Leonard & Anor v Michie & Ors (Unit Titles) [2019] ACAT 14 is a recent decision by ACAT which was determined on 31 January 2019.
It is of interest to strata managers given it is the only decision of any jurisdiction in the ACT which considers allegations of breaches of the executive committee Code of Conduct.
In short, the applicants made over a dozen allegations of breaches of the Code of Conduct by the executive committee members of the Owners – Units Plan No 1636 and Senior Tribunal Member Orr QC considered each allegation in turn and determined whether a breach had occurred or not.
Ultimately, the Senior Member found that there were no breaches of the Code of Conduct by any of the executive committee members but a number of observations were made which are helpful in understanding the Code of Conduct.
Firstly, at paragraphs 29 and 30, in response to the applicants request that executive committee members be removed, or banned from standing for re-election, the Senior Member observes that “the provisions in the Act in relation to the orders the Tribunal can make (section 129) can extend to some claims in relation to the Code. These on their face may allow proceedings for an order requiring an executive member to do something required by the Code, or refrain from doing something in breach of the Code (section 129(1)(a) of the Unit Titles Management Act), particularly in light of the clear statutory obligation to comply with the Code in section 46. It may allow for breaches of the Code to be taken into account in proceedings concerning motions and decisions, especially of the executive committee (section 129(1)(f) and (g)). It may allow for declarations that an executive committee member has breached the Code (section 129(2)). But the respondents argued that the Tribunal could not make orders removing and banning them from holding the position of executive committee member for breach of the Code, or anything else. I think this is correct.”
The Senior Member then approaches each of the various allegations of a breach of the Code of Conduct on the basis that “the tribunal may order an executive member to do something required by the Code, or refrain from doing something in breach of the Code, allow for breaches of the Code to be taken into account in proceedings concerning motions and decisions, and allow for declarations that an executive committee member has breached the Code” (as opposed to such breaches resulting in the removal of an executive committee member or banning them from standing for re-election).
Generally, the Tribunal’s analysis of the various allegations do not involve a lengthy consideration of the Code of Conduct but rather a statement of the facts and a simple statement that the facts do not constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct.
However, at paragraph 184 the Senior Member does observe that “I do not think there is any obligation under the Code of Conduct on executive members to communicate at any other time and in any other manner with another member of the committee. I do not think that generally blocking emails, declining to walk around the complex, being unhelpful, ignoring email requests, turning away, deliberately ignoring well-meant greeting, leaving notes and speaking ill of the applicants in personal conversations to others amount to a breach of the Code of Conduct”.
This decision is helpful to strata managers as it can be provided to disenfranchised lot owners who wish to address the particular conduct of an executive committee member in their owners corporation. Finally, it appears that a breach of the Code of Conduct requires much more than trivial matters to have occurred.