This post is one of a series about 10 Most Common Misperceptions About Condominium Laws And Operations, which I presented at the Maine Condo Forum and Expo in Portland, Maine, on September 25, 2010.
Email is a wonderful thing, and is especially useful if Board members are away and cannot attend a meeting in person. Decision by email correspondence seems to be very common but, unfortunately, the Nonprofit Corporation Act requires all decisions to be made at a Board meeting, except under the circumstances below. Decisions made by email could be challenged by someone who does not like the decision.
Recommendation. The Board can make legal decisions in the following ways, in addition to a meeting physically attended by a quorum of Board members:
1. Unanimous written consent of all Board members, before or after the effective date of the action, with the consents filed with meeting minutes.
2. Meetings by conference call where all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other.
3. Informal action without prompt objection by a unit owner or other director, filed in writing with the secretary or the clerk.