I can't speak to the laws in New York regarding Associations, but I can offer Sayuko my perspective on this as the President of a Homeowners' Association myself.

In this part of the world, Nanette has no legal grounds to sue Sayuko herself. She can only sue the board. Now, Nanette can *file* a lawsuit naming Sayuko, but in this part of the world, such a suit would be tossed pretty fast.

It is the board's responsibility to make every attempt to deal with those situations covered in the covenants, and as long as Sayuko has been keeping detailed records of the attempts to rectify the situation, I don't think a lawsuit has much merit.

I would offer Sayuko some friendly advice, however... The fastest way to failure as a Board President (or member) is to start taking situations personally. Sayuko finds herself in a situation as a result of becoming the Board President. Nanette may be the irritant, but if it wasn't Nanette, it would be someone else soon. The way to avoid Association conflict is to not represent the Association.

The way I deal with the Nanettes in my Association is through staunch following of a standard policy. I treat every situation exactly the same... I follow the exact same steps... write the exact same reports... give the exact same level of service to all people, and I have the documents to prove it.

Then, when Nanette's lawyers come calling, there's ample evidence that I've done everything *required*, and in the same fashion as I have treated all others.

As long as there's no evidence that Sayuko is shirking her duties, nor giving any less service than to anyone else, then she shouldn't fear Nanette.

I gather, though, that Sayuko wasn't really interested in being the Association President to begin with, and hasn't found much joy in doing it... perhaps she should reconsider if it's worth the stress it places on her life?

She's not going to be able to make Nanette happy... She's not even going to be able to make Nanette be quiet. Nanette is what she is, regardless of her motivations, and is the reality of the situation.

Sayuko only has control over herself, her reactions to the situation, and her role in the situation. Those are the things she can change.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but after doing this for three years, I can tell you that it *never* gets better... it's never 'fun'... and quite frankly, no one will ever care whether you do it or not... They only care that *they* don't have to do it.

Trek