December 14, 2022
Volume XII, Number 348
December 14, 2022
– GREAT LEGAL WORK: TCPA Defendant Wins a HUGE Certification Victory…by: Eric J.Troutman
– 401(k) Compliance Check #12: Don’t Borrow Trouble – Correcting…by: Belinda S.Morgan
– FDA Published Food Safety Culture Literature Review by: Food and Drug Law at Keller and Heckman
– Does a business have to provide a privacy notice directly to a…
by: David A.
Zetoony
– New Privacy Enforcement Act Commences in Australia by: Cameron Abbott and Rob Pulham
– NYC Delays Enforcement of Automated Employment Decision Tools Law to…by: Lindsay Colvin Stone
– U.S.
Department of State to Update Design on Nonimmigrant and…by: Ashley K.Kerr
– Cannon Fire: Newly-Famous Judge Stays All Discovery in TCPA Class…by: Eric J.
Troutman
– Why Do Law Firms Need CRM? by: CRM News and Updates, Lawmatics
– This California Rule by: Keith Paul Bishop
– UK Parliament Considers Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill…by: Emma Thomson
December 13, 2022
– DOL Issues Final Rule Amending Investment Duties Regulation –…by: James Frazier
– Renewed Era of Crypto Assets Growth in Hong Kong by: Jay Lee
– Division I Universities Must Be Ready for Changes to the NCAA…by: Paul V.Kelly
– Damages in Pre-Certification Discovery are Premature, Discovery…by: Jenniffer Cabrera
– When Chains Change, Do NFTs Stay The Same? How Hard Forks May Affect…
by: Jason H.Finger
– COVID-19: A Roadmap to Fraud Investigations: Office of Inspector…by: Stephen D.
Bittinger
– Update: OFCCP Plans to Disclose EEO-1 Data for Non-Objecting…by: Abby M.Warren
– DOJ Antitrust Division and HHS OIG Enter into Partnership to Increase…
by: Diane Hazel
– Can Discovery Be Compelled from a Party? Possession, Custody, Control…by: Kathryn C.Cole
– Weekly Bankruptcy Alert December 13, 2022 by: Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights
– All Things Chemical® Podcast: TSCA Regulation of Articles: The Saga…by: Lynn L.Bergeson
– Energy & Sustainability M&A Activity — December 2022 by: Thomas R.Burton, III and Sahir Surmeli
– Energy & Sustainability IP Updates — December 2022 by: Brad M.
Scheller
– SEC Reopens Proposal on Stock Buyback Rules by: Erin Reeves McGinnis
– Chips Chatter: December 5-12, 2022 by: Pablo E.Carrillo and Ludmilla L.Kasulke
– How Many Behavioral Advertising Trackers Do Websites Deploy Currently? by: David A.Zetoony
– FRB Proposes Climate-Related Financial Risk Management Principles by: Daniel Meade
– Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — December 2022 by: Jacob H.Hupart
– Cross Border Recognition, 25 years on: the view from each side of the…
by: Michelle N.
Saney
– A New Era of Technology in the Private Markets by: Louis Lehot and Christopher Converse
– New York City Postpones Enforcement of Automated Employment Decision…by: Simone R.D.Francis
– New Law Seeks To Curtail Coerced Debts by: Keith Paul Bishop
– Republican SEC Commissioners Continue to Criticize Proposed Climate…by: Jacob H.
Hupart
December 12, 2022
– Raters gonna rate…but there’s a bright side! by: Daniel B.
Guggenheim
– SEC Awards More than $20 Million to Whistleblower by: Mary Jane Wilmoth
– Estate Planning for Football Season Ticket Holders by: Katherine M.Szymanski and Rebecca K.
Wrock
– American Hospital Association Urges DEA to Issue Special Registration…by: Nathaniel M.Lacktman
– EPA Announces $25.7 Million in Grants to Support Water Systems in…by: EPA
– Weekly IRS Roundup December 5 – December 9, 2022 by: Tax Practice Group McDermott Will Emery
– CMS Announces Strategy on Value-Based Payments for Specialty Care by: Anahita Anvari
– DOL Proposes Self-Correction Option and Other Changes to Voluntary…by: Justin S Alex
– The City of Los Angeles’ Fair Work Week Ordinance Requires…
by: Tomi Oshita
– Recent Developments in Telehealth Enforcement by: Sara Helene Shanti and Danielle Vrabie
– ESG INVESTING AND PROXY VOTING: DOL’S NEW FINAL RULE by: Kristina M.
Zanotti and Ruth E.Delaney
– IN A NEW YORK MINUTE, Telemarketing Laws Are Changing! by: Angelika Munger
– More Places, Less Spaces: California is Driving Down Development Costs by: Amanda S.Lee
– Bereavement Leave Becomes Mandatory in the Golden State by: Kaleb N.Berhe
– New Year Brings New Laws for Illinois Employers by: Mikela T.Sutrina and Katherine H.Oblak
– Decision in U.S.
v.Holland by: Gabriel L.Imperato
– Top Five Labor Law Developments for November 2022 by: Jonathan J.Spitz and Richard F.
