Ontario Condo Law Blog : Toronto Condominium Lawyer & Attorney : Gardiner Miller Arnold Law Firm : Ontario, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener

Bob Gardiner reminds us that the grace period for the ban on hand-held devices while driving is coming to an end. 

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Now it is illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or e-mail using Blackberrys, cellphones and similar hand-held devices.

Bill 118, the Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, promoted by the Ministry of Transportation, took effect on October 26, 2009. A three-month probationary educational period will end February 1, 2010, when police will begin issuing tickets to offenders, resulting in fines of up to $500.

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With the twenty-tens now well underway, let’s look back at some of the best of the condo-related blogosphere for the last month of the “aughts.”

New Year Resolutions for Boards – Colorado lawyer Molly Foley-Healy of the HOA Legi-Slate blog suggests three new years’ resolutions that any condo or HOA board should make. It’s not too late!

10 Tough Questions with Herman Turkstra - The Hamiltonian blog picks the brain of local institution, lawyer and former politician Herman Turkstra on Steeltown’s successes, failures and future.

How Much Are My Condo Fees Per Square Foot? – In a recently-launched blog called It’s a Condo Life, Oshawa property manager Tracey McLellan shines some light on how comparing common expenses of different buildings can be confusing.

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Here is a sampling of the recent posts on our microblog:

Lincoln Hobbs on this years' top condo/HOA cases at US College of Community Ass'n Lawyers ' annual law conference - http://bit.ly/7gPi6n

RT @canetwork: NY: Condo complex fined $10,000 for barring mezuzah - http://bit.ly/8NhaGi

RT @CondoVultures: Banks seize 30,000 South Florida properties In 2009, according to CondoVultures.com - http://tinyurl.com/yzg4bsg

Audrey Loeb speaks to Law Times about recent ONCA decision in “hot tub case” known as WCC 198 v McMahon - http://bit.ly/6qrZAK

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The following guest post is by Athena Mailloux, a fraud examiner at ZAP Consulting Limited. Athena shares some practical solutions to help condo directors keep their new years’ resolution to be vigilant against fraud.

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Whether you are a large business corporation or a sole proprietorship you can never be too cautious when it comes to protecting against fraud. Condominium corporations have no less of a responsibility in protecting against fraud than a publicly traded company. In fact, condo corporations are often relatively small, close-knit communities that may lack stringent internal controls and thus be more susceptible to fraud.

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A February 2009 decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench should be added to the list of notable condo cases for 2009. Check out Dykun v. Cravenbrook Condominium Corporation No. 032 1893.

After changing managers on December 1, 2007, the condominium’s board discovered that the previous manager had improperly withdrawn money from the reserve fund to pay operating expenses, leaving the corporation on the brink of insolvency.

Two months later, the board announced that it was levying a special assessment to raise the money necessary for the corporation to continue operating and to replenish the reserve fund.

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