Maybe you saw in the paper this week where about 100 folks who have long dwelt in the Champions East subdivision filed a class-action lawsuit that accuses their homeowners association of overcharging them for the past 15 years. 

Or perhaps you read how Robby Hopkins sued the Pine Forest Village Community Association, contending it improperly used his maintenance fees in an attempt to foreclose on a house that he owned. And then foreclosure proceedings against Hopkins were dropped after the judge instructed lawyers for both sides to stop writing nasty letters and talk about it. The judge pointed out that such foreclosure cases, involving only a few hundred dollars, are "not unusual." 

And you might have noticed that state Sen. Jon Lindsay, R-Houston, is scheduled to conduct a public hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the University of Houston regarding "the appropriateness of foreclosure and other powers granted to property owners associations to enforce covenants." 

Here are a couple more cases adding to that snowball: 
 

Dues wait for no one
Darren and Varalyn Williams were late paying their 2000 annual dues of $300 to the Concord Bridge Home Association on a house they've had for 17 years. Varalyn Williams said they were going through some trying times -- both emotionally and financially -- when the dues fell due. 

She sent a check for $150 in March that year and another check for $150 in June. She said the second check was not cashed and she got a letter the following month from the association's lawyer advising her she owed $604.50 and if not paid within two weeks more legal fees would result and "a lawsuit, seeking both judicial foreclosure of your residence as well as a personal judgment will be instituted against you. ... " 

Varalyn Williams wrote a letter to the association's board of directors asking them to "review my account and remove the legal fees, as they are not justified." 

She wrote that she found it "disheartening to know that my neighbors would allow an attorney to charge these outrageous fees to the people in our community. ... The residents of Concord Bridge are human and have human situations to deal with. ... There has to be a better way to collect assessments." 

In August 2000, the attorney increased legal fees and billed the Williamses for $974.77. She said the amount is considerably higher now, but she is not sure of the total. At any rate, she decided to fight back. She thought that when the case finally makes it to court and she tells her story the judge will find in her favor. 

The way she saw it, "If I go pay an attorney to fight them, then they've won," but a lawyer she mentioned this theory to told her that representing herself in court would be like trying to perform open-heart surgery on herself. 

"I don't believe the system is this messed up," Varalyn Williams said. "It's heartbreaking. ... I don't intend to roll over and play dead." 

She said Thursday that the other side has agreed to try to mediate the case, which had been on the docket for next Monday. 
 

$220 bill grew to $28,000
The other case is that of Jose Molina, as told to me by his attorney, Cary Urban. Molina and his wife came to Houston from Puerto Rico. They had a baby, saved up money and bought a house in Northglen in 1997. 

Early in 1998, Molina returned to Puerto Rico because his mother was ill. He missed responding to notices from the Northglen Association for his $220 annual dues. He paid them in July, after getting a notice of delinquency and attempt to foreclose from the association's attorneys. But that payment didn't cover a late fee and a collection fee. 

As a result, Urban said, legal fees began to mount and eventually reached $28,000. It is a long story with many complications, but the Molinas eventually sold their house. She moved back to Puerto Rico with the baby and he still is working in Texas, hoping they can be reunited. 

Urban said Molina is fighting back. He is pursuing a lawsuit against the association's law firm. It is set for court in June. Urban said they are seeking "around a half-million dollars."