Appeals court weighs trustees' authority to assess condominium legal fees against single unit owner

The appeals court heard argument in Trustees of 549'551 Boylston Street Condominium Trust v. Walter Chamberlain over whether trustees improperly assessed litigation and defense costs exclusively against a single unit owner.

Appellant counsel Michael Maggard told the panel the unit owner had not contested the amount of the assessment but had disputed whether the trustees could allocate the entire assessment to the single owner under chapter 183A —6(a)(2). Maggard said the trustees relied on conduct and on the statutory language that permits assessing a unit owner for expenses incurred by reason of a unit owner's failure to abide by condominium rules or by misconduct.

Appellee counsel Samuel Nabulsi said Unit 201's owners never committed the condominium-document violations or misconduct necessary to support a 100% assessment and that the trustees themselves conceded the declaration of trust lacks express authority to impose the full burden on a single owner. Nabulsi emphasized the superior court record, including a judge's prior findings and fee allocations in the related 2010 litigation, and urged reversal of the trustees's summary judgment theory.

The panel questioned counsel about whether misconduct under section 6(a)(2) must be tied to specific violations of the master deed or statutory provision and pressed both sides on how the superior-court record should be read on the narrow issue of whether the unit owner agreed the assessment but limited liability to the 8% share set by the declaration.

Provenance: argument opened at 01:40:30 (trustees counsel) and appellee reply beginning near the same segment.