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Hello all,
We recently had an EGM that was basically a yelling match between 4 people. It descended into slight chaos, over removal of the current SM. When it came to vote, one of the “keep” team expressed that it was an invalid meeting and the ruling would not count anyway. When asked why she thought this, her reasons were –
- No notice of the meeting was put on the notice board.
- No date on the agenda of when the agenda was written
- No contact name on the Agenda to send questions to.
- Agenda wasn’t put on the noticeboard. (we only have 18 units).
- She didnt get the agenda, which she is stating was done on purpose.
The vote to remove current SM was 11-2, so I am wondering what we do now? We know that we have done all of this correctly, so we wish to know is do we go ahead and notify the SM of the vote, even though the Keep Team have told us that the meeting is illegal and the vote doesn’t count.
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These objections are spurious and betray a complete lack of understanding of strata law. None of them have any legal validity apart, possibly, from the last which would be impossible to prove. In any case, you can only challenge a 'denied' vote if that vote would have altered the outcome (which is clearly not the case here).
Even the CTTT at its most unpredictable and unreliable would toss this out. You have overwhelming support for this and you can let misguided objections, however legalistic they may sound, get in the way of important decisions.
Point your objector in the direction of Fair Trading (13 32 20) and let them initiate a challenge there, if they wish. Otherwise, full steam ahead.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
I was under the impression notice of an EGM must be;
1) dated at least 7 days before the date of the meeting
2) sent to all owners at least 7 days prior to meeting
2) put on the notice board (if by-laws state that there must be a notice board) 7 days prior to meeting
and
3) owners must be financial as of the date on the notice of the meeting to be eligible to vote
Please correct me if I’m wrong, also, if point 3 is correct can someone please point me in the direction of the fair trading NSW site as to where I can find this information?
Many thanks,
confused1
I think that you may be confusing the requirements for an ECM (executive committee meeting) with those for an EGM (extraordinary general meeting).
With regard to an EGM, there’s nothing in the NSW Strata Schemes Management Act (SCMA) about the date shown on a Notice of Meeting, but it does prescribe that Notice must be served on each owner at least seven (7) days before the meeting date.
Nothing is prescribed about that Notice being placed on the Owners Corporation’s Notice Board, although Notices of an ECM and the consequent Minutes may be.
In response to your point #3, Schedule 2 Clause 10(8) of the SCMA states:
(8) Voting rights may not be exercised if contributions not paid A vote at a general meeting (other than a vote on a motion requiring a unanimous resolution) by an owner of a lot or a person with a priority vote in respect of the lot does not count unless payment has been made before the meeting of all contributions levied on the owner, and any other amounts recoverable from the owner, in relation to the lot that are owing at the date of the notice for the meeting.
Broncos17 said
The vote to remove current SM was 11-2, so I am wondering what we do now? We know that we have done all of this correctly, so we wish to know is do we go ahead and notify the SM of the vote, even though the Keep Team have told us that the meeting is illegal and the vote doesn’t count.
Don’t tell the current SM anything, find another SM that you are happy with that is agreeable to take over from the current SM. Once you have found an alternative that is acceptable you will have to vote to accept this new SM (let the new SM organise the vote and let them inform the old SM once the vote has passed). Simple majority is required.
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