the story
This is the story of a resident who settled a lawsuit against One Hundred Hills Homeowners Association in Scottsdale, Arizona. The purpose of this website is to explain what really happened and inform current and potential residents of the unethical ways that 100 Hills HOA operates.
The Lawsuit
other HOA Issues
other HOA Issues
Find out what really happened with the lawsuit.
other HOA Issues
other HOA Issues
other HOA Issues
Learn about other issues with 100 Hills HOA.
About the Plaintiff
About the Plaintiff
I'm Martin Pladgeman, a former resident of 100 Hills McDowell Mountain Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ. My family and I purchased a house in this community in April 2018. This website is an account of my experiences living in this community and the interaction with 100 Hills HOA who I have recently settled a lawsuit against.
the property
16022 N 113th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
We have since moved, but our home at the time was a single story, 5,500 sq/ft house on over two acres of land at the end of a long cul-de-sac at the edge of the community. It has a 1,200 sq/ft pool house in the backyard.
HOA Board Members
HOA Board Members
The board members at the time of the incident were:
- Steve Kistler, President
- Joseph Chaplik (now an AZ politician), Secretary
- Larry Balboni, Treasurer
- Trish Bere, Vice President
- Joanne Young, Director
The Lawsuit
Quick Summary
To sum it up in short form, a false complaint was placed about excess noise on our property, which stated that we had ignored previous warnings. We had never received any warnings about noise or received any complaints prior to this violation report, and none of our neighbors had complained about the noise that night.
The HOA fined us $500 and took it directly from my bank account, even though they knew this was illegal and we hadn't broken any rules.
I attempted to appeal the fine at an open board meeting, and the HOA board voted and agreed to send a formal note providing written confirmation that I was cleared of all violations.
However, this written note was never provided, so I filed a lawsuit against the HOA. I offered to settle and requested a written apology that cleared me of all violations along with payment of my attorney fees. The HOA declined.
Then, I received a new letter that said I still had a violation, even though I was previously cleared. At a court hearing, this letter raised an issue of fact concerning whether the HOA had violated its duty of good faith and fair dealing. The court also ruled that the HOA's rules were illegal.
After a long and exhausting process, I settled prior to the trial to prevent any further legal costs and accepted a final settlement of $40,000 as a way to recover the majority of my legal expenses. The most unfortunate part of this is that it's an uninsured loss for the HOA that will ultimately end up being paid for by homeowners of the community. 100 Hills could have easily avoided this by settling when the costs were low or avoiding this illegal activity to begin with.
full details of the Lawsuit
April 26, 2019 – Day of the Alleged Noise Complaint
I was out of town, however, I was aware that my daughter had invited some of her friends over for a high school graduation celebration. Jacqui Pladgeman was going to be present all night, so I wasn't concerned.
We had given the gate guard a list of who and who NOT to admit, thinking that this would be enough to keep the event under control. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the gate guard admitted people from both lists. It became obvious the event was going to get out of hand, so Jacqui closed it down, and the last guests left at approximately 10:30pm.
April 27, 2019 – The Next Day
The next day, we learned that the police had been called the previous night because of an issue at the gatehouse. Apparently some high school students had heard about the party and attempted to tresspass onto the property. These students were not invited to our house. I spoke to the gate guard myself, and he assured me the issue at the gatehouse was not our fault. It was due to the HOA not allowing the guard to stay past 10pm, despite many requests from residents to change this policy.
May 2, 2019 – Violation Letter
I was surprised when I received a letter from Jonathan Tutelo, Community manager of First Residential (a professional HOA management company), informing me that we had been fined $500!
May 7, 2019 – My Response Letter
May 23, 2019 – Initial Letter from My Lawyer
The HOA failed to respond to my letter within the required timeline of 10 business days, so I had my lawyer send a letter.
May 28, 2019 – The Appeal Meeting
After putting the HOA on notice that there was no first offense, I attended the appeal meeting with my lawyer. I wanted to find out where the complaint came from to see if this was actually a violation at all.
