Ongoing-Litigation Information Disclosure Policy

Policy Regarding Disclosure of Information Regarding Ongoing Litigation

ORS 94.670(9)(b) permits the Association to withhold from examination and duplication by members the records of the Association to the extent they concern:

(C)       Communications with legal counsel that relate to matters specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph and the rights and duties of the association regarding existing or potential litigation or criminal matters...

or

(G)      Files of individual owners...

among other categories of information set forth in that statute.

The Association’s general policy is not to disclose information regarding ongoing litigation.  The reasons for this policy include:

(1)       the Association does not want to inadvertently disclose directly or indirectly to an opponent in litigation privileged, confidential, or private information or any other information that it is not otherwise required to disclose and

(2)       the Association strongly believes that files and information about individual owners should be maintained, as much as possible, in confidence out of respect for the privacy concerns of individual owners.

However, ORS 94.670 does not require the Association to maintain such information as confidential. Therefore, the Association reserves the right to disclose information regarding ongoing litigation if and when its Board of Directors determines that such disclosure is warranted or would otherwise be in the best interests of the Association.  Such circumstances may arise, for example, if an opponent in litigation or a third party elects to disclose to persons who are not parties to such litigation information regarding such ongoing litigation.  It such a case, the Association could elect to disclose such information regarding the ongoing litigation that it chooses in order to correct or counter any impression may have been created by the disclosure by the other.  The Association may also, in other settings, elect to disclose information regarding ongoing litigation if its Board of Directors determines that it is in the best interests of the Association to do so despite it general policy not to disclose information regarding ongoing litigation.