Robert M. Meisner: Denial of contract inspection difficult to defend

Stephanie Shomin, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Jan. 18—Q: I am one of the directors in our condominium association. One of our residents has requested a copy of the contract with our landscaping provider. We realize that contract negotiations are held in closed executive session, but does the resulting executed contract remain confidential and not available to our residents as some of our directors believe?

A: Section 57 of the Michigan Condominium Act reads: "The books, records, contracts, and financial statements concerning the administration and operation of the condominium project shall be available for examination by any of the co-owners and their mortgagees at convenient times."

Also, Section 2487 of the Michigan Nonprofit Corporation Act contains a similar provision allowing inspection of books and records, provided the written request states a proper purpose and the records subject to the request are reasonably related to the purpose.

Every request to inspect association records should be evaluated with an experienced community association attorney. But generally speaking, it would be difficult to justify denying inspection of a landscaping contract after a written request for same is received from a member of the association.

The fact that you are in a condominium association and the Condominium Act specifically mentions contracts as open to inspection would make a denial especially difficult to defend in front of a judge if the member were to pursue a court action. It is also possible that the association may be ordered to pay the member's attorney fees and costs in bringing the action.

However, if a contract contains a confidentiality provision, that may complicate matters, and again, your attorney should advise you as to how to proceed.

Certainly, your executive session minutes are privileged and not open to inspection unless someone is able to obtain a court order for them. And there may be situations where denial of inspection requests is appropriate because there is no proper purpose for the inspection.

However, members of community associations generally enjoy a broad right to inspect the books and records of the association, including contracts.

Robert M. Meisner is the principle attorney of The Meisner Law Group, based in Bingham Farms, Michigan, which has provided legal representation for condominiums, homeowner associations, individual co-owners and developers throughout Michigan — including Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Emmet counties — for nearly 50 years. His book "Condo Living 2: The Authoritative Guide to Buying, Owning and Selling a Condominium" is available at www.momentumbooks.com. He can be reached at 800-470-4433 or bmeisner@meisner-law.com. Visit the firm's blog at www.meisner-law.com/blog.