When I asked who made the complaint, something I am legally entitled to know, the HOA Secretary told me that the complaint was from a homeowner close to the gatehouse. I find it interesting that in the list of witnesses, they never once refer to any specific homeowner to strengthen their case.
Could it be that it was exclusively testimony from the gatehouse that warranted their action and Chaplik was lying? The violation, which deals with excessive noise, specifically states holding an event which disturbs the peace of a neighboring property. Therefore, there was no violation!
At the appeal, Steve Kistler asked for a vote to "clear me of all violations." It's documented in the minutes; I remember it, my lawyer remembers it, and even their lawyer commented on it in my deposition! But, as you'll see later, their story changed to "voted to rescind the $500 fine."
July 7, 2019 – Legal Complaint Submitted
August 27, 2019 – HOA's Response
January 13, 2020 – First Offer of Settlement
In January of 2020, I made an offer to the HOA to settle the case for my then legal costs, which were $13,000, plus amend the fine policy to be inline with Arizona law, along with an apology.
Their response was to offer $5,000, amend the rules and give me an apology, but only if I would in turn write an apology to the board and the homeowners!
In the response to the initial letter, I had already expressed our regret for the issue at the gatehouse, despite it being completely unexpected and not in itself a violation.
June 29, 2020 – Kistler's Apology Letter
Kistler recounted in his first so-called apology letter, dated June 29th, 2020, that this should have been treated as a "first infraction."
October 20, 2020 – Settlement Conference
In October of 2020, there was a settlement conference where the judge ordered the defendant to settle in my favor, but they never did.
August 27, 2021
Jonathan Tutelo also supported this in his sworn statement (under penalty of perjury) on August 27th, 2021: "...formally voted to waive the fine."
January 10, 2022
On January 10, 2022, we are back to the truth and the new board states that "at that meeting you were completely cleared of any and all rule infractions."
Seems like someone is a fan of George Orwell's book, 1984, where the authorities go back and rewrite history to support their new direction!
June 2, 2022
The final settlement was $40,000. The outcome was never in doubt, and they knew they had broken the law. Why didn't they settle earlier when costs were much lower? Arrogance maybe? I guess when it's somebody else's money and your reputation, maybe your priorities are messed up.
According to the HOA Code of Ethics, board members should "Always endeavor to serve the association’s best interests and put their own personal interests aside."
August 23, 2022 – Payout Check
On August 23rd, (33 business days after my signature of a document last edited by the HOA) after yet another email threatening more legal action from my lawyer, the HOA finally cut the check! The agreement to settle states the "Association and its carrier will pay the $40,000 within 10 business days of execution." I signed the agreement July 7th, and three weeks later the HOA also signed. The insurance company paid me their part more than three weeks ago. The board members are new, but the BS continues....
The Big Cover-Up
After two years of denial and excuses that it was a simple mistake, I found a recording of Jonathan Tutelo explaining what happened to a homeowner. The transcript reads:
I was approached by former board members who said, "What can we do?"
His reply was, "I can give em a warning."
They then said, "Aw, that's nothing."
He goes on to say, "You can't just do that if you don't have a rule for it."
They said, "Just do it anyway."
Jonathan also submitted a sworn statement where he says he was told to fine me by the board.
It's interesting that the HOA never wanted to settle until new members were elected and one former member had been elected to office. Could it be that he didn't want this case to appear anywhere which might show him in a bad light?
On the HOA's blog, one of the residents asked questions about this lawsuit and was told that none existed! I have attached his letter to voters prior to the last HOA election.
There was another letter put out by former board members (Chaplik and Kistler) discrediting him and promoting other potential candidates. So much for fair and open elections!
When signing off on the release, they tried to sneak in a gag order. "Further, the parties contractually acknowledge that neither party will under any circumstances disparage any of the other parties, or employees or agents of those parties to this action in any way including, but not limited to, orally, in writing, on the internet, in any social media, or in any other communication or in any fashion whatsoever."
Nice try, but NO WAY!
lies from the hoa
We were fined on a first violation.
They were "unable" to say where the money came from.
We were fined on a first violation.
