55-79.80:1 - Tort and contract liability; judgment lien - Virginia Statutes

§ 55-79.80:1. Tort and contract liability; judgment lien.

A. An action for tort alleging a wrong done (i) by any agent or employee ofthe declarant or of the unit owners' association, or (ii) in connection withthe condition of any portion of the condominium which the declarant or theassociation has the responsibility to maintain, shall be brought against thedeclarant or the association, as the case may be. No unit owner shall beprecluded from bringing such an action by virtue of his ownership of anundivided interest in the common elements or by reason of his membership inthe association or his status as an officer.

B. Unit owners other than the declarant shall not be liable for torts causedby agents or employees of the declarant within any convertible land or usingany easement reserved in the declaration or created by § 55-79.65 or §55-79.66.

C. An action arising from a contract made by or on behalf of the unit owners'association, its executive organ, or the unit owners as a group, shall bebrought against the association, or against the declarant if the cause ofaction arose during the exercise by the declarant of control reservedpursuant to subsection A of § 55-79.74. No unit owner shall be precluded frombringing such an action by reason of his membership in the association or hisstatus as an officer.

D. A judgment for money against the unit owners' association shall be a lienagainst any property owned by the association, and against each of thecondominium units in proportion to the liability of each unit owner forcommon expenses as established pursuant to subsection D of § 55-79.83, butnot against any other property of any unit owner. A unit owner who pays apercentage of the total amount due under such judgment equal to such unitowner's liability for common expenses fixed pursuant to subsection D of §55-79.83 shall be entitled to a release of any such judgment lien and theassociation shall not be entitled to assess the unit for payment of theremaining amount due. Such judgment shall be otherwise subject to theprovisions of § 8.01-458.

(1975, c. 415; 1991, c. 497; 1992, c. 72; 1996, c. 977.)