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Enforcement Related to COVID-19 Protocols and Quarantine

Enforcement Related to COVID-19 Protocols and Quarantine
Dear Clients and Friends, I hope you are all doing well and are staying safe.  By now all of you should have closed most or all common area facilities in response to state and county emergency orders and in the interest of the safety of your residents and staff.  Many of you have taken further measures to protect the health, safety, and welfare of your residents and staff, such as limiting or prohibiting contractors and guests as well as other similar actions to keep people other than residents from entering your communities. Many of your residents applaud the board for its decisive actions in these uncharted waters.  Unfortunately, I have also heard stories of owners violating these emergency procedures by continuing to use the gym, pool, and other common areas, by bringing prohibited guests into the community, and, in extreme cases, violating applicable quarantine requirements.  These are selfish and dangerous actions, which threaten the violators themselves as well as others on the property.  As a board, what can you do to enforce these restrictions when the usual enforcement means, such as a violation letter, fine, or suspension of common area use rights, make no sense under the current emergency? We are prepared to ask the courts to issue immediate injunctions for such violations.  While the courts are slowly opening for routine matters, they have remained open for emergency matters.  Violating quarantine guidelines or the temporary rules and regulations your association has enacted for the health, safety, and welfare of your residents and staff is an emergency that we believe the courts will address on an emergency basis. Please contact me if you are encountering any of the above situations.  If necessary, we are prepared to take the proper legal steps to ask the courts for immediate relief under the current pandemic circumstances. We are here for you.  I am available for conference and Zoom calls and I also have the ability to set up such calls for you and your residents. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything I can do to assist you during this difficult time. Thank you, and stay safe.
Very truly yours, Scott Kiernan, Esq.
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