Cocks vs. Swains Appellate Court Opinion – August 24, 2023

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On March 22, 2022, the State of Utah Court of Appeals heard oral arguments from the Swains Creek Pines Lot Owners Association legal counsel as well as the attorney representing the plaintiffs, Art and Julie Cocks. Each side was given 15 minutes to present their arguments before a panel of three judges. The panel then took the case under advisement and will notify the attorneys of their decision. There is no timeline or deadline for them to render their decision. The membership will be notified as soon as the Board of Directors has more information.

Oral arguments in the Cocks v Swains Creek appeal are scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 10am (Utah time). Below is the link to the livestream to listen to the proceedings through the Utah Court of Appeals website.  It is audio only and, if you miss it, you can still access the file afterward by entering the date and/or the case number.

Cocks v. Swains Creek Pines Appellate Case No. 20200961‐CA

www.utcourts.gov/opinions/streams/?court=coa

Classic Air Medical — Memberships Discontinued

Classic Air Medical has always chosen to focus on high-quality critical care transport at a low cost to patients. Approximately 10 years ago, Classic created a membership program to protect patients and their families from open-ended balance billing. In addition, over the past few years, Classic has fine-tuned its billing practices to maximize the insurance company’s payment for a medical flight. This, in turn, has allowed Classic to minimize the amount that patients have had to pay out-of-pocket to an average of just $200.

Classic Air Medical fully supports the federal government implementing the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which was enacted on December 27, 2020, and contains many provisions including the No Surprises Act under title 1. With the No Surprises Act, consumers have new billing protections when getting emergency care and non-emergency care from out-of-network or in-network facilities, and air ambulance services from out-of-network providers. Through new rules aimed to protect consumers, out-of-pocket costs are restricted, and emergency services must continue to be covered without any prior authorization, regardless of whether or not a provider or facility is in-network.

This enactment renders memberships unnecessary. Therefore Classic Air Medical has decided to no longer offer a membership program. Our belief is that selling air medical memberships is an outdated and unnecessary practice that all air medical companies should discontinue.

Classic Air Medical will continue to offer the highest level of air medical services for the lowest possible cost. Classic is truly committed to serving our communities, patients, and families.

For more information about the, No Surprises Act here is a link to the government website https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises

Dear Fellow Lot Owners:

We would like to acknowledge that the Annual Meeting ended with a convergence of unfortunate circumstances that was contributed to by both lot owners and Board Members. In all honesty, the long-term ongoing legal litigation and continued accusations made against the Board, have resulted in unfavorable emotional reactions of certain Board Members. We hold ourselves to a higher standard and are committed to rectifying not only the circumstances of the Annual Meeting, but the overall relationship with those in the community in which there has been conflict while continuing to fulfill our duty to enforce the Governing Documents as advised by legal counsel to ensure continuity, architectural integrity, property values, and the promotion of the concept of “community.”

The following changes have occurred since the Annual Meeting:

• A replacement Chairman will be named at the October 2021 meeting.
• Any member at the Annual Meeting who did not get to be heard or ask questions is encouraged to reach out to the Association by contacting mckenzie@camutah.com with any questions or concerns that still remain.
• In order to conduct a more efficient meeting, we will provide a sign-up sheet for those members who wish to speak during the open meeting, and each member will be called upon in order.  Each member will be given three minutes.  All members will be given an opportunity to speak before members get to speak a second time. Members who do not sign up to speak will need to sign up the following meeting or speak with a Board Member after the meeting.
• If an unmanageable disruption occurs and orders cannot be restored, we will adjourn the meeting and resume at a later time.

We would like to clarify the following topics that were discussed at the Annual Meeting:

1. On 7/24/21, the CMFPD Special Service District approved the plan to take over dust mitigation throughout the County and will begin assessing each tax-paying lot a fee of $100.00 per year. You will see this line item on your 2022 tax bill this November. If you have any questions about SSD Dust Mitigation, please contact zach.hascall@cmfpd.com. The Board is considering several options as to how to proceed with dues. The lot owners will receive an additional email shortly providing them the opportunity to provide input on each scenario being discussed.
2. There will be an open Manager’s or Assistant Manager’s position open for next year. We will be sending out information on that in the near future.
3. A brief synopsis of the ongoing litigation and the status of the appeal process will be posted to the website very soon.
4. The election process went very smoothly and lot owners expressed their satisfaction with CAM conducting the ballot counting. Below are the results of the election for 2022-23.

Thank you,
SCPLOA Board of Directors

Many species of bark beetles are causing widespread tree mortality throughout the Intermountain West. Although sometimes viewed by humans as catastrophic, outbreaks of native forests insects are natural events.

Are your trees at risk? Find out here.

The SCFC identified a couple of priorities that we would like to accomplish, and hopefully, every lot owner will help us achieve our goals.

1. The first priority is for every lot to have their address posted in clear view for the emergency personnel responding to calls. The SCFC has approved a sample sign, available (at cost) for $20.00. These are reflective and meet all Kane County requirements. We urge everyone to order one of these signs if your current signage does not meet Kane County’s requirements. An order form is attached, along with instructions on where to send payment, and information on where to pick up your finished sign. Once payment is received, volunteers will construct your sign, and contact you when it is done. Please give me a call or email me if you have any questions.

2. The second priority is for all lot owners to clean up all potential fire hazards on their property. There are links on our Website that gives lot owners a better idea of what the MANDATED requirements are from Kane County.

As we move forward, updated information will be posted on our Website, and hopefully, we as a community can make a difference.

Please remember: It’s not if we have another fire, IT’S WHEN !!! So let’s make it a SMALL ONE!!!

For those of you who missed the last two Board Meetings: during the 9/3/17 Annual Meeting, our bookkeeper, Irene Briggs, announced her retirement. As a result, replacement companies were interviewed, bids were received, and the Board discussed and voted on her replacement in the open Board Meeting on October 7th. The Minutes from the Annual Meeting will not be presented until the next Annual 2018 meeting, and the Minutes from the October meeting will be presented at the upcoming January 13th Meeting. Our new bookkeeping company, Community Association Management (CAM), sent an information letter to all Lot Owners.