WEST PALM BEACH -- A judge on Monday admonished a group of residents for wresting control of a homeowners association in a running dispute that has left two rival boards, each annulling the acts of the other.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Tom Barkdull said the residents should have hired someone to review a community recall that ousted the president and two board members of Lake Charleston, a 2,400-home community west of Boynton Beach.

If the recall is determined to be illegal, the residents may be liable for the association money they have been spending since their February takeover, the judge said.

"It is clear this is a very divided community," Barkdull said after four hours of testimony. "What it boils down to is, was it an appropriate recall?"

Barkdull said he would wait 10 days before deciding whether to appoint someone to audit the recall petitions.

While the state audits condominium recalls, there is no such supervision of homeowner association recalls. 

The dispute in Lake Charleston, one of the county's largest communities, began in the winter. Rival factions on the neighborhood board could not agree on how much to spend on playground upgrades.

In February, a group of residents led a recall campaign that netted more than 1,200 signatures. The rebels then changed the locks to the board's offices and proclaimed themselves the new governing board. 

But ousted President Bailey Conaway and two of his cohorts, who are suing the association, say many of the signatures are invalid. In some cases, multiple signatures came from the same household or from renters, who are not eligible to vote.

A political consultant hired by the three ousted board members testified that he found dozens of ineligible signatures.