Part 2: GWLUA/GW Inc Legal Issues

Part 2: GWLUA/GW Inc Legal Issues Gillian Fryer posted 8 months ago

The initial GWLUA documents created in 1994 are contracts. In order to be enforceable, the agreement to create the GWLUA must have been signed by all members when the GWLUA was created. If you look at the document, the only signatures are those of Michael Reynolds and a notary. I am sure that everyone who was part of the early Greater World agreed with Mike's vision, so it should not have been difficult to have obtained those signatures.

In order to move on, we have to assume that the original documents were legally binding at the time of their creation...

NMSA 53-10 controls the creation of the GWLUA. It also dictates the activity of the GWLUA during its existence: the members determine policies and enforcement and expenses paid and fees levied. I challenged Mike about this in 2018 and he said that we were represented because we had a board. In fact, Mike makes it clear in the original By-Laws, Art 5 §1, that he is the sole director for the first 5 years.

The Articles of Association Art 4, §A, charges the members of the association with collecting and paying for property taxes and expenses. This is for lands solely listed in Mike's name, which makes him THE legally responsible party and benefactor of any proceeds generated from the property. At that time, none of the property was owned privately by any member, so I can only presume that Mike divided all land expenses by the total memberships. I equate this with an annual lease expense, as that is the only way I can justify it in my legally focused mind.

It sure looks like Mike initially made all of the rules and levied all of the fees.

Recall I said that the original board was supposed to be created some time between 1999 and 2001 -- the documents conflict on this.

No board was created during that time. Mike was a little pre-occupied: Taos county sued him for running an illegal subdivision. There was a moratorium on all building at Greater World. Mike ultimately lost the case, so Mike then spent a couple of years challenging the subdivision laws at the state legislature. This is the subject of the movie Garbage Warrior, which paints Mike as a David fighting against Goliath. In reality, we are the Davids, and Mike has become the Goliath.

Mike was successful, so he then obtained a series of variances from the county to give him even more leniency with regard to the subdivision laws.

A normal developer obtains a permit and then installs the infrastructure of power, water, sewer and telephone lines. Mike didn't do any of that because Earthships don't need any of that stuff because they collect them from nature. Recall this was before the days of cell phones, so the community had no form of communication.

Mike says we average 7-8 inches of moisture a year. In my house, 7.5 inches average equates to about 7500 gallons of water a year, or 144 gallons a week. We do one load of laundry a week and we each take one shower a week. That uses 75 gallons, leaving 69 gallons or 10 gallons a day for all washing, cooking, drinking and incidentals. That is barely enough. Yes, we can buy water, but that is NOT infrastructure as required. Mike claimed that we had enough water out of the sky to survive, which is technically true if survival just covers drinking water. But we don't have enough to live a normal modern life, at least during times of drought, like over the past year when we only got 6 inches of rain. FYI, we are currently on track to get a little over 5 inches of rain, so let's all pray for a good monsoon!

Mike was also allowed to postpone surveying any lots until they were sold, and he was allowed to install roads as development necessitated. He got a variance for the width of the roads and the size of the cul-de-sacs. I measured North Earthship Way, Gorge View, High Meadow and Happy Trial and I found that only ES Way conformed to the width requirement of at least 18 feet. Only the cul-de-sac on High Meadow conformed to the radius requirement of 15 feet, and Happy Trial was both too narrow and the cut-de-sac was half the required size.

Mike's engineer filed an affidavit for the lawsuit stating that Earthship Way was built as required: 24 feet wide. But that is NOT accurate! At both the southern land dam and the northern arroyo, ES Way narrows to 20 feet. Something is seriously wrong with his affidavit. Apparently having an engineering license doesn't ensure one is proficient with a tape measure.

There is also the issue of the initial construction of the road in cross-section. Mike says the roads are now so old that we can never tell how they were built, and it appears he isn't willing to share his receipts. There is one place in the community that is untouched and we can unearth the original road base to see what really happened: the cul-de-sac on Happy Trail! It was abandoned very early on and it has not weathered. 10 minutes with a backhoe and we can see how the road was originally constructed.

To end this discussion, here is a photo of the damage at the land dam after the 2014 flood which washed out some of our roads. Do you see any road base at all here?

