Removing or recalling condominium board members or trustees in MA

It is unusual that your condominium documents do not address this issue.  Typically, in Massachusetts and other states, the condominium governing documents establish a two-step process in which some percentage of owners, usually 30 percent in Massachusetts, must sign a petition demanding a special meeting to discuss and vote on a recall (or removal) of one or more board members.  At the special meeting, either a majority or super-majority of owners must then vote to remove the offending trustee or board member.

 If you find such language in your governing documents, make sure that you and your allies follow the procedure exactly.  Also, you must read the language regarding recall in conjunction with other provisions of the governing documents.  There was a decision from the Massachusetts Superior Court in which the court put the brakes on a recall effort (granted an injunction requested by members of a condominium board) because removing all the trustees simultaneously violated a separate provision requiring at least three trustees in office at any given time.

 If no relevant language exists in the documents (and, frankly, even if it does), I would talk to a Massachusetts real estate attorney about the matter. She may be able to recommend a strategy based on language in the governing documents, on Massachusetts statutory law, or on some other legal theory, such as breach of fiduciary duty. She can also walk you through the process and help avoid costly and time consuming errors. Good luck.