They rescinded the fine when they realized it wasn't a second violation. As we now know, they were fully aware there was no violation at all! The fact that they rescinded the fine when they received the initial letter from my lawyer proves this. Later, they thought it would help their case to say that was what the vote was about, and not that in fact I hadn't broken a single rule!
They never refunded the fine.
They were "unable" to say where the money came from.
We were fined on a first violation.
Despite the fact that they took the money directly from my bank account, they never returned it. Jonathan Tutelo states (under oath) he had a conversation with me at the meeting, as to how I wanted the refund. He also states that the vote was to "rescind the fine," which was also a lie.
Jonathan claims to have asked me about how to refund the money in his sworn statement. Let's see how this would have taken place:
"Hi I'm Jonathan, the guy who wrote the letter with the false accusations; do you mind if we hang on to your $500?"
"Sure go ahead."
I can assure you this conversation never took place! I think this makes it obvious he is lying.
I have a theory the board told Tutelo not to refund the money to me because they were frustrated their illegal fine had to be reversed.
They were "unable" to say where the money came from.
They were "unable" to say where the money came from.
They were "unable" to say where the money came from.
In the interrogatories they were unable to admit that the money was taken from my account! This doesn't even make any sense. If it came from my partner, which it didn't, then you didn't get the money? What are they trying to say?? Don't they think I have bank statements?
They lied about not having any emails about me.
They lied about the vote at the appeals meeting.
They were "unable" to say where the money came from.
"There were no emails or any other correspondence regarding this incident prior to the lawsuit".
Under discovery, the HOA is legally bound to share any emails as requested. They claimed there were none, which of course is not true.
My response to the fine letter was sent both by email and registered mail. Jonathan told me, "your response was sent to the board." How was that done then??
They lied about the vote at the appeals meeting.
They lied about the vote at the appeals meeting.
They lied about the vote at the appeals meeting.
The vote was taken to rescind the $500 fine. The vote was to "clear me of all Violations."
"As a result of inaccurate information the board fined you for a second offense." Another lie!
We know that Jonathan told them "you can't do that." I was also told by a gate guard that the board had spoken with them directly, so to make it out like they didn't understand what they were doing it just simply not true!
They lied about details of the event.
They lied about the vote at the appeals meeting.
They lied about the vote at the appeals meeting.
"Guests started arriving at 10pm."
The event started at 7:30pm. The Police report was timed 9:43pm, with somebody saying "That's my Uber," which was them leaving the event!
"On the evening April 26th, perhaps spilling into the early hours of April 27th."
The event was empty by 10:30pm and they have no evidence to suggest otherwise.
They lied about where I was living.
They lied about legally adopting the new fine policy.
They lied about rules regarding excessive noise.
"Mr Pladgeman was living elsewhere."
I moved out of 100Hills in August 2019 and was living full-time there until that date.
They lied about rules regarding excessive noise.
They lied about legally adopting the new fine policy.
They lied about rules regarding excessive noise.
"Excessive Noise in itself is a violation of the CC&R's."
Not true, the rule regarding Excessive noise is quite specific.
They lied about legally adopting the new fine policy.
They lied about legally adopting the new fine policy.
They lied about legally adopting the new fine policy.
"The new fine policy was discussed and adopted in the summer of 2020"
Under AZ law, the new fine policy needs to be read out in open session in order to be formally adopted. Although it was signed by Kistler and they claim the policy was changed in the "summer of 2020," none of the meeting minutes for the whole year mention this. Therefore, it is yet to be formally adopted. I find it interesting that people who lie tend to leave things vague when it's a lie and give specific dates when it's the truth.
my thoughts on the matter
This Could Have Been Avoided
The Real Lawbreakers Escaped Without Penalty
The Real Lawbreakers Escaped Without Penalty
We paid a lot of money for this house. We did our best to ensure we were good neighbors; we looked after our neighbor's house when they were away, took their trash cans to the top of the drive for them and ensured we never caused any excess noise. This didn't need to end up in a lawsuit. If somebody would have called us to advise us that there was a problem, it would never have been repeated, and thus far it never has.
