Cedar Run Concerned Homeowners: March 2015

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Cedar Run Legal Update - Special Hearing Today

At the last court hearing on March 10th, the receiver presented his first report to Judge Garcia. There were a myriad of issues that the receiver had already discovered after only 3 weeks of managing Cedar Run. We will provide a more detailed summary of them later.

Receiver's report can be found HERE
A transcript of the 3/10/15 hearing can be found HERE.

Two issues that stood out to the Judge specifically involved Robert Sher's actions and his failure to obey the Judge's orders.

The letter that Sher sent to all Cedar Run unit owners

The letter proclaimed that Sher would have lowered the assessment fee to $65
It also encouraged homeowners to take action before the May elections

The receiver's comment that Sher was obstructing their efforts to access HOC expense records

These records were stored online with Robert Sher controlling access.
Sher first restricted access, then eventually removed them.

The Judge was very displeased after learning of the above actions by Sher. In response to this, he issued a "rule to show cause" against Robert Sher, with a hearing date of 3/25/15 at 2PM. The purpose of this hearing is to determine if Robert Sher did directly violate the Judge's orders (T.R.O. and stand-still order). And if so, what the "remedy" (presumably punishment, penalty, or restriction) will be for such violations.

We will update the blog with any new information we learn from today's hearing. Feel free to subscribe to this blog (see below), and you will get updates right in your inbox.

***UPDATE***

Robert Sher in contempt of court! See comments section.

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Please stay tuned!!

restoreCR@gmail.com
(224) 544-9058

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Cedar Run Legal Update - Receiver's Report Now Available

Attention Cedar Run homeowners, We now have of a copy of the report presented by the receiver in court yesterday (3/10/15).

The report can be found by clicking HERE.

There is a lot of interesting material in this report. It shows what a real mess Sher had left at the time of his ouster. It also shows that he may be hiding certain financial information from the receiver and accountants. (item 17)

We will post a thorough summary later, but for now we'd like to point out some issues that Phase V owners should know prior to tonight's meeting at the clubhouse.

Phase V financial and legal documents have been kept secret from the phase directors since the Sher takeover (item 8)
Phase V has not filed tax returns since the Sher takeover (item 8)
Phase V has no Director's & Officer's (aka D&O) insurance policy, meaning that if the board members were sued, they would have to pay for their own defense (item 11-b)
Phase V's building insurance only covers $66 per square foot, when it should cover about $200 per square foot (item 11-c)
The way Phase V's insurance policy is written, it may NOT COVER ANYTHING on the residential buildings and only cover the clubhouse (?!) (item 11-e)

If you are urged to support re-hiring Sher/Shaw to manage your phase, consider these facts carefully.

We strongly encourage all homeowners in Phase V to attend this meeting. Given the above information, we believe that the directors who called this meeting, are probably making a good-faith effort to inform homeowners.

If this is the case, then we applaud them for making this effort.

Please stay tuned for our full summary of the receiver's report. For the time being, we encourage you to read it in its entirety. We will also post the court transcripts once they are available.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Cedar Run (Partial) Legal Update

As you are aware, Al Schroeder (the HOC receiver) had appeared in court today and presented his first report to Judge Garcia. We are still collecting information about the proceedings, which we will post as soon as possible

What we do know is this:

Attorney Robert Orman (who defended Sher, Shaw and the HOC board from December to present) has withdrawn as their attorney. We do not know the reason why, but we suspect that Mr. Orman either wasn't paid or feels that Sher's case is futile.
Sher is STILL TRYING to argue that his Bogus Bylaws are legal, but the Judge won't have any of it - MOTION DENIED
In regards to Robert Sher's recent letter to homeowners, the Judge was not happy about it, and a court date of 3/25/15 has been set in order to discuss possible SANCTIONS AGAINST HIM for disobeying both the TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) and the original standstill order.

We will have more information, including a copy of the receiver's report within the next day or two.

But for now, We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you some news about Cedar Run Phase V.

Cedar Run Phase V homeowners received an 'Emergency Meeting' notice tacked to their garage today (3/10/15). Click HERE to view the notice.

It is not clear what the Phase V board's exact motives are in calling this meeting. However, we recommend that all Phase V homeowners attend the meeting if possible or call the listed phone number to inquire.

