Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Cedar Run Legal Update - Continued to 9/15 - Sher Group Appealing

8/26 Hearing Continued
In case you haven't already read it in the comment section, the 8/26 hearing was continued to 9/15/15, supposedly at the request of the receiver.  We expect him to present his latest report on 9/15, which may contain significant information regarding the audit.

But onto bigger news......


Sher Group Appealing Court's Rulings
We have learned that the Sher/Shaw group is seeking relief from an appellate court on five of Judge Garcia's orders.  Basically, they are trying trying to vacate the T.R.O. (temporary restraining order) that removed them from power, assigned a receiver, and ordered the audit & election.  (Conspicuously absent from their appeal are any orders that granted payment of Shaw Legal Services' invoices)

Their appeal argument is basically this:

Despite Judge Garcia's repeated denials, they are STILL ARGUING that the bogus 2012 bylaws are somehow legal, valid, and in effect.  Therefore, according to them (surprise!), they never should have been removed.


Based on the above claim, they want that the T.R.O. and ALL subsequent orders to be overturned, including the receivership, the audit, and the election.......presumably putting them right back into power. Remember, it was these bylaws which were a central component in their removal.

We will have to wait and see what the appellate court judges think of their bylaws.....if the case even proceeds that far.  Much of what they are appealing is ineligible for appeal because they did not file in a timely manner.

A More Immediate Concern
What's most important now, with respect to this appeal, is that the Sher/Shaw group is trying to convince the appellate court to issue a "Stay of Enforcement" on Judge Garcia's orders.  If successful, this would mean that the orders that Sher/Shaw are appealing will not be enforced while the appeal is being considered.  Basically, it would be giving them what they want NOW and keeping it that way  unless or until their appeal is denied in a final judgement.

The Motion to Stay Enforcement (as prepared & filed by Caryn Shaw) can be viewed by clicking HERE.

How would this affect Cedar Run?
If this stay of enforcement were granted, it would mean that the election would be put on hold until the appellate court issues a final ruling on the appeal.  That could take several months, especially with all the procedural games that Caryn/Anne Shaw would certainly play.

AND............If Sher/Shaw are granted everything they have asked for in their motion, conceivably the receiver would also be removed while the appeal is being considered, and Robert & Jack would be back in charge.


Before you lose your lunch.....
While none of us who contribute content to this blog are lawyers or legal experts, we believe the Sher/Shaw group's chances of getting their stay of enforcement fall somewhere between "Not bloody likely!" and "a snowball's chance in hell". (apologies for the technical jargon)  In all seriousness, the argument posed by Caryn Shaw in her motion to stay enforcement is quite ridiculous and even insulting to one's intelligence.  See below.

Excerpted from Page 6, paragraph 1
of Motion to Stay Enforcement

What she is basically saying is that if the Cedar Run homeowners get an election and an audit of the financials, neither of which we've had in over three years.........this would somehow deprives us of our right to free speech and property......but having her family members in charge, secretly on the payroll, with no elections, supreme power, running off bylaws that we never saw nor ratified, and countless other unlawful/unethical practices.....YEP, that was okay.  One would think the appellate court would recognize what a crazy argument this is.

Bottom Line 
Whether their appeal has any merit is less important at this point (though almost everyone on the planet except  the Sher/Shaw family would find that it has NO merit whatsoever). What matters most right now is whether or not they can convince the appellate court to stay the enforcement of Judge Garcia's existing orders.  The entire appeal could effectively live or die based on this result.

We expect a ruling on the Motion to Stay Enforcement fairly soon (in a matter of days rather than weeks), so please check back for updates.


One Final Thought
$$   Who is paying for these efforts?   $$

To our knowledge, no Cedar Run homeowner money has been used to fund the Sher/Shaw group's appeal.  Appeals can become very costly, and the Shaws are usually not the type to gamble with their own money.  It would not surprise us, at this point, if they try to get HOC money to fund their appeal. But, in order to do this, they will need to request it from Judge Garcia in court.  That should make for some interesting conversation in the courtroom....


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17 comments:

  1. This is all crazy. Doesn't look like the end is near. Such sad news. I can't even believe they would go to this extreme. And what about all the money that is owed to their Phase? What can we as homeowners do?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Crazy indeed. Technically, if their appeal fails, they could then take it to the State Supreme Court. If that fails, they could then petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

      What's most important right now is whether or not they get a "stay of enforcement" order, whether full or partial. It could really derail and delay things if that happens. It is highly unlikely this will happen, but it is possible.

      Assuming they lose their motion to stay enforcement, their appeal could die right then. If they continue their appeal, they will have to do it at their own expense. As stated previously, the Shaws don't like to gamble with their own money.....and continuing their appeal is a big gamble against some tough odds.

      To address your phase question, all you can do is sit back and watch with the rest of us. He will eventually get served, and he will have his day in court. You can bet his sis-in-law will cook up some type of wacky reason that he shouldn't have to pay. No doubt, she will also drag the case out and make it as difficult as possible for everyone else involved...............and if/when an eviction order is granted, maybe she'll appeal it :D

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  2. Lmao..Seriously... They owe their Phase money..most likely the HOC also. The camera's they have on their unit we paid for ( they should be ordered taken down ), they have caused Cedar Run to be split up...neighbor against neighbor..... Good luck Shaw/Sher! It is over, you are powerless!

