Q: What lawyer do I contact? Received a UCC filing because my husband didn't sign closing paperwork on a property.
My husband is a volunteer for our home owners association, he's the President. The association was selling vacant property and there was a company that wanted to purchase it. They agreed on a price, however, at the closing, the realtor had added $500 to her commission and my husband would not sign closing paperwork until it was corrected. Realtor never called him back in to sign any corrected paperwork, and the buyer was mad about it so he filed a UCC Financial Statement against my husband, naming our residence, as well as the home owners association. Do we need to contact a real estate attorney or a business law attorney? How do we protect our property? What can we do?
A:
You need to contact a real estate litigator. There are real estate attorneys who do closings and other transactional business, real estate litigators who do court cases and real estate attorneys who do both. Both is preferable. There are some pieces of information missing from this so it's impossible to say what you can do with any certainty. A UCC Financial Statement is a lien on an asset to secure a loan. Without reading the document, which we cannot do here online, it may be the buyer engaged in self-help and used incorrect legal methods.
Your husband should contact the HOA attorney and if the HOA doesn't have one it needs one immediately. Most HOA documents have an indemnification clause protecting board members and the HOA should have insurance protecting the board members (generally referred to as D&O insurance). All of these questions can be answered by the HOA attorney.
I know this is late advice but no one should be involved in a real estate transaction without being represented by a lawyer.
Anthony M. Avery agrees with this answer
1 user found this answer helpful
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