History
To briefly recap, Phase V was taken over by a group led by Sher, in a way that is legally questionable at best. Most believe that this takeover was outright illegal, and they blame A.P.M. for yielding control of the phase to Sher.

Once Sher assumed control over this phase, he appointed three figurehead directors, who would serve as nothing more than names on paperwork that delegated all authority to Sher and Shaw (the oversight committee).

Since then, Sher and Shaw have had full control over the Phase V association's money. In an effort to keep assessments from rising, Sher had grossly under-insured Phase V, and many suspect that he also subsidized the phase with HOC funds.

There have been NO ELECTIONS, NO BOARD MEETINGS, and NO BUDGETS for Phase V since the takeover.

Now that the HOC is in receivership and the oversight committee is powerless, the documents signed by the figurehead directors no longer authorize Sher/Shaw to manage the phase. The Phase must now hire a licensed property manager.

Improper Notice
For any kind of official Phase meeting to take place legally, the Condo Act requires a minimum of 5 days notice to all owners, and notice must be mailed or hand-delivered to each owner. This notice was taped to garage doors literally ONE DAY before the meeting date......Also, off-site owners have no way to know about this meeting since notice was never mailed to them.

Given that the meeting was improperly noticed, any vote that may take place (as the notice implies) will be invalid.

What to expect
Again, we have no way of knowing what the board has planned for this meeting. There is a good chance that this meeting is an attempt, on the board's part, to pander to Robert Sher's will and re-hire him as the Phase V property manager.

But it could also be a genuine attempt for these directors to communicate with homeowners about what a conundrum they were left with after Sher's ouster. After seeing how Sher's poor decisions affected the HOC, perhaps they have finally decided to seek other management options.

Are these directors interested in the greater good for their association? Or are they simply puppets of Robert Sher?

We'll have to find out tomorrow evening. We recommend you keep an open mind, but think critically.

What you might want to ask
Ask for a budget and ask how much money the phase has in the bank
Ask about the status of Phase V's building insurance
Ask when the next Phase Board election will take place
Ask why only one day of notice was given for this meeting. If they wanted it to be well-attended, why such short notice?

Please check the blog tomorrow afternoon (or check your email if you subscribe), as we may have more court information that pertains to Phase V.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Cedar Run Legal Update - Receiver to Appear in Court

Tomorrow (3/10/2015) at 10:30 AM, Al Schroeder from Heil, Heil, Smart & Golee (i.e. the receiver) will be appearing before Judge Garcia. There he will present his first report on how things have progressed since his firm has taken over the Cedar Run HOC.

There may be some very interesting information in this first report, which Cedar Run homeowners will certainly want to see.

Such information will likely include:

The receiver's observations and comments about the current state of the property
The level of cooperation from the outgoing HOC board and oversight comittee
Costs incurred thus far - from vendors/contractors and for the receiver's services
Status update on the collection of paperwork for the financial audits
Receiver's requests or recommendations to the Judge (if any)

What we'd also hope to see in this report are:

Information on the receiver's plans regarding clubhouse personnel
Status of the HOC website, which still contains false information and conflicting payment instructions
Receiver's comments about the recent letter from Robert Sher

We will post a copy of the receiver's report as soon as its available. We are also very interested in the judges remarks after he's reviewed the report, and we will post a transcript of the proceedings as soon as one is available.

Please stay tuned!!

restoreCR@gmail.com
(224) 544-9058

Thursday, March 5, 2015

And So It Begins.....

By now, Cedar Run homeowners have likely received a letter from Robert Sher. This is the first correspondence we've received from him since the HOC went into receivership. In case you haven't gotten yours yet, you can view it HERE.

Robert Sher's desperation really shows through in this letter. This letter is very reminiscent of the multitude of so-called "newsletters" that Sher has produced over the past two years. According to this letter and the past newsletters:

Everything Sher has done has been perfect, despite all the odds stacked against him
Anything that has gone wrong is the fault of someone else (former board, banks, lawyers, Alma, etc.)
Anyone who would dare oppose Sher is demonized

Major Points from the Letter:
$65/month HOC assessment
This is Robert's big attention-getting headline. He claims that he would have reduced the HOC assessments (starting on January of 2015) from $125 to $65 per month if he hadn't removed from power. Just as he was about to roll out this major reduction in assessments, the court stepped in and took away his authority to make it happen.

