CAI-NJ May 2017

M A Y , 2 0 1 7

ULTIMATE PARTNER

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Ansell, Grimm & Aaron, PC

Questions answered by David J. Byrne, Esq.

nsell Grimm & Aaron, PC has been dedicated to

providing excellent legal representation, zealous

advocacy, and skilled legal advice to our diverse

clientele for more than 85 years. Over the years we have

been fortunate to count among our ranks a Justice of the

New Jersey Supreme Court and the presiding Judge of the

Criminal Court for the Monmouth Vicinage of the Superior

Court of New Jersey, the Majority leader of the State

Senate and an adjunct law professor at Yale University.

Our attorneys all practice with a common philosophy...a

commitment to excellence and a commitment to people.

AGA attorneys practice in a broad spectrum of legal fields

including community association, condominium and co-op

law, family law, commercial & residential real estate, litiga-

tion, bankruptcy, land use, creditors’ rights, wills, trusts and

estates, personal injury/medical malpractice, municipal

court defense and criminal defense. We welcome the

opportunity to expand the firm’s clientele.

What is your role in the organization? What is

your background? How long have you been

in the industry?

I am a partner of AGA, and chair of the firm’s community

association group, as well as its condominium & co-op

group. I have been representing condominiums, HOAs,

Courtesy CAI-NJ.

co-ops along with others connected to the overall planned

unit development industry and/or community uninterrupted

for more than 22 years. I provide clients with a full range

of legal advice and services including the drafting and

negotiation of service contracts, rules and regulations and

alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”), collections and delin-

quent assessments, transition negotiations with developers

and/or sponsors, construction defect litigation, municipal

services and relations, fair housing compliance, restrictive

covenant enforcement and interpretation, litigation-related

services, governance, creation and amendment of govern-

ing documents and the fiduciary duties of board members.

Is there a specific project or program that you

would like to highlight? Please describe.

We are particularly proud of our “smart” assessment and

maintenance fee management and recovery program. This

program recognizes the unmistakable truth understood by

every community association board – every owner must

pay each assessment, and pay it on time, or they place the

plans and hopes of the community in jeopardy. Our “smart

collections” program rejects clerical- and/or paraprofes-

sional-driven collection efforts as those efforts ignore the

importance of unpaid assessments. We appreciate how

crucial the payment of assessments and maintenance fees

are. We appreciate the difficulties faced by communities

and buildings ravaged by widespread arrearages, bank-

ruptcies, foreclosures, and abandoned homes and units.

That appreciation allows us to use a more efficient, modern

and cost-effective approach to the difficulties. Our program

depends upon total transparency, as well as attorneys that

work side-by-side with boards and managers to devise

strategies tailored to the particular situations, arrearages

and/or disputes presented We consider every strategy -–

always with the client’s financial position in mind – whether

it be negotiation, monitoring, settlement, money judgment,

foreclosure, seizure of ‘surrendered’ units, generating reve-

nue from rentals and/or rent receiverships. That is all done