@jellyBEAN I would be so angry if I were you; for many reasons.
Understand that what I say to you is useful only in the general sense as I don't know what state you live in, I don't know what your actual situation is regarding your documents and the laws in your state. I can only state the specifics of where I live.
All that said, I would tread carefully regarding a lawyer and suing. I asked you before what your by-laws and declarations state; again, read them VERY carefully. It may be spelled out regarding whether you are required to go to Arbitration in situations like this. If you're going to do the route of suing, look for a lawyer that is experienced in HOA/Condo laws; many are not and that can cost you. This happened in my community a month ago:
A homeowner had an issue with her sump pump. It drained constantly into the parking area of our community. I mean, it drained 24/7. There was water flowing all the time; it looked like someone was washing their car. Every home has an outlet to the parking lot for this purpose. However, the sump pumps, when working properly, drain once every few days, if that. We don't need them; the builder put them due to building code in my county in the 70's. This house is a rental. The woman does the minimum to maintain it. She lives out of state.
During this winter, her sump pump water issue caused the entire parking lot to freeze with 7 inches plus of ice. Tires were frozen to the road. The calls started early Saturday morning. Didn't help that an ice storm moved in. I contacted our management company. They contacted our snow and ice people. Pictures and video don't lie. It took a team of 5 over 6 hours to cut through the ice and make it safe and drivable. It was a mess for 72 hours. ALL because of her sump pump spewing water nonstop. The cost was $6500 paid by the HOA aka ALL the homeowners who live there (because we pay into the pot).
We found out that her renter had been complaining of water issues in the lower level. Neighbors had called plumbers to see if their houses were causing the flooding. We had receipts and signed letters. The board decided to bill the homeowner for the cost of the repairs. Yes she had been notified prior about her water issue; she ignored it.
Long story short, we had to take her to court as she refused to accept responsibility (she did repair her sump pump; cost her $4500 to do so). Her lawyer argued that other neighbors feed into the street, they should all share the cost, it's community property. the HOA is being cheap, etc. Her lawyer was NOT familiar with our by-laws, our covenants or our county/state laws (she lived out of state and got a lawyer from out of state). The judge was angry because she felt this case was a waste of her time. We have everything spelled out, our rules and regulations were clear and in the end, it was obvious: the homeowner was responsible. In addition, she had to pay interest on the amount and lawyer fees...to the tune of almost $10,000. All she said was "it isn't fair. it isn't fair. Their stealing my money".
No. YOU signed a legally binding contract when you purchased the home in the community. It is presumed you read ALL the documents before you signed. If not, that's on you. YOU chose to not pay the bill and therefore, you left the HOA no choice but to sue you for amount owed for damage YOUR property caused to community property. YOU chose to hire an attorney you, admitted in court, did not normally engage in HOA/Condo law. The judge said all this and more.
@jellyBEAN Don't rush into anything. Take your time and move carefully. The board may not want to set "precedent" meaning: if they repair your driveway then others will demand the same thing. Their responsibility is to the community's financial well being first, homeowners second. That said, their attitude STINKS.There is right and wrong way to handle things and boy, IMHO, this is the WRONG way.
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