Vitarelli
– “Cold-Pressed Juice” Lawsuit Permanently Dismissed by: Food and Drug Law at Keller and Heckman
– USPTO Releases New Guidelines Shortening the Response Deadline in…by: Luna M.Samman
– ‘No Exit’: SEC Sanctions Investment Adviser for Impeding…
by: Peter D.
Hutcheon
– TradeTalk China: December 2 – December 9, 2022 by: Pablo E.Carrillo and Ludmilla L.Kasulke
– $10.3 Million in Grants Awarded to Improve the Health of Long Island…by: EPA
– RE-STRUC: Tax Changes as of 2023 by: Thomas van der Vliet and Louisa van Isselmuden
– The CAC Assessment Collection – Part 2: What Must Be Done Before…
by: Amigo L.Xie and Dan Wu
– Here We Go Again: Lesser Prairie-Chicken Re-Listed Under the…
by: Karma B.Brown and Linda Trees
– What’s more common: opt-in, opt-out, or notice cookie banners? by: David A.Zetoony
– An Unstoppable Force Meets an Immovable Object: Microsoft to Fight…by: Jonathan Rubin
– Who Qualifies As An Expert Witness? by: Keith Paul Bishop
December 11, 2022
– USCIS Updates Policy to Automatically Extend Green Cards for…by: U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security
When 2 Minus 1 Still Equals 2: Combining Lots in a Planned Community
“I will just combine my two lots into one, then I only have to pay one assessment but I’ll still have two votes, right?”
NOT NECESSARILY!
Owners of adjoining lots in subdivisions often decide to combine them for a variety of reasons.But, in a planned community governed by an owners’ association, the owner may have to obtain consent to combine lots, and a lot combination may not have the desired effect.Moreover, combining lots may affect an owner’s compliance with other dimensional or setback restrictions on the land.
While there are typically other governmental ordinances that regulate the subdivision and combination of lots, the North Carolina Planned Community Act contains no provision specifically addressing this issue.So, in addition to complying with those governmental regulations, the owner will have to review the community association governing documents, including, but not limited to, the declaration, subdivision plats, and bylaws (collectively, “Governing Documents”) to determine whether or not the owners’ association has any authority to regulate the owner’s proposed combination or recombination of lots, and the effect of any permitted and resulting combination.
Association Authority to Approve/Deny Lot Combinations
The association’s authority to govern or prescribe the manner in which lots can be combined within the community lies solely within the Governing Documents.If the Governing Documents are silent on that issue or ambiguous, the association most likely does not have the authority to approve or deny a lot combination.
If the association does have authority on the issue, there may be additional provisions within the Governing Documents describing the manner in which the combined lots will be treated for purposes of assessments, voting, and, perhaps, other specific issues.
The Effect of a Lot Combination
Assessments
The general rule regarding combining lots in planned communities is that the combined lots will continue to be treated as the original pre-combined number of lots unless the Governing Documents provide otherwise.In other words, multiple combined lots do not automatically become one lot for purposes of levying assessments.The North Carolina Court of Appeals has inferred that it would be inequitable to the owners of other lots within the community who are subject to the Governing Documents if a lot owner could reduce his assessment obligations simply by combining lots.That does not mean that lots cannot be combined, but it does mean that the combined lots will generally continue to be treated as two lots when it comes to levying assessments.
Voting
Again, one must review the Governing Documents to determine whether the combined lot will continue to be treated as two lots for purposes of voting.Votes are typically assigned to each individual, a separate lot.So, unless the Governing Documents provide to the contrary, the new resultant combined lot owner will still be entitled to cast the number of votes assigned to the original two lots (or any number of lots) so owned.
Other Issues
The Governing Documents for the community usually contain provisions establishing easements along interior lot lines for the installation of utilities, drainage, and other purposes.Placing improvements within the easement areas may interfere with the purposes and functions for which those easements are reserved and thus may be prohibited.The same could be said for setback lines shown on the subdivision maps as well as those established by the Governing Documents.
Absent language in the Governing Documents to the contrary, any dimensional or setback restrictions on lots found in the Governing Documents will generally be enforced according to the lot configuration shown on the original recorded plat.Thus, an owner who later combines lots may find he or she is no longer in compliance with dimensional or setback requirements.
The Governing Documents for older planned communities may not address the combination of lots at all.However, it is possible that the members of the association may amend the Governing Documents to allow owners to combine lots.In doing so, it is important that the amendment clearly states the authority to approve or deny any such requests and clearly designate the entity for making that determination (i.e., the association’s board of directors or the architectural committee).In addition, the amendment should unambiguously illustrate the effect of lot combination on assessments and voting allocations, along with any other matters unique to the particular planned community.
So, 2 minus 1 may equal 2 and, at the same time, it may equal 1!.