The trial in my lawsuit against my homeowners association-common interest community ended on September 26, 2007. I cannot make any personal comments about the lawsuit or trial since an appeal was filed in the Colorado Appellate Court in Denver, Colorado, a few days ago. I can, however, as far as I know, post here what is already in the public domain (in the public records at the Teller County Courthouse in Cripple Creek, Colorado).

The below should be part of the transcript of the trial. I have ordered the entire transcript from the trial court reporter (recorder), but have not yet received it. She has estimated the delivery of the finished transcript sometime before the middle of December. (Its cost to me, by the way, was almost $1,700. Seeking justice in our court system is quite costly, although it is my understanding that if one has very little money, in the state of Colorado, or none at all, there are legal mechanisms by which one can still have his/her "day in court" and the state (I think iis the government entity) pays for it). The trial lasted five days and is estimated to have produced a little over 700 hard copy pages.

Below are the last comments of the Colorado State Court trial JudgeThomas L. Kennedy in the last minutes of the trial. The president of my association, or the association attorney, apparently requested a copy of it (which explains the praface to it in the beginning). The president of my association then emailed a copy of it to the association membership. The Judge was speaking directly to me as I, and my attorney, sat at the Plaintiff's table in front of the Judge. When he finished, he left the bench and it was over.

On October 24, 2007, we received his "Order" (decision) about the case which I will post, in its entirety, next.

Jan

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The above-captioned matter came on for Court trial on September 26, 2007, before the HONORABLE THOMAS L. KENNEDY, Judge of the District Court.
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(Requested portion of proceedings)

THE COURT - JudgeThomas L. Kennedy:

All right. Well, clearly my work is not done. I have stacks of documents which I'm going to have to review, and I intend to do so. As I said yesterday, I believe my goal would be to at least identify the legal relationships of these parties so that they can move forward in hopefully some sort of civility.

I don't have any illusions I'm going to change your mind, Mrs. Jackson. You are a hard-headed woman, and I am convinced you will stick to your guns. But I have to say to you, I don't think you're going about it the right way. In the pendency of this case, to continue to threaten litigation demonstrates to me that you really do not want to be a problem solver; you want to be a problem maker. And while you certainly have some rights to express your own opinion in some regard, the manner in which you're going about it is destructive to everybody who is a homeowner and a property owner at BLM.

Now, if that's your goal, the law may permit you to do that to some degree. But frankly, I can't see how you benefit from undertaking this course of action. You have become so obsessed with this that everything else in your life must have drifted away. And again, while you get to choose how you live the remainder of your life, you do not get to unreasonably impose yourself on the rights of the other members of the Association to live in their homes in quiet enjoyment.

Now, I'm not clear what the law will permit me to do. And as I said, I am hopeful that I'll be able to reach a resolution that will allow all of you homeowners to continue to live together in peace.

I had the privilege of hiking the Dome Rock trail this last weekend and overlooked the property which is part of the BLM. And frankly, it's a tragedy what has occurred among the Association. This is unbelievably beautiful property. And Ms. Jackson, I can't understand why you do not want to live there peacefully and to cohabitate with your neighbors in some sort of a reasonable manner.

Regardless of whether or not the law authorizes this type of conduct, I can't help but personally condemn your actions, because they are destructive to a relationship between people whose only purpose is to live together in an incredibly beautiful environment. That has no bearing on the legal decisions which I will make, but I feel obligated to let you know, Ms. Jackson, that there are better ways to resolve problems.

We live in a democracy. And in a democracy such as a homeowners' association, you have the right to express your opinion. But ultimately you, like every citizen, must concede to the will of the majority. And by your continued actions and disregard for the rights of the majority, you have brought disruption, at a minimum, to everybody with whom you reside. Why you would have ever moved in to a covenant-protected community in the first place is an absolute mystery to me based upon your clear intention to destroy all covenant-based communities. And although your testimony is to the contrary, it is clear to me that it is, in fact -- your purpose is to bring down CCIOA and to bring down any covenant-protected community.

Secondly, Ms. Jackson, no one appointed you as the moral guardian for the other residents in this community. And the manner in which you have imposed yourself on your neighbors has interfered with your neighbors' rights to live in peace. And why do you somehow think you have the right to do that, again, is beyond me. But I would hope, Ms. Jackson, that you would consider your own conduct from a moral perspective and decide whether morally the positions you have taken justify the imposition that you have made on your neighbors.

As I said, those are my personal feelings. I'm going to rule on this case in accordance with the law, and I'm not sure what the law will permit me to do. But I would hope, after expending thousands and thousands of dollars on attorney's fees, that you would at least recognize that the other people who live in your subdivision have rights as well as you and that you ought to give those people the same respect for their rights which you expect in return.

As I've indicated, I will take the matter under advisement, I will issue a written order as soon as I am able.

We'll be in recess.

(End of requested portion of proceedings)