Unit Owners

City Councilwoman Paula Johnson Branch has filed suit against the owners and managers of the Belvedere Condominiums over an attack by an intruder who broke into her residence in September.The suit, which was filed May 2 in Baltimore City Circuit Court and seeks $10 million in damages, says the 2nd District Democrat suffered "serious and traumatic psychological injuries" from the attack and has been unable to stay in her unit."She could never sleep in that place again," said her attorney, A. Dwight Pettit.

A Baltimore County Circuit Court judge ruled yesterday that the county government is a voting member of the condominium association at the Villages of Tall Trees in Essex. Judge Robert E. Cadigan's ruling opens the door for demolition of the apartment buildings on Old Eastern Avenue, a once-proud enclave for World War II-era workers that became a forlorn and violent reminder of better days. The county wants to clear the site for a 50-acre public park, part of an ambitious east-side revitalization plan featuring new houses, a waterfront destination, the extension of Route 43 and streetscape improvements on Eastern Boulevard.

A state appeals court ruled yesterday that deed restrictions are binding on condominium owners and that an Ocean City lawyer who flouted deed restrictions on his seaside shops must pay a $62,999 fine.The Court of Special Appeals ruled that attorney John J. Green Jr. is bound by restrictions included in his deed when he purchased six condominiums in 1994 for a convenience store, video arcade, restaurant and other shops on the first floor of the 400-unit Sea Watch condominium complex on the 11500 section of Coastal Highway.

Dear Mr. Azrael:I am a senior citizen living on a fixed income. I purchased a condominium about 15 years ago. I still have a mortgage and pay a condominium fee, which over the years has been steadily increased. In addition, I have paid several assessments over the years.Now, again, my board of directors has voted for and passed another assessment.I feel extremely strapped to pay this assessment. I made my position clear to the board and was told that I could pay it off over several months.

The three-year process of winding up the affairs of jailed Ocean City developer H. Lloyd Hensley will take a major step toward resolution Friday, when management associations running six of Mr. Hensley's resorts will put remaining unsold time shares up for auction.Hensley has been out of the business since the state Real Estate Commission revoked his right to develop time shares in Maryland in January 1990, after the commission found widespread title fraud at some of his resorts.Hensley's resorts were developed during the 1980s.

Homeowner Group: This is Democracy?As a law-abiding American citizen and upholder of the U.S. Constitution, I feel compelled to bring to your readers' attention a most un-democratic action which has just occurred. My husband and I are residents and unit-owners in Stoney Beach Condominium in Anne Arundel County. We have both been active within the condominium and enjoy living in our beautiful surroundings.In the past year, the board of directors of our condominium has left much to be desired.

Controversy at Loyola over sex coursePlease allow me to respond to Daniel Perrine's analysis of the current controversy at Loyola College (Other Voices, Feb. 24).While lamenting "the condemnation of others" as antithetical to nTC Christianity and the American university, Professor Perrine at the same time stridently condemns those with whom he disagrees.Using words like "religious fanaticism," "intolerant Puritanism" and the "Roman Catholic far right," he finally disposes of them with the pronouncement that "they do not belong here."

An Ellicott City professional condominium park is suing a Georgia wood products manufacturer for $1.5 million, claiming the company has knowingly sold defective roofing materials.The lawsuit, filed in Howard County Circuit Court, alleges that Hoover Treated Wood Productsof Thomson, Ga., has "engaged in a fraudulent marketing campaign" that exaggerated the suitability of its fire-retardant-treated (FRT) plywood roof sheathing.Although the FRT plywood roofing controversy is one of the knottier problems being addressed by homebuilders nationwide, the lawsuit is the first legal action in Howard County, where as many as 18,000 homes may be affected.

Condo living. It sounds like a dream come true for those whose thumbs lack any trace of green, and who think that a screwdriver is first and foremost a drink. No weekends spent mowing the lawn, no spring afternoons devoted to repairing leaky roofs.But condominium living has its own drawbacks, as anyone who's owned a unit knows. Unlike those who live in single-family homes, condo dwellers often can't paint their shutters any color they want, or keep a pet chimpanzee in their living room, if that's their heart's desire.

The images are hard to resist: ocean breezes whispering across a condo balcony, logs crackling with flames in a mountain retreat.Lured by such visions, tens of thousands of Americans have paid billions of dollars to buy time shares -- the right to use an apartment at a resort for one or more weeks each year.For some time-share owners, however, the idyllic vacation dreams have been been tarnished by inept and sometimes criminal resort developers and managers.Surveys indicate that most timeshare owners are satisfied with their purchases, and the industry's image has improved with the entrance of several big companies, including Hilton, Marriott and Disney.