News & Articles – Winter Capriola Zenner

REGULATING DRONES IN YOUR COMMUNITY

By: Kyle P. Shaughnessy, Esq. As aerial drones become more prevalent, they raise a variety of issues that can affect communities. Drones can crash into people, vehicles, or property due to mechanical or operator error, they can make annoying noises, and, since many drones are equipped with cameras, they raise serious privacy concerns. Additionally, the […]

IMPORTANCE OF SUBORIDINATION OF DEVELOPMENT LOANS TO RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS

IMPORTANCE OF SUBORIDINATION OF DEVELOPMENT LOANS TO RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS By: Eric B. Coleman, Esq. Serious problems can occur if a lender fails to subordinate its development loan to a community’s restrictive covenants, restrictions, and easements during or prior to development. If the loan goes into default and the lender forecloses, the result can be chaos […]

ARE YOU MISCLASSIFYING YOUR WORKERS AS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS?

Are You Misclassifying Your Workers as Independent Contractors? By: Lindsey Harrison, Esq. Classifying workers as either employees or independent contractors is not always easy. Simply labeling a worker as an independent contractor does not in itself establish the actual status of that worker in relation to the employer. The consequences of a misclassification can be […]

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS AND ONLINE FORUMS

COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS AND ONLINE FORUMS By: Kyle P. Shaughnessy, Esq. As the Internet has become the go-to source of information for most people, the first instinct of many residents of community associations who want information about their community or wish to communicate with the board of directors, their property manager, or their neighbors, is to […]

WCZ OBTAINS ATTORNEYS-FEES AWARD AGAINST RIALTO FOR GUARANTOR

WCZ recently obtained two favorable decisions from the Georgia Court of Appeals in favor of its client, an individual who had guaranteed several multi-million-dollar real-estate loans. In the two related cases, a Rialto subsidiary (“Rialto”) was found to have twice breached its Settlement Agreement with WCZ’s client and was ordered to pay the legal fees […]

NEW APPROACH TO DOGGY BUSINESS

NEW APPROACH TO DOGGY BUSINESS By: Clarence K. Lau, Esq. Pet waste in common areas is an unfortunate and recurring issue in many communities. One would assume and expect that neighbors would extend the common courtesy of cleaning up after their dogs. However, as we have all experienced firsthand (or firstfoot), some residents apparently feel […]

AN EASIER PATH TO ADOPTING THE POAA

AN EASIER PATH TO ADOPTING THE POAA By: Michael J. Zenner, Esq The Georgia Property Owners Association Act (the “POAA”) was adopted by the Georgia Legislature in 1994. The POAA is an elective statute, which means that a community of townhomes or single family homes can decide whether or not it wishes to become subject […]