Property manager took it upon herself to engage attorney

Last November, a letter was received in the management office from an attorney, claiming to represent several owners in our association, who wanted nothing more than a closed meeting with the Board.

I am board president. Our property manager took it upon herself to contact our attorney, before the board even knew of this letter.

Over a thousand dollars of legal advice later, our manager said it was her "right" to forward the letter to our attorney, without even asking or notifying the board. There was no threat of litigation involved. She told us (the board) that she did not feel comfortable without legal advice, to which I (president) replied that is fine, but do not expect us to pay for it.

If and when the board felt we needed legal council, the board would have made that call.

Now our management company is telling us that they will not pay this legal bill. Our manager said that she DID did have 2 of the 3 Board members vote approval; however, we have four Board members, and as I explained, it is up to the board to call for voting, not the property manager.

I have never seen anything that would indicate she even asked the other board members for their advice before taking the matter into her own hands.

As president, I am all for legal advice where and when it is needed, but feel that the board should make the call. Otherwise, we would go broke paying for legal advice.

What do you all think? We are a small community and do not have a large budget.