On behalf of the board of the Todd Creek Farms Homeowner Association, we want to address an important matter that affects all of us. In the past two years, the HOA has been required to spend nearly $100,000 in unreimbursed legal fees in response to a series of lawsuits filed by a handful of homeowners. Because legal fees are paid out of the association’s common fund – and impact the amount of oil and gas revenues that can be returned to each homeowner – we believe it’s important to disclose the scope and scale of these expenses.
We understand that this news may come as a surprise to many of you. Because we value transparency and open communication within our community, we feel it’s imperative to share this update with each affected homeowner. For those interested in the specifics of the lawsuit, we have provided a link to the original and amended complaints, along with the corresponding motions to dismiss within this article.
- What to know: As of today, nearly two dozen homeowners have signed onto a lawsuit that alleges a variety of claims, including disagreements with governance decisions made by the board (please click here to read the lawsuit). We want to assure each one of you that all actions taken by the board have been fully compliant with Colorado law, and every decision made has been in the best interests of our wonderful community. Earlier lawsuits directed against the HOA were dismissed, and we are confident that this latest lawsuit will be ultimately dismissed as well.
- Backstory: Several of the current litigants were also involved in a recall attempt of the current board last August, which ultimately failed. Despite this, they have now chosen to undertake a costly and lengthy legal route to air their grievances. In fact, lawsuits within the last two years alone have accounted for a staggering $100,000 in legal fees – an amount that will likely climb much higher as litigation proceeds.
- Transparency and Accountability: It is our continuing goal to maintain an open and transparent community where every homeowner can easily access relevant information. One of the claims raised in the most recent lawsuit pertains to the alleged lack of disclosure of documents. We expect that the court will dismiss this claim, especially since nearly 4,400 HOA files have been digitized and made available online since 2021. These files are available to every homeowner in Todd Creek Farm’s Online Repository and via the TownSq app.
- Increased Costs: As the legal fees rise, it’s important to point out both the real and the opportunity costs associated with defending these lawsuits. Spending money on frivolous lawsuits has a real-world outcome on investments and projects that can fundamentally improve our community and home values, such as maintenance to open space and improvements to our trail networks. This means that ultimately, these fees are passed onto the HOA and affect our common fund. In this current lawsuit, we have already incurred over $38,000 in legal fees, all of which are being paid out of the HOA’s common funds. In addition, the deductibles for the Directors & Officers (also known as “D&O”) insurance have risen nearly 15-fold as a result of this litigation. These fees are all paid from the HOA’s common fund.
- Motions to Dismiss: As responsible stewards of our HOA’s finances, both the association and individual board members have filed a motion to dismiss in response to the lawsuit (please click here to access the motion to dismiss). We firmly believe that the claims lack merit, and both we and our legal counsel are confident that our decisions have always been in line with Colorado law and our community’s values.
In conclusion, we are sharing this information with you all to keep you informed about the current situation and to emphasize our commitment to acting as prudent financial stewards for the HOA. We will continue to defend our community’s best interests and maintain our dedication to transparency.
Sincerely,
Todd Creek Farms HOA Board