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  3. What a CROCK!!! I can't believe they have the nerve to keep fighting for those stupid bylaws. That is the most idiotic document I have ever read AND IT BENEFITS ONLY THEM!!

    All it should take is one quick read for the appeals court judge(s) to throw their case out. AND WE SURE AS HELL BETTER NOT BE PAYING FOR THIS!!!

    This has gone on way too long. It's crap like this that has delayed and prevented us from having the election we were supposed to have in MAY.

    Dear Robert,

    NEWSFLASH!! YOU'VE LOST IN COURT!! STOP FIGHTING!! YOU WILL KEEP LOSING!! ALL YOU ARE DOING IS SPENDING MONEY, DELAYING, AND SCREWING THINGS UP FOR THE REST OF US!! YOU ARE MAKING YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY LOOK LIKE FOOLS (WHICH IS NOT THAT HARD).

    GIVE IT UP ALREADY DUDE!!!

    PS: Can my cousin rent your place when you get tossed for skippin out on your dues?? Are the cameras included?

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  4. really? this is all a bunch of B.S ? 1st of all he didn't pay .assesments 2nd Barbara isent on the title 3rd they were paying them selves what is the receiver doing for us ?whome owners remember are buddy told us some time ago get out while we have something to sell because the monster is not going to stop or get put in prison this is just money flushed down the toilet !!!

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    Replies
    1. Good point on the money being flushed. An obscene amount of money has been spent in the last three years on things that never should have happened:

      Legal fees, receiver fees, accounting fees, OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FEES, court costs, etc. Some of this money has or will be funded by D & O insurance carriers and not directly with homeowners funds. That is a huge relief, but it's not necessarily a freebie. What will this do to our insurance rates? We will wait & see.

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  5. We payed for his cameras , down they should go......he owes his Phase money, maybe the HOC also. Appeal....I highly doubt it! Sorry, but enough homeowners are fed up with his crap, maybe we should rally together and go to court to show why he should get no Appeal....Be heard for once, really heard!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just FYI, There are no court dates for the appeal at this point. A three judge panel will decide about the next steps based only on written arguments.

      They will decide on the stay of enforcement (that's the big one), and they will decide which (if any) of the five orders can be appealed. They will only grant the stay of enforcement if they feel that the Shaws have shown that they have a good chance of winning an appeal.

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  6. This has gone on long enough. I agree, homeowners are fed up with his crap. Why does he think he is better than anyone else? Let's get it going....rally together and go to court. He has screwed this community long enough.

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    Replies
    1. The next hearing in front of Judge Garcia is on 9/15. It's hard to say if anything will happen there that makes it worth heading down (especially for those who would need to take a day off work). That said, homeowners are definitely welcome and encouraged to attend these hearings and see things firsthand.

      The last time Cedar Run homeowners showed up in big numbers, Judge Garcia actually allowed a brief Q & A session. No guaranteed he will do that again, but he was very considerate of the fact that we were there.

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  7. we need to rally in court &get the news media involved we have to let the public awhere of what has taken place in cedar run &how our court system is nothing but a tax payrs waiste of money we are paying judges to do a job this case was a no brainer contemt of court , all the false documents ,criminal activity ,theft ,vandalism ,couruption,the list goes on we the home owners demand action to get sher/shaw out of cedar run the phase needs to take action now and get them evicted asap enough is enough all the home owners need to stop paying hoc then no more money will be waisted yes you heard me freeze all assesments until you all drop the law suits ,our money is to pay for repairs not for your pleasure .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just to note that we do not endorse the idea of anyone withholding assessment payment....neither phase nor HOC.

      As frustrating as this is....as much as our patience has run out...we are still bound by law to pay our assessment dues. Failing to do so could result in late fees and/or legal fees.

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  8. all we need is a new board to end all lawsuits and stop the sher/shaw gravy train. The appeal is nothing more than the shaws trying to protect themselves, and making sure the audit never sees the light of day. They will take it all the way to the Illinois supreme court to stop that audit.

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    1. Funny how they were screaming for an audit when they were making all those B.S. promises, now they can't run fast enough from that audit. How does the shaws appeals help the homeowners. The appeals are nothing but self serving garbage

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  9. Whats going on with the appeal, Any news? Is this going to keep delaying things and pushing off our election and audit? We have a right to know what our financials look like and we have the right to ELECT A NEW BOARD!!

    You say that there is a court date on 9/15. Can anything happen at this court date while they are appealing? Or is Judge Garcia powerless until the appeal has finished?

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    1. FYI, the comment above was posted anonymously and accidentally deleted. The above is a repost of exactly what they said

      Apologies to the person who posted the comment.

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    2. To answer the anonymous commenters questions:

      First off, there is some news on the appeal, which appears to be good news. We still need to obtain some documents to confirm exactly what has happened.

      Second, based on what we know so far, it appears very unlikely that the appeal will push things off any further. It all depends on how the appellate court rules on the motion to stay enforcement. We don't want anyone to get their hopes up until we have confirmed, but it appears that they have not gotten their stay of enforcement.

      Third....again the only thing that could affect this is the stay of enforcement. If that is denied, then the appeal will have no effect on the 9/15 hearing. One of the Shaw sisters may ask the court to allow them access to HOC funds to pay for this appeal. One can only imagine how this request will be received...

      Stay tuned. We should have clarification on the appeal within a few days.

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