Isn't it interesting that he would choose make this reduction starting in January 2015 when the fiscal year had begun in November of 2014? Isn't it also strange that this is the first we are hearing of such a planned reduction? Why wasn't he hyping this for months leading up to its effective date per his normal routine?

Answer: Because it's another LIE to try and paint Sher as the savior of Cedar Run. Before taking power, Sher sent postcards to Cedar Run homeowners (see below) that claimed, with their vote, he would cut your entire assessment payment IN HALF while maintaining the same level of services. Today, our assessments are higher than they were in 2012, and services have been at an all-time low. Does anyone really believe this $65/mo claim given Sher's track record?

Bylaws and Elections
Sher fails to elaborate, but he claims that the Bogus 2012 Bylaws and his failure to conduct elections have nothing to do with his ouster. Anyone who has read through the court order and read the judge's comments from the court transcripts would know that the Bogus Bylaws played a major role (arguably as much or more than the elections) in the judge's decision. As for elections, the entire counter-suit that resulted in receivership NEVER would have happened if Sher had conducted elections as required by law. He blatantly disobeyed state law and our true governing documents, which the Judge could clearly see.

What is Sher's explanation of why Judge Garcia ruled the way he did? When can we see this explanation in writing?

Website
In the letter, Sher refers to a website to chronicle his successes. Administration of this website, per the court order, must go to the receiver. In addition to Sher's propaganda, this website contains conflicting payment information, and it STILL shows the Bogus Bylaws. Is Sher not cooperating with the receiver and handing over the rights to control this website?

It's All About Robert
The letter is filled with statements like, "I created....savings." and "I reduced assessments". This further reaffirms our point that Robert Sher ruled over the board and not the other way around. For anything he touts as a success, he takes all the credit for himself. Yet, while still in power, he sent out newsletters that contained personal attacks and racial rhetoric, and he signed these letters as being from, 'The Master Board'. He did this despite multiple board members stating, at a meeting, that they did not approve of such rhetoric.

A dictator, by an other name (like 'oversight committee chair'), is still a dictator.

Conspicuous Omissions
What's equally important is what Robert Sher didn't say in this letter when touting his accomplishments over the past two years. First, he continues to dodge around the point that he and Jack Shaw were both paid a handsome salary.....at least $60K/year between the two of them. It took a subpoena and several courageous homeowners handing out check images to get Sher to even acknowledge being on the payroll. Sher continues to point to his efforts as purely humanitarian, when we can clearly see that he had a vested interest in maintaining his paid position. He WAS being paid; now he is NOT; and he is hellbent on getting his job back.

Second, Sher failed to mention all the lawsuits that were spurred by his foolish and impulsive decisions. One of these lawsuits (Best Trees vs Cedar Run) is featured on an informational website about association living. Click HERE for the story and click HERE for the official appeals court ruling. This is a NATIONAL website, and they chose Cedar Run (under Sher's leadership) as a case study on poor, costly, emotionally driven decisions.

Bottom Line
We knew Robert Sher would not go away quietly. Despite his adamant proclamations that he has done everything legally and properly, he was removed from power for acting ILLEGALLY. Yet, our disgraced and now powerless 'oversight committee chair' is desperately trying to claw his way back into power.

Since the receiver has stepped in, things have been relatively uneventful and (dare we say) peaceful in Cedar Run. While there are still several open issues that need the receiver's attention, homeowners appear to be content with how things are running in Cedar Run. This is probably Robert Sher's greatest fear.....that homeowners might be happier without him in power - that they might be happy enough with the current arrangement to consider keeping it that way (i.e. being professionally managed). This is why he concocted the $65/month story - to try and convince homeowners that they are missing out on something great, that ONLY HE can deliver.

It's getting ugly, folks. It will probably get uglier before it's finally over.

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Stay tuned for a future blog posts that will take an in-depth look at the claims and promises made by Sher and their subsequent results.

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Please do email us at restoreCR@gmail.com, call or text the hotline at (224) 544-9058, or use the comment sections of the blog for any questions, comments, or concerns.