Elliot Berton on Board Fiduciary Duties, Confidentiality & Rules Enforcement

Community association lawyer Elliot Berton recently led a roundtable discussion for community association board members across the region. The roundtable on “Board Member Fiduciary Duties, Confidentiality and Rules Enforcement” was held on September 26, 2024, hosted by CAMCO community association management with key points including:

• Board and community association member conduct at meetings
• Rules enforcement within your community
• Board members’ fiduciary duties
• Confidentiality & what can be shared (or not shared) outside of board meetings

“In most cases, the board members running homeowners associations (HOAs), planned communities, condominium associations and cooperatives are volunteers with varying levels of experience in their roles,” said Berton. “We are here to support them in all aspects of their work for their communities.”

Berton focuses his practice on the protection of condominium and homeowners’ associations in state and bankruptcy courts. Drawing on his extensive experience representing banks, financial service companies and other creditors, he advises community association clients on negotiation and documentation of loans, service and other association contracts, assessment recoveries and other financial issues. Berton also assists associations with transition from declarant control, operational issues, governing document amendments and interpretation, and defense litigation.

A frequent lecturer, Berton has conducted roundtables and presented talks to managers both at seminars and for management companies covering an array of topics including rules enforcement, dealing with a troublesome resident, assessment collection, and borrowing in lieu of special assessments. He has also been a panelist for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute course “Who’s on First? Lien Priority in Pennsylvania,” “What’s On Second? Sophisticated Issues in Line Divestiture & Priority,” and at PBI’s annual Real Estate Institute and Bankruptcy Institute. Elliot has been a featured speaker for the Delaware County Real Estate Committee and has taught collection practices and procedures to attorneys and other professionals.