Strata Trapped: Manager lashes out at ABC

Michael Lee, a strata manager and committee chair highlighted in the ABC TV Four Corners report The Strata Trap, has lashed out at the controversial documentary’s allegations, saying they contain “numerous false and misleading allegations” which he alleges are defamatory, were illegally obtained and that the outcome has been damaging to his standing in the community as well as potentially injurious to his mental and emotional health.  

The Strata Trap alleged that Mr Lee controlled the committee of his defect-ridden apartment block and resisted efforts by a majority of owners to remove him and other members of the committee and replace them with new elected representatives.

The TV program showed footage of owners claiming they had enough votes to depose the committee.  Later at the AGM, some owners could be seen being refused entry to the meeting by security guards while people in the meeting chanted “let them in.”

Later in the meeting Mr Lee declared that a slate of committee members had been elected, presumably to the exclusion of the challengers, some of whom could be heard shouting “what was the vote”.

It was also alleged that, at a subsequent NSW Civil Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) application for compulsory management – a process by which a strata committee is replaced by a strata manager who has total power over the running of the building – Mr Lee or his committee had approved the appointment of a strata management company owned by his wife.

In an open letter in response to the Four Corners episode, issued on the day after the program was aired, Mr Lee objected to “the primary claims made in the program” which included that he hired security guards at a general meeting and blocked several owners from entering the meeting venue; that in 2021, he surprised lot owners with a proposal to release the builder from their responsibilities to remediate defects and that he consented to compulsory management.

It’s worth noting that Mr Lee doesn’t challenge that these things occurred, but denies that he authorised them himself. Rather, he says, it was done with the approval of the strata committee of which he was chair, secretary and treasurer.

“The decision to hire security guards was not mine alone; it was a collective decision made by the Strata Committee due to prior incidents of aggression and violence from certain individuals,” Mr Lee says in an open letter sent out this week.  “The security was there to protect not only me but all committee members. The implication that I used strata funds for personal reasons is entirely false and defamatory.”

He adds: “The individuals who were blocked from entering the meeting were not registered lot owners. Under strata laws, only registered lot owners or their proxies have the right to attend AGMs. Their exclusion was lawful, and their disruptive behaviour during the meeting only highlights why security was necessary.”

Who determined that they were not lot owners or didn’t hold proxies from lot owners, or how they did so, is not explained.

Mr Lee also denied that he had agreed to release the builder from their responsibilities to repair common property against the wishes of the majority of owners.

“The decision to release the builder in 2021 was made by the majority of lot owners at the AGM, following a proper democratic process,” he says in his letter.

“The motion to release the builder was supported by more than 80% of the owners, driven by the excessive legal costs of litigation. This decision was not mine alone and was made with transparency and in full compliance with the law.”

Finally, he denies that he consented to compulsory management claiming instead that the decision was made collectively by the committee.

“As Chairman, I do not have the authority to make such decisions unilaterally, and any suggestion to the contrary is both misleading and defamatory,” he wrote.

Mr Lee goes on to accuse the ABC report of “dangerous” and irresponsible journalism which has put him under “tremendous emotional strain.”

“I have been subjected to ongoing harassment and have been portrayed as a villain in my own community, which has exacerbated feelings of isolation,” he says in the letter.

“Being unfairly depicted as a dictator-like figure, as the program suggests, has had a direct impact on my personal and professional life, and has taken a toll on my mental health.”

Under the headline “legal and ethical violations” Mr Lee alleges that the footage of the meeting was obtained “without consent, in violation of privacy laws”.

“This intrusion into my private and professional life constitutes a breach of my legal rights, and the publication of this footage without my permission is a clear violation of media ethics,” he says.

“Privacy and consent are fundamental in journalistic practices, and in this case, both were blatantly disregarded.”

He also claims the “defamatory nature of the program has caused irreparable harm to my reputation” and “damaged my standing both within the strata community and in my professional life.”

Finally, he accuses investigative reporter Linton Besser of taking sides in a long-standing internal dispute, “further fueling division and conflict”.

“This kind of behavior not only violates journalistic integrity but also fosters a toxic environment, both within the strata community and beyond,” Mr Lee writes.

The Four Corners report is available online and on ABC iView and you can view it HERE (the part relating to Mr Lee strata at about 9mins 45 sec in). It includes hugely disparaging comments about Mr Lee’s actions from an NCAT Member saying the fateful AGM should be struck from the record and a new one held.
You can read Mr Lee’s response to the Four Corners episode in full HERE.