A Maryland Circuit Court judge denied a petition to replace the board of directors at an Adelphi-area condominium whose residents say vagrants disabled their heating system over five months ago.
Judge William Snoddy ruled Monday that he could not recognize the legality of a rival board or give it control of the Marylander Condominiums because its members could not prove their election was legitimate.
He cited the rival board’s inability to produce a clear vote tally, describe how the April 4 vote was tallied or produce an official copy of its bylaws.
“You failed to present sufficient evidence of it,” Judge Snoddy told the rival board’s attorneys in an Upper Marlboro courtroom packed with condo owners.
Roughly half of the complex’s 200 units lost heat when a boiler ruptured the day before Thanksgiving. Residents in 58 of the 108 affected units have refused to comply with an “unfit for human habitation” evacuation notice that Prince George’s County inspectors posted Dec. 10.
County officials have accused property manager Quasar of dragging its feet on fixing the heat and related electrical problems. They filed paperwork to place the Marylander into receivership, which would allow them to replace Quasar and direct repairs.
Calvin Osborne, an attorney for the rival board, told Judge Snoddy on Monday that residents stood to lose their homes because of Quasar’s mismanagement.
“This management company has dominated and manipulated people,” Mr. Osborne said.
Karla Castellon, whose parents have lived at the Marylander for 25 years and require her to translate their documents into Spanish, testified that Quasar officials prevented dissidents from running for the board during a February Zoom election meeting.
“They weren’t allowed [to speak] because they were muted,” Ms. Castellon told the judge.
Estella Vera, who has lived in her unit since 2011, said she distributed notices about an April 4 meeting to elect a new board door-to-door.
But she could not clarify for the judge whether 86 or 115 residents voted for the new board. She also waffled under cross-examination on whether it was a voice vote or a show of hands.
“We did it via voice, and we all raised our hands,” Ms. Vera said in Spanish, speaking through an interpreter.
Duane Demers, the attorney representing the condo board and Quasar, noted that the condo owners’ association would hold elections on June 11 if any of the rival board members want to run legitimately.
“We’re all trying to keep this house together, because it’s not going to stand divided,” Mr. Demers said.
Judge Snoddy said he could not determine whether the election was legitimate because the plaintiffs failed to present the bylaws. But he noted that individual condo residents such as Ms. Vera ordinarily cannot call meetings on their own.
“The judge stated there’s no evidence that an election happened in April, but they can elect who they want in June,” Kenneth Brown, Quasar’s CEO, said after the hearing. “Quasar has no position on who gets elected.”
Gilberto de Jesus, one of two attorneys representing the rival board, said he would encourage his clients to “focus on winning the election in June.”
But Mohamadou Soumauro, a member of the rival board who doesn’t live in the condo he owns, said he has “no intention of running.”
It remains unclear what happens to the condos next.
Maryland District Court Judge Bryon Bereano gave county inspectors and condo officials two weeks during an April 21 status hearing to hold a closed-door discussion about the legal requirements for heating and electrical repairs.
He praised the condo board for making “significant progress” by ordering a new electrical panel and planning to install individual HVAC units in windows before the weather gets cold again.
A follow-up hearing to report on those repairs has not yet been scheduled.
Devan Martin, deputy chief of staff for County Executive Aisha Braveboy, said the county briefly paused its enforcement efforts while awaiting the outcome of Monday’s hearing.
“We have not changed our plan,” Mr. Martin said in a phone call after the hearing. “We plan to proceed with the receivership.”
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