Fact Check (updated)
With all that’s been said recently, it’s time to give you facts instead of allegations and “He said – He said” statements. Everything presented here can be verified by witnesses and/or independent documents. Once you read this, please share it with your Bridle Path friends and neighbors to inform and help them understand the true facts. Email us with any questions.
Even though they agreed in mediation to prepare an amendment to our CC&Rs to bring them in line with City requirements and back to pre-June 1, 2018 practices and they worked diligently to prepare such an amendment, two prior Board members are now campaigning for you to vote NO. We do not know why. We have fact checked some of their statements and here is what we found.
Statement: Bill Apodaca stated that the litigants agreed in October 2020 to dismiss their case prior to the amendment being presented to the owners.
Fact: Apodaca was not at the meeting where this agreement allegedly occurred, so his information is not first-hand.
Statement: Tony Delgado stated that the litigants agreed to dismiss their case prior to the amendment being presented to the owners.
Fact: There were four people at a meeting in October 2020, two Board members (one was Delgado) and two litigants. Both litigants and the other Board member state this did not happen. Delgado pressed hard to get the litigants to agree to dismiss but they said they needed to consult with their attorney before any agreement on this issue.
Statement: Bill Apodaca stated that the Insurance Company made a generous settlement offer (regarding damages).
Fact: The insurance Company’s offer was for a small fraction of out-of-pocket and legal fees we have incurred to introduce and defend the lawsuit. Generous is a relative term.
Statement: Tony Delgado stated “I was in the room with the mediator Luis Cardenas, retired Superior Court Judge, and he said, and I quote, “I believe there is a 50/50 chance of winning this lawsuit. It could go either way”.
Fact: Dean Kunicki, the HOA attorney Jeff Beaumont, the litigants’ attorney Michael Kwasigroch and Anne Smith were all at that meeting. Our memory is that Judge Cardenas stated that the litigants have a good chance of prevailing in this case. The Board’s letter (page 3) accompanying the ballot states “Please note that we [the HOA] have been advised by the mediator, who is a retired judge, that we have a strong risk of losing at trial.”
To be clear, we, Ray and Anne Smith, are litigants in the current lawsuit against Bridle Path. We sued the HOA in January 2019 because the HOA Board at that time threatened to suspend the voting rights of us and approximately 25 owners immediately before our annual election, thereby attempting to influence the outcome. Prior to that we endeavored to resolve our differences with the Board in a reasonable manner. Unfortunately, that Board refused, and the lawsuit is still ongoing. Hence here we are still amidst this controversy.