Cedar Run Concerned Homeowners: September 2015

Monday, September 14, 2015

Cedar Run Legal Update - Appellate Court Issues Initial Order

The First District - First Division of the Appellate Court of Illinois has issued an order regarding the Sher/Shaw group's appeal. The purpose of this order was to decide whether or not the appeal can proceed, and if so, what orders are or are not appealable.

The appellate court's order (complete with the legal explanations) can be read by clicking HERE

The Sher/Shaw group have tried to appeal five of Judge Garcia's orders. More importantly (at least in the near term), they have also tried to convince the appellate court to issue a 'stay of enforcement' of Judge Garcia's orders while their appeal is being considered. If successful, this stay of enforcement could stop all progress in Cedar Run and put the election and financial review on hold until the appellate court has issued a final ruling.

So.......................................

FIRST AND FOREMOST........on the motion to stay enforcement:

The appellate court cites precedent in the Illinois Supreme Court as a guideline. They basically say that an appellant (i.e. the Sher/Shaw group in this case) must prove that they have a good chance of winning an appeal if they wish to be granted a stay. (see their exact words below)

(highlighting added for emphasis)

One could easily interpret the above paragraph as proof that the Sher/Shaw group has a pretty weak case.

AND

Appeals of Judge Garcia's orders from December 17th, 2014 (stand-still order), February 9th, 2015 (T.R.O./Injunction), and March 10, 2015 (denial of motion to reconsider T.R.O./Injunction)

(Appellate court determined they are not appealable)

The short version as to why.....because they waited too long and did not file their appeal in a timely manner. For the March 10th order (the least significant of the three orders), Sher/Shaw were one day past the deadline. The appellate courts obviously takes these deadlines seriously.

Remaining Orders On Appeal

Certain portions and/or paragraphs from orders on March 25th, 2015 and April 3rd, 2015 are appealable according to the appellate court, but in a very limited capacity. Basically the Sher/Shaw group can appeal judge Garcia's denial of their motions/requests to reconsider the February 9th order (T.R.O./Injunction). They would have to prove that Judge Garcia was abusing his authority when he denied them and that he did not give them a fair chance to argue that the injunction should be modified or dissolved.

Also..........the appellate court had the following to say about Sher/Shaw's chances for winning an appeal of the above orders:

(highlighting added for emphasis)

Again, the above statements don't exactly read like a vote of confidence in Sher/Shaw's chances of succeeding with their appeal.

Other than the above, the only other thing they can appeal pertains to the letter that the receiver sent out to refute the infamous letter sent by Robert Sher to all Cedar Run owners back in March. You'll recall that Sher's letter resulted in him being found in contempt of court. The only thing that can be appealed is the order that instructed the receiver to send a follow-up/retraction letter. This appeal would have no effect on the court's finding that Sher was in contempt.

Other Findings/Rulings

Per the appellate court, the T.R.O. (Temporary Restraining Order) from February 9th, 2015, is effectively a Injunction. Basically, the order has lasted way longer than what the appellate court considers to be 'temporary'.
Caryn Shaw (rookie attorney) cited the wrong Illinois Supreme Court rules when she made her arguments for the appeal.
If the Sher/Shaw group are somehow successful in their appeals, it will not 'undo' any of the previous orders like the injunction. See below.

(highlighting added for emphasis)

What happens next?

If the Sher/Shaw group decide to pursue their appeals despite the above developments, it will probably be months before their case will even be heard. Since the stay of enforcement was denied, there will be no interference with the existing case. They will have to fight this battle on their own dime, and their chances of success appear to be quite weak.

Will they continue fighting this appeal?
Will they try and escalate it to the Illinois Supreme Court?
Will they try the appellate court again for future orders that they find unfavorable?

We can only wait and see..........

We'd love to hear from you!

restoreCR@gmail.com

(224) 544-9058

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....

We'd love to hear from you!

restoreCR@gmail.com

(224) 544-9058