Beaumont Tashjian Law Blog

Senior Partner, Jeffrey A. Beaumont, Esq., has been selected to speak at the CAI National 2018 CCAL Law Seminar on February 1^st.  Mr. Beaumont will be presenting, “The New Normal: Transgender and Gender Variance in Community Associations.
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Senior Partner, Jeffrey A. Beaumont, Esq. and Partner, Lisa A Tashjian, Esq. have both been nominated for the Chapter’s Speaker of the Year Award.  Each received a nomination for their luncheon educational presentations.
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Senior Partner, Jeffrey A. Beaumont, Esq. and Partner, Lisa A Tashjian, Esq. have both been nominated for an Industry Excellence Award. Each received a nomination for their luncheon educational presentations.
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Senior Partner, Jeffrey A. Beaumont has been requested to speak at the 2018 CACM Northern California Law seminar & Expo at the Santa Clara Convention Center on January 25th.  Mr. Beaumont will be co-presenting a legal update.  For more information and to register, visit:
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SB 407 (Wieckowski) Noncommercial Solicitation.
Civil Code §4515
Effective January 1, 2018

SB 407 expanded on existing law which requires associations to provide equal access to common areas for candidates and members for the purpose of advocating a point of view during an election. This bill protects certain free speech rights, i.e., to meet, canvass, and distribute materials of a community association.

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AB 634 (Eggman) Solar System Requirements.
Civil Code §714.1, §4600 & §4746
Effective January 1, 2018

Under AB 634, associations cannot establish a general policy prohibiting the installation or use of solar energy systems on the common area roof of the building where the owner resides, or a garage or carport assigned to the owner for exclusive use. Additionally, a vote of the membership is not required to grant exclusive use of common area for such purposes, and associations cannot require approval by a vote of the members as a condition to approval.

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Government Code §27388.1; Health and Safety Code §50470, et seq.

Chaptered September 29, 2017

This bill enacts the Building Homes and Jobs Act. The bill imposes a fee, of $75 to be paid at the time of the recording of every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded, i.e., Assessment Lien, Release of Lien, Record Request for Notice of Trustees's Deed, Notice of Lis Pendens & Withdrawal, etc. not to exceed $225. By imposing new fees and duties, the bill is intended to create the Building Homes and Jobs Fund which is to be used towards affordable housing, home ownership opportunities, and other housing assistance programs.

This bill takes effect immediately as an urgency statute. However, as of November 9th, the following counties indicated the new law will go into effect as follows:

Los Angeles County - January 2018 (no specific date at this time)
Orange County - January 1, 2018
Riverside County - January 1, 2018
San Bernardino County - January 1, 2018
San Diego County - January 1, 2018
Santa Barbara County - January 1, 2018
Ventura County - January 1, 2018
Kern County - January (no specific date at this time)

As a reminder, the $75 recording fee is a cost that can be added to the delinquent owners account.

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"Published" court decisions are law, and binding, while "unpublished" court decisions are not law. Although not law, unpublished decisions are extremely valuable as they illustrate how courts address various issues commonly faced by common interest developments.

Lingenbrink v. Del Rayo Estates Homeowners Association, No. D070194 (Cal.

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Board members face decisions every day in performing their duties on the Board of their association. These decisions range from maintenance decisions, such as hiring contractors to perform work, to enforcing governing documents. As we all know, every decision can be second-guessed by someone and can lead to litigation and potential exposure to personal liability. It is important for board members to know what steps they need to take to make sure their decisions are not second-guessed by another member of the association (or by the court if the decision is challenged in litigation).

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BGT Senior Partner Jeffrey A. Beaumont has been selected to speak at the 2017 CAI Legal Forum on October 20th in Universal City, CA. He will co-present with Robert Nordlund, Founder and CEO of Reserve Study, a program titled "Being Sued for Not Deciding or Doing!" For more information and to register, visit: Read more . . .

BGT Senior Partner Jeffrey A. Beaumont, Esq. will be speaking at the August 15 Orange County Chapter Luncheon on “How to Prepare for Small Claims Court.” For more information and to register, visit Read more . . .