I hope this hasn't been too dry. Please send questions and comments!

Gillian Fryer commented 8 months ago

Gillian, thank you for all the work you have done to keep us informed. I need to reread part one. If Michael Reynolds is arguing that he can govern until 2024 because he established the 2004 edition of the GWLUA documents, is this argument negated in law because he tried to change the GWLUA to an HOA in 2015 and to GW, Inc. more recently? Is Michael Reynolds allowed to plead along multiple legal avenues in trying to retain and strengthen his hold on the Greater World Community?

If I am mistaken in the following assumption, I stand corrected. How is it that policies intended to protect the interests of the residents and property owners of the Greater World Community seem to have become subordinate to Michael Reynolds' entities, e.g. Earthship Biotecture, the Academy, HIVE ( does this house the intern program? ), the Visitor Center, EVE, his vacation rentals, etc? This is not a criticism of these entities, I mostly respect the endeavors. They are valued tenants of the Greater World Community, and, as such, subject to policies and governing documents approved by the residents and property owners of a sovereign Greater World Community.

Wallace Hammond commented 8 months ago

Gillian,
Thank you for this important information...

Danny Diaz commented 8 months ago

From Wally Hammond:

Gillian, thank you for all the work you have done to keep us informed. I need to reread part one. If Michael Reynolds is arguing that he can govern until 2024 because he established the 2004 edition of the GWLUA documents, is this argument negated in law because he tried to change the GWLUA to an HOA in 2015 and to GW, Inc. more recently? Is Michael Reynolds allowed to plead along multiple legal avenues in trying to retain and strengthen his hold on the Greater World Community?

If I am mistaken in the following assumption, I stand corrected. How is it that policies intended to protect the interests of the residents and property owners of the Greater World Community seem to have become subordinate to Michael Reynolds' entities, e.g. Earthship Biotecture, the Academy, HIVE ( does this house the intern program? ), the Visitor Center, EVE, his vacation rentals, etc? This is not a criticism of these entities, I mostly respect the endeavors. They are valued tenants of the Greater World Community, and, as such, subject to policies and governing documents approved by the residents and property owners of a sovereign Greater World Community.

Mike has tried to play both sides of the legal argument, but the court sees through that. The Board's most recent lawyer, Kelan Emery, concluded that the GWLUA was legitimate b/c Mike unilaterally filed as an HOA in 2015, so the logical conclusion is that the GWLUA continues until 2035. I won't tell you what I thought of that.

When they filed as a corporation, they stated that the duration was perpetual, so as far as the current board is concerned, there is no termination date.

All of this violates NMSA 53-10, in that we community members get to make the rules. This also violates the original Articles of Association that state that we must vote in writing by 75% to continue the GWLUA past the original 25 years.

Mike has no interest in us after the sale. He makes that clear if you ever have a problem with your Earthship.... He also doesn't think the rules apply to him or FOM (friends of Mike), so our rules have been applied inconsistently. I said as much directly to him back in 2015 when I joined the board. Nothing has changed. The trouble with being inconsistent is that makes it almost impossible to then enforce ANY of the rules.

Mike's business Earthship Biotecture, is independent of the community. Apart from the mass of cars parked at a job site, and the damage to the roads from gravel trucks and speeders, we aren't affected by them. I can mathematically prove that his construction jobs cause most of the road damage, so it makes sense that he should be held to maintaining the roads until build out.

Gillian Fryer commented 7 months ago

Gillian, thank you, again and again.

I believe you commented some time back that if Rhines v. Reynolds was going no further, perhaps other members of the Greater World community need to consider legal action against Michael Reynolds and his associates in GW, Inc. I had the impression that if legal action were pursued, you felt that Attorney Mark A. Glenn was quite competent. Peggy and I have been in communication with him. Can a " class action " lawsuit be initiated in our circumstances; do our circumstances call for a legal procedure different from " class action "? Thus far, Peg and I have consistently found that we cannot afford to enter our own lawsuit against Michael Reynolds. Are there enough members of the Greater World community interested in a legal challenge to Michael Reynolds to make a lawsuit affordable? Finally, I do not see that anything is accomplished for the good of the Greater World community if a lawsuit against Michael Reynolds is considered with less than a healthy majority of Greater World property owners in favor of such legal action.

