Missouri Laws 436.359 – Rejection of settlement offer by association governing board, effect of — ..
1. If an association’s governing board rejects a written settlement offer from the contractor and has satisfied applicable provisions of section 436.356, and upon written request by the contractor as part of said offer that the association hold a meeting of the members, the provisions of this section shall apply prior to the association filing an action alleging construction defects in the common areas and common elements.
2. The board shall hold a meeting open to each member of the association. The meeting shall be held no less than fifteen days before the association commences an action against the contractor.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 436.359
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
3. No less than fifteen days before this meeting is held, a written notice shall be sent to each member of the association specifying all of the following:
(1) That a meeting will take place to discuss construction defects that may lead to the filing of an action, and the date, time, and place of the meeting;
(2) The options that are available to address the construction defects, including the filing of an action and a statement of the various alternatives that are reasonably foreseeable by the association to pay for those options and whether these payments are expected to be made from the use of reserve account funds or the imposition of regular or special assessments, or emergency assessment increases;
(3) The complete text of any written final settlement offer from the contractor and a concise explanation of the contractor’s specific reasons for the terms of the offer.
4. The discussions at the meeting and the contents of the notice and the items required to be specified in the notice under subsection 3 of this section are privileged communications and are not admissible in evidence in any action, unless the association consents to their admission.
5. No more than one request to meet and discuss a written settlement offer under this section may be made by the contractor.