Black Florida Mom’s HOA is Demanding She Pay Up Because Her Kid Did…What??
Ariel Barner is in a heated legal battle with her HOA after her son was spotted playing in a tree on their property. The post Black Florida Mom’s HOA is Demanding She Pay Up Because Her Kid Did…What?? appeared first on The Root.
Black News 
A Black mother in Florida is in a heated legal battle with a Homeowners’ Association (HOA) that is coming after her for what most people would consider normal kid behavior.
Ariel Barner was contacted by the HOA’s President, who told her they’d spotted her 5-year-old son, Owen, swinging from a branch of a magnolia tree near his school bus stop. Barner received a letter claiming she was in violation of the HOA’s declaration for “failing to supervise the children by allowing them to climb and swing from the branches of the trees that are property of the association.”
The HOA threatened to take action against Barner and ordered her to pick up the tab for legal fees the association incurred, which totaled almost $400, according to Fox 35 Orlando.
Barner said the HOA President should have had a conversation with her about her young son’s actions before getting lawyers involved.
“I think as a mother, I still would have asked her, ‘Please speak to me if you have a confrontation or issues with my five-year-old.’ He can’t even read. He can’t spell ‘public nuisance,’” Barner told Fox 35 Orlando.
When asked for comment, the HOA’s lawyer told Fox 35 Orlando that the $382 legal bill is negotiable and that the association’s main concern was their liability if Owen were to fall from the tree.
“There is a potential that if a child is injured while on association property, then they could sue for damages with respect to the common property,” the attorney said.
Ariel Barner says she plans to speak with an attorney before she moves forward in the process.
Most people online agreed with Barner saying by taking the case to court, the HOA took things a little too far.
“Why didn’t they send the mother a warning? Why go straight to the HOA attorney? I thought that is done after several warnings to get HOA attorney involved,” wrote someone on YouTube.
The post Black Florida Mom’s HOA is Demanding She Pay Up Because Her Kid Did…What?? appeared first on The Root.
