Resolving Conflict on the Road to Bachelor
For over thirty
years, The Inn of the
Seventh Mountain has offered visitors to Central Oregon a
wide range of activities and the closest lodging to Mt.
Bachelor. Recently renovated, the Inn boasts 170 comfortable
condominiums in close proximity to the many attractions Central
Oregon has to offer.
In late 2007 a complicated dispute arose within the Association of Unit Owners (AUO). A loosely organized group, “Concerned Unit Owners,” clashed with the AUO Board of Directors over concerns that the Board was predominately led by resort-management company, INNspired LLC. The dispute centered on a Board decision to approve a special assessment for residential repairs. To help resolve the conflict, the association hired attorney, Tami MacLeod of Karnopp Petersen.
“In our role of giving guidance to the unit owners association, we represented the AUO through a year of tumultuous litigation, which, at its heart, was between the largest single unit owner and a coalition of individual unit owners.” said Tami MacLeod, Karnopp Petersen’s lead attorney on the matter.
Through a series of mediation sessions starting in March 2008, the three parties engaged in on-going and extensive settlement talks. The “Concerned Unit Owners”, the Board of Directors and INNspired reached an agreement by early September, which required buy-in from both at least 90% of unit owners and the court. The agreement was approved by an overwhelming majority of the AUO at the annual meeting in October, and the court approved the agreement shortly thereafter.
“This has been a fascinating case,” said MacLeod. “The agreement we were able to reach is broader in scope than one just addressing the original disputes raised in the lawsuits. It is a visionary document that looks to potential issues during the now on-going residential rehabilitation and creates dispute resolution processes during this multi-year construction project.”