The HOA went over the top for their own reasons, but I can assure you, if you're willing to make false accusations about me or my family in writing and break the law in the process, you will pay the price!
The Real Lawbreakers Escaped Without Penalty
The Real Lawbreakers Escaped Without Penalty
The Real Lawbreakers Escaped Without Penalty
It's unknown exactly how much this action truly cost. My fees were in the region of $55,000, (so yes it cost me $15,000, but at least it was MY money!). My guess is the defendants costs were close to $85,000, plus the $40,000 settlement. Although the lion's share of the defendants costs came from the insurance company, we all know they will recover these costs in the long run with increased premiums, which I believe have already gone up substantially.
Saldy, it seems like the actual people who broke the law have escaped without penalty. This website in some respects is an effort to highlight what happened and who is ultimately to blame.
Suggestion to Current 100 Hills Residents
The Real Lawbreakers Escaped Without Penalty
Suggestion to Current 100 Hills Residents
Just a suggestion, but as the HOA is supposed to act on behalf of the residents, perhaps the current board could try and recover the costs on behalf of the residents from the board members who continued the lawsuit after the initial offer to settle? You could argue that the lawsuit was unexpected, although clearly there was gross misconduct by the board members at the time.
However, what was the reason to continue after the offer to settle? They really thought they would win??? If you live in 100Hills, maybe you should ask.
Conspiracy Theory
I No Longer Live There & Don't Miss It
Suggestion to Current 100 Hills Residents
It seems to me that the gatehouse staff, the HOA board and Jonathan Tutelo all worked together to try and get us to leave the community.
The gatehouse staff by calling the Police about "excessive noise." We know this was not the case; the police found nothing and my next door neighbor told me he didn't hear anything. What if the guard called the police in the hope that when they arrived they would find excess noise, and maybe they would find underage drinking? I know many teenagers do this, however not at our house!
After receiving the report from the security company, saying "something needs to be done about the Pladgeman's," I was told a member of the board took the time to speak to the guards to understand in depth what went on. I was also told they created a five page report about the incident. When I made a legal request for any correspondence regarding the incident, I was told there was none, except for the two page report sent from the security company. I know this is a lie, because during the appeal, Kistler stated the number of cars which entered the community from the guest list.
We would have asked directly about this during the deposition, however neither Kistler, nor Tutelo showed up for their deposition! Tutelo's part was to hide the fact he was "ordered to fine me" and never details exactly who told him, neither did he answer my questions as to what the offense was or why this was a second violation.
Use of Scottsdale Police
I No Longer Live There & Don't Miss It
I No Longer Live There & Don't Miss It
Where I come from, if a neighbor has a problem with noise, they usually contact the household making the noise to allow them the chance to correct the problem and be a good neighbor. I was told by a gate guard that in most cases they call the police, however, if you pay them for their security services, they will call you first.
I am not denying there was an issue that night, however I think it's interesting to note two things:
- The Police knew to come to my property. This is interesting because if the complaint was from a homeowner close to the gatehouse, as I was told by Chaplik at the appeal, how would they know where the cars were headed? Seems to me this would suggest the call came from the gatehouse, the same person who let known troublemakers through the gate!
- The Police incident report shows that they entered the cul-de-sac and reported "No Emergency." This would suggest that they were sent there for a nuisance which was no longer present when they arrived, and perhaps never existed in the first place? It's extremely unlikely the gatehouse could hear noise from my property almost a mile away, when my next door neighbor said he heard no such noise.
A more suspicious person might think that the guard wanted to cause a problem. I can imagine they didn't like the extra traffic they had to deal with. To admit someone to the community, they need to go around the vehicle and take a photograph of the license plate and check a list or the computer before allowing entry. Obviously we should have tipped better. The report issued by the security company says "Something needs to be done about the Pladgeman's."
I No Longer Live There & Don't Miss It
I No Longer Live There & Don't Miss It
I No Longer Live There & Don't Miss It
I no longer live in this community and I have to say I don't miss it! After the lawsuit was filed, people started snubbing my teenage daughter. She would wave and they would just ignore her! Wow!
