Condo Q&A

Redefining meaning of "majority" by NJ condo attorney

Written by CondoAssociation.com | Sat, Dec 26, 2015 @ 02:59 PM
At an election to be a director, a candidate did not obtain the required number of votes pursuant to our bylaws to be elected.
 
A unit owner wrote to the board spelling out the bvlaw and proving beyond doubt that this candidate could not have been legally elected. The bylaw reads as follows:
 
Majority vote: The vote cast by a majority of voting unit owners at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be binding upon all unit owners for all purposes except where the master deed, these by-laws, or the provisions of state law, require a higher percentage for passage.
 
A quorum was present, at which 505 votes were cast, a majority being 253 votes. The candidate obtained 238 vote,s or 15 less than required to be legally elected.  
 
The board, recognizing such, asked the attorney to interpret the bylaw. The attorney said that the word majority meant "most", not majority.  
 
On what basis does an attorney make such a convoluted interpretation, and was there any basis for interpreting a 
bylaw that is crystal clear and unambiguous on its face?