CAI-NJ July 2021

WHAT’S IN A BOARD LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP, FROM PAGE 16.

Conflict Resolution for NJ’s Community Associations By Christopher Nicosia, MM, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, Prime Management, Inc., AAMC

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C ommunity Associations in New Jersey are no strang- ers to conflict. As with all parts of life, conflict is inevitable and community associations are in no way immune to human nature. From time to time, conflicts arise, whether between an owner and the association or neighbor to neighbor. In New Jersey, the law requires that associations offer a fair and efficient mechanism for dis- putes to be resolved outside of litigation, otherwise known as “Alternative Dispute Resolution”. TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION: There are a few different approaches to Alternative Dispute Resolution that can be employed to meet the legal obligation for ADR under NJ Law. Arbitration: Arbitration involves the parties in conflict meeting with an arbitrator to review the conflict. The arbi- trator acts as judge and jury — after all the parties present their cases, the arbitrator renders a decision. In non-binding arbitration, the parties can petition the court to overturn the arbitrator’s decision if they do not agree with it. In bind- ing arbitration, the decision of the arbitrator is final, it is recorded with the court and is enforceable like any court order. In New Jersey, we have a somewhat hybrid version of this, where all arbitration decisions start as non-binding, however, after a certain amount of time, if the parties do not dispute the arbitrator’s finding, the arbitration outcome becomes binding on the parties. It is important to note a few things about arbitrations. First, they can be expensive, which can be a challenge if an association does not have the budget for this type of ADR. Second, arbitrators may

not be familiar with the law surrounding common-interest communities. This can lead to decisions that may create other legal complications for communities down the road. Mediation: Mediation is a less formal, more common ground approach where the parties meet with a trained mediator to discuss the conflict and work together to find a mutually agreeable resolution. A mediator does not render a decision but facilitates a conversation amongst the parties and/or acts as an intermediary amongst the parties to help them reach a resolution. This form of ADR has a high-rate of success, largely because the parties oversee their own destiny to find a solution — the parties are not being told what they have to do. This allows buy-in by the disputing parties and fosters ongoing compliance with any agreed upon solution. CAI-NJ offers a mediation service that mem- bers may use for a nominal fee to help communities meet the legal requirement for ADR and have the assistance of industry professionals trained in mediation techniques to help member communities resolve conflicts. This is not an exhaustive list of available options for alter- native dispute resolution; however, mediation is an effective approach for conflict resolution. It is cost effective, collab- orative in nature and does not impose a decision on the parties that may create other legal issues due to a lack of knowledge of community association law by an assigned arbitrator. Having a mechanism to resolve conflict is essen- tial in community associations, to try to avoid litigation and help maintain harmony within the community. For more information on CAI-NJ’s mediation service, please visit https://cainj.org/adr-mediation/. A N O T H E R C O M P O N E N T O N P A G E 2 0 .

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