Remember, we were "Cleared of ALL violations." What happened was unfortunate. It wasn't intentional, and to our knowledge, had never happened before or since! So no, I don't miss living in a place which, in my opinion, has a zero tolerance, hostile and dishonest HOA!
WHAT THE HOA SAID ABOUT ME
The lawsuit was "instigated to satisfy Mr. Pladgeman's spleen and not for any legitimate legal remedy."
"There is no obligation, legal or otherwise to subsidize Mr. Pladgeman's anger management, when in fact it was his daughter whose activities are at the root of the problem!"
I can feel the HATE in the words from the board. Please remember they were the ones who broke the law, not me or my household. I acknowledge there was an issue, however, it wasn't something that we could have anticipated and we have never repeated. Their action was completely deliberate; they had carried out an investigation and spoken to the gate guard in full knowledge that it was illegal.
They would have you believe it was a simple oversight, that once they understood it was an error, they corrected it. Why then didn't they respond to my letter with this information? They did immediately inform my lawyer that they would drop the fine after receiving notice from him, however, I don't believe this would have happened if I had not taken legal council.
My lawyer commented to me that this type of violation letter is often sent to members when the board wants the homeowner to leave the community!
the real issues
Lies in the Violation Letter
Lies in the Violation Letter
Lies in the Violation Letter
The lies in the incident report paint me as a bad neighbor who had no respect for the rules or the feelings of the community and had ignored previous warnings, but this is not the case. Despite the HOA having my email, physical address and phone number, I was NEVER contacted regarding any incident prior to the letter about the fine.
NO EVIDENCE OF NOISE
Lies in the Violation Letter
Lies in the Violation Letter
There was no evidence of anyone visiting our property to investigate a noise complaint. I believe there never was a complaint about this. It looks like Tutelo used a comment in the security guard's report to warrant a fine. My next door neighbor told me he didn't hear anything! The police report stated "No Emergency" and left the cul-de-sac after three minutes.
TOOK MONEY FROM OUR ACCOUNT
Lies in the Violation Letter
TOOK MONEY FROM OUR ACCOUNT
The board imposed a fine and took the money out of my account, all before allowing me to appeal. Furthermore, the "fine policy doesn't even allow for an appeal in some cases."
BREAKING THEIR OWN RULES
making homeowners pay the price
TOOK MONEY FROM OUR ACCOUNT
I suspected they knew that this was not a second offense when they fined me, and later it turns out they did know. For me, this shows an HOA that is out of control! They want homeowners to abide by the rules, but they have no problem breaking their own rules, perhaps to settle some personal score?
making homeowners pay the price
making homeowners pay the price
making homeowners pay the price
Unfortunately, homeowners will likely end up paying the price for this in the form of increased premiums. I'm guessing the defendant's costs were near $85,000, and the cost of the settlement was $40,000, making the total around $125,000. The HOA had the chance to settle early in the case when fees were low, but they chose not to.
Possible Retaliation
making homeowners pay the price
making homeowners pay the price
A few months before the incident, I had written complaints about stop signs. One time when leaving the community, I failed to come to a complete stop, and a white Porsche drove at me and shouted something about a stop sign. I ignored him, but later discovered it was a board member. Maybe they used the gatehouse incident to get back at me?
Other HOA Issues
Stop Signs
Behavior Complaints
Behavior Complaints
There are two stop signs inside the community on the main road, one for incoming and one for outgoing traffic at different intersections. Although this may not seem like a big deal, when you enter and exit many times a day as I did, you begin to wonder why they are there. I put such a question to the HOA. I pointed out that these are not in compliance with guidance for the use of such signs:
- "STOP signs should not be used for speed control."
- "STOP signs should be installed in a manner that minimizes the numbers of vehicles having to stop."
- "A STOP sign should not be installed on the major street."
The reply I received from Jonathan Totelo was "The streets of One Hundred Hills are private and not mandated by the city. 3 years ago the board made the decision to install the stop signs. I believe it was based on several accidents that continued to occur at these areas. Also as an attempt to slow speeding traffic in the community."
