Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024 - 43

THE PRO BONO EFFECT
Sylvester Garvin, who served as HOA president
in 2013, tried to have Welsh removed as secretary
that year. " [Welsh] always wanted to be the
only one in charge, " Garvin says. " But it was five
people who were supposed to run the board. "
In September 2015, Mells, Manago-Haywood,
and other homeowners held an election to
oust the existing HOA board. The new board,
which included Mells and Manago-Haywood,
then went to the bank holding the HOA's funds
and changed the account's signatories. Welsh
fought back.
" [Welsh] didn't like that, " Garvin says. " He went
to the bank, saying that [the newly elected]
board members were unauthorized to do what
they did and that he was [taking] the bank to
court. "
In December 2015, Welsh's group filed suit
against Industrial Bank, which had frozen the
HOA's account, for breach of contract. In response,
Industrial Bank filed an interpleader action
with D.C. Superior Court in January 2016 to
determine which group was the rightful board
of Chaplin Woods. After Welsh and other members
of the original HOA board filed a motion
to dismiss Industrial Bank's petition, Mells, Manago-Haywood,
and others filed an opposition
to the motion.
The legal battle between the two competing
boards for control over the HOA's funds lasted
for the remainder of the decade. And with the
HOA's assets frozen by Industrial Bank, upkeep
of Chaplin Woods began to diminish.
CRISSCROSSING CLAIMS
After years of crisscrossing claims, money was
running out for the residents to secure counsel.
Mells briefly became a pro se litigant, going to
court on behalf of the other homeowners, before
receiving help from the D.C. Bar Pro Bono
Center's Advocacy & Justice Clinic in 2019.
Holt, an intellectual property attorney, helped
prep Wells, Manago-Haywood, and other witnesses
for the trial against Welsh and the original
HOA board, and he was also involved in
drafting the opening and closing arguments,
as well as questions for witnesses.
To assist the Steptoe team, the D.C. Bar Pro
Bono Center put them in the hands of mentor
Eric Rome, a principal at Eisen and Rome, P.C.
Rome, the longest-serving volunteer mentor at
the Pro Bono Center's Advocacy & Justice Clinic,
has represented hundreds of tenant associations
over the course of his career.
" It was helpful to have him as a resource, " Holt
says of Rome. " Sometimes [he was] just a litmus
test on things. We wanted to make sure we
were providing the best representation we
could for these clients. "
The six-day jury trial ended on October 5, 2021,
with a verdict in favor of the new board. The
jury found that Welsh's group breached its fiduciary
duties as board members by levying unauthorized
fines and denying residents access
to the HOA's books and records. The jury also
found that Garvin breached his fiduciary duty
by holding an improper board election, and
therefore no rightful board of directors existed.
Chaplin Woods residents elected a new slate of
HOA board members in January 2023.
The convoluted legal
battle between HOA boards
that began over parking tickets
dragged on for a decade.
" [They] were not seeking monetary damages, "
Holt says of his clients. " They were seeking
peace of mind. They were seeking the ability
to live comfortably in their homes without being
harassed with unauthorized and improper
tactics. "
The legal scuffle wasn't over, however. In April
2022, Welsh and three other members of the
old HOA board appealed the decision, asserting
that " (1) the trial court erred in declining
to dismiss Industrial Bank's interpleader action;
(2) the trial court erred in appointing an interim
board; (3) the trial judge engaged in misconduct
by issuing certain rulings; (4) the verdict
form was improper, and the jury was biased
against appellants; (5) the jury's verdict contravened
the evidence; (6) the trial court impermissibly
allowed the jury to consider an issue
sounding in equity; and (7) the trial court did
not account for certain funds owed to Welsh
and retained by Industrial Bank. "
That's when Andrew Magloughlin, a telecommunications
and antitrust associate attorney at
Steptoe, joined the fight.
" Ben and I divided and conquered the brief, "
Magloughlin says. " I read the transcripts, which
were just pages and pages by Ben and [other
lawyers] cross examining, direct examining witnesses.
In the brief, I wanted to get across the
pain that our clients had felt. "
The case was originally set for oral argument in
the D.C. Court of Appeals, and Magloughlin was
to argue on behalf of Wells and others. But on
April 23, 2024, the Court of Appeals issued a
memorandum of opinion and judgment upholding
the Superior Court's ruling. It found
that the appellants' claims were " insufficiently
developed for our review. "
BENEFITS FOR ALL
" The attorneys at Steptoe were a godsend, "
says Mells. " I do not believe I have run across attorneys
with their type of helpfulness, being
there answering all of your questions. "
In addition to successfully representing their
clients, Holt and Magloughlin say one of the rewards
of taking up the case was the opportunity
to gain invaluable experience and sharpen
their skills in client engagement.
" [I gained] hands-on ... trial experience that
can sometimes be evasive in normal work, "
says Holt, now an associate at Nixon Peabody
LLP. " Appeal and oral argument experience -
that was definitely a great personal benefit to
us from engaging in this pro bono matter. "
Magloughlin says it's important for firms to
take on matters like the Chaplin Woods case
because it adds credibility to the legal system.
" I have never been a social justice or go-protest-the-wrong-of-the-day
kind of person, partly
because I have this idea that things are supposed
to work right, " Magloughlin says. " But in
a case like this, unless a [hired] lawyer, a government
office, or a pro bono lawyer comes
and makes the argument that it's time for this
abuse to stop, it might never stop. "
Reach D.C. Bar staff writer John Murph at
jmurph@dcbar.org.
Attorneys employed by law firms, corporate
legal departments, or the federal government,
as well as unaffiliated lawyers, can
help provide life-changing representation
to clients in family law, eviction or housing
condition, or disability benefits matters.
Contact Adrian Gottshall at agottshall@
dcbar.org to volunteer.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 * WASHINGTON LAWYER 43
Washington Lawyer - November/December 2024

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