal prosecutor, battled this for over six years. The judges and the opposing, politically-connected lawyers and developers attacked both his freedom and his right to practice law by repeatedly and falsely charging him with "contempt of court" for challenging the LA County payments and the judges who received such and the judges and the California State Bar Association repeatedly and falsely attacked his right to practice law for challenging the LA County payments and the judges who received such. These relentless attacks have not stopped Fine from advocating for the rights of the homeowners and the people.
Last year Judicial Watch, a public interest group filed suit to declare the payments to the judges unconstitutional. The appeal was transferred to San Diego and they won their case. The County of Los Angeles appealed and on December 23, 2008, the California Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal.
Both the efforts of Richard Fine and Judicial Watch deserve a strong vote of thanks.
There are many Herods out there among the lawyers, judges and politicians, who seek to take the homes and life savings of homeowners. But the message of Christmas is that they can be overcome. By working together, homeowners can regain their rights, their homes and their dignity.
So, all the staff at AHRC wish each homeowner all the blessings that flow from Christmas, so that we may work harder in the coming year to redress more wrongs, and secure more rights. Happy Christmas
Updated: December 26,2008 |
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