On searching public records for accident reports for the community, none were found in the area of the installed signs! Ironically, there was an accident where a car was leaving 113th way and failed to stop at the legitimate stop sign while entering Paradise road.
If you don't believe people will abide by the speed limit, why would you think they will stop at obviously unnecessary stop signs? Many residents don't.
I live in a gated community now, and we have many small children that play on the street. You know how we keep traffic speed down? They have speed bumps! This is exactly the same remedy I suggested in my letter to the HOA in August 2018. They have mentioned this possibility at HOA meetings, but have not done anything. For years now, they just continually complain about speeding and people not stopping at the stop signs.
Behavior Complaints
Behavior Complaints
Behavior Complaints
Jonathan Tutelo, Community manager of First Residential (a professional HOA management company), is CMCA certified. “Community Association Managers International Certification Board's (CAMICB) purpose is to ensure that community association managers practice with professionalism, integrity and knowledge."
I filed a complaint based on his behavior during my case, however, I received a response that stated my complaint had been "dismissed and no further action would be taken.” So I guess they feel this is the standard you can expect from their members... Wow! Does deliberately falsely accusing a resident and lying in a sworn statement sound like professionalism and integrity to you? I also complained to his Area Regional Director of First Residential, and they were equally uninterested.
Resources
HOA CODE OF ETHICS
HOA CODE OF ETHICS
HOA CODE OF ETHICS
- They have the power to enforce the rules that are already adopted. They are NOT allowed to issue fines unless the existing rules are broken. (There is no rule concerning the gatehouse.)
- HOA's are not allowed to discriminate against homeowners with families (teenage kids in my case).
- HOA's are NOT allowed to fine on a first offense.
- HOA's must give you the chance to appeal BEFORE taking any money.
- HOA board members are required to act in a fiduciary sound manner.
- Board members are NOT allowed to exploit their position for personal gain. (For let's say in an election campaign, the use of the newsletter and political signs, which are listed in the CC&Rs and needing written approval.)
- Board members must always treat fellow board members and homeowners with the utmost respect, rather than saying they have an anger management issue for instance.
- Must not misreport or conceal facts concerning the association.
- Must not threaten, intimidate or harass any board member, homeowner, resident, contractor or employee.
- Hold open, honest and fair elections.
FINE POLICY
HOA CODE OF ETHICS
HOA CODE OF ETHICS
Below are points in the HOA's fine policy that are illegal:
- An opportunity to be heard prior to being fined for "some violations."
- "The board reserves the right to impose fines on the date of the first violation."
- "Appeals shall be received within (5) working days of the fine."
- "Appeals shall demonstrate extenuating circumstances." This does not allow for the fine to be contested, just provide an excuse why it happened.
"Any activity that adversely affects the quiet enjoyment of the neighboring properties is expressly prohibited. Owner will receive a warning notice and an opportunity to be heard for the first offense. The second offense will receive an immediate $500 fine, and all additional offenses will receive a $1,000 fine."
This was the rule they applied to me, although despite my request for clarification of the rule I had broken, they have never actually said it was this.
To fine without the opportunity to be heard is illegal. $500 is also excessive, as is $1,000, however, these are not enforceable. There are many other examples where the fine is excessive; I have included a link for the fine policy.
CC&R'S
HOA CODE OF ETHICS
CC&R'S
- Upon purchase of a home in the community, the new owner will pay the HOA 0.15% of the sale price! This is non refundable and is additional to the monthly fees.
- External speakers are not allowed without prior approval of the board.
- Section 2.3 Personal Liability; "limitations set forth in this section 2.3 shall not apply to any person who has failed to act in good faith or has engaged in willful or intentional misconduct." This is interesting because in my case the board was advised they "can't do that" when referring to fining me. Therefore, in my opinion, they are guilty of willful misconduct. As homeowners have now, and will continue to suffer financial damages due to settlement and increased insurance premiums, perhaps they have a legal case to sue the former board members who "ordered" Tutelo to illegally fine me, which was the main reason for the legal action.
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