Wallace Hammond commented 7 months ago

I believe that Mark Glenn is probably one of the most qualified HOA attorneys in the state, so if it went that far, I would want to employ him.

I also think we could wage a class action suit, but I don't think enough community members support it... yet.

If the Rhines v Reynolds case does not resolve the issue of the termination of the GWLUA, then we are stuck in limbo. We could conceivably go on as we have. If the board then chooses to place liens on those of us who have not paid our dues, we face a moral dilemma: do we pay our stupid $525 or do we sue and spend $10k or more each? How much are we willing to spend to do the right thing and to stop a bunch of bullies?

At this point, I think those who don't intend to pay their dues, respond to the Board with a statement to the effect that you will be happy to pay all dues when they can provide a court order that states they are a legal HOA with power over the community.

I do have some ideas that might make the board back down, once they realize it could cost them personally.

Gillian Fryer commented 7 months ago

Gillian,

As a community, if we choose sovereignty, are we allowed, in law, to prosecute our legal actions against Michael Reynolds and his associates along a number of avenues, simultaneously?

Wallace Hammond commented 7 months ago

I don't know what specifically you are alluding to, but in general yes-- courts want to be as efficient as possible, so if they can combine issues, parties, etc., they will. Civil and criminal cases would be separate court systems though.
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As for parties, the Board could be sued as one entity, and each board member could also be named individually. All board members past and present could be named, or just specific members, depending on the claims against them. A specific charge could also be made against specific board members.

The advantage as a class action, is that we, the class, could have one lawyer, but if board members are named separately, they should each have their own lawyer... otherwise there is a potential conflict of interest.

Gillian Fryer commented 7 months ago

Most of us chose our sovereignty back in September of 2019 when two petitions were circulated and actual signatures were obtained, collected, and sent certified to formally document our choice. This was additionally backed up with a Cease and Desist. None of that have stopped them and today yet another copy & paste invitation to their next zoom meeting in which they will discuss ways to spend whatever is left of the $30k that was in our coffers when all of this started. Or should I say ended.

LaNaeh commented 7 months ago

LaNaeh

Thank you, I had forgotten the two petitions and their significance as to the expression of sovereignty by so many in this community. Peg and I signed onto one of the petitions. I hope this foundation has remained intact.

Wallace Hammond commented 7 months ago

As do we all Wally, as do we all. We can only stand on the side of the law and hope the law does what it promises and protects us from being seen as standing behind someone when in actuality we are standing toe to toe demanding what was promised contractually to us and what is due to us.

Aside from all this pettiness of clashing personalities is the real issue of bait and switch. Unfortunately in our case the idea of bait and switch has become a very possible reality.

Earthship Way has been miraculously graded in the last several days. Someone must be feeling in someway threatened because I am damned sure this is not being done due to the constraints of fiduciary duty. Unfortunately after five years of learning about the developer, my first thought is that somewhere there is trouble that they are responding to. Perhaps so legalities have reared their ugly head and forced a response, but one thing I am very clear on at this time is that this "community" is not anything more than a money machine for Mike and we were all duped into thinking that he actually cared about us and/or the environment.

One only needs a quick scan of our dry, desolate, dirty, neighborhood to see this type of sustainability is not really looking like an attractive way to help Mother Earth...

LaNaeh commented 7 months ago

LaNaeh commented that Earthship Way has been graded quite nicely. Perhaps " graded " is not the correct term, but Earthship Way now rides smoother. LaNaeh also points out that Gillian's research on Greater World's roads - laid out above and in previous comments - likely contributed to having this roadwork done. Thank you, Gillian. I cannot bring myself to do this alone, but if the community wishes to extend partial thanks to a g.w. inc. board, I support the community.

Wallace Hammond commented 7 months ago

Wally, you give me too much credit. I have no pull with the current administration... if anything, I am persona non grata.

It's more likely that board members themselves are tired of beating up their own vehicles.

BTW, I clocked 'the president' speeding at over 30 mph across the intersection of ES Way and N Lemuria a few days ago.

Gillian Fryer commented 7 months ago