Orlando HOA dispute in Stonebridge Place escalates with lawsuits

Orlando HOA dispute in Stonebridge Place escalates

A dispute involving the Stonebridge Place homeowners association has escalated into multiple lawsuits after the board was removed amid allegations of financial mismanagement.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A dispute involving the Stonebridge Place homeowners association has escalated into multiple lawsuits after the board was removed amid allegations of financial mismanagement.

Residents said they had raised concerns for months with the MetroWest Master Association, citing police investigations, fraud allegations and financial issues, but no action was taken until media inquiries prompted the board’s removal.

The backstory:

FOX 35 News reported on Stonebridge Place residents who had been raising concerns about their HOA to the MetroWest Management Association(MWMA) for the better part of a year.

The MWMA removed the entire HOA board after FOX 35 News reached out to ask about these concerns.

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Since then, several lawsuits have been filed. Homeowners say they’re the ones paying the price.

The lawsuits

Stonebridge filed a lawsuit against its former president, Tara Howie, saying she moved $750,000 in Stonebridge reserve funds to a bank account only she has access to, and has refused to turn control of it over to the new board so they can pay the neighborhood’s bills.

The lawsuit says Howie is also withholding passwords to Stonebridge’s computer and cameras – cameras neighbors say may help catch whoever’s responsible for a rash of tire slashings.

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Howie and the rest of the former board are now suing MetroWest, saying the MWMA didn’t have the authority to remove them without a vote.

That lawsuit was filed, "On behalf of Stonebridge Place" – meaning the residents have to pay for it.

What they’re saying

Adam Bilbrey was thankful for FOX 35 looking into Stonebridge Place.

"If it weren't for that, there's no chance anything would have happened," he told FOX 35 Reporter Marie Edinger. "So first of all, thank you. But second of all it shouldn't take putting it out in the public domain to get action."

He says the removal of the Board is a step in the right direction – a battle won amidst a war whose shape has yet to take form.

But with the lawsuits that have filed, he says homeowners have no way to win.

"It puts all the liability on the homeowner and none of the responsibility on the former board – who shouldn't even be able to legally act on our behalf. It's very confusing."

Bilbrey says people are also worried about the tire slashings plaguing the neighborhood since the Board’s removal.

"Everybody’s on high alert."