I could understand that.
But I also understood something he might not.
Owning the road didn’t make me the HOA’s new sheriff.
I had no interest in replacing Margaret’s control with my own.
I wanted my property protected.
I wanted the truth documented.
And I wanted to finish working my farm.
“Carl,” I said, “I’m not trying to become involved in your HOA politics.”
“I know.”
“But if your records are relevant to the lawsuit, my attorney needs to see them.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
He began stacking the papers.
Then he stopped.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Margaret told everyone at the meeting that she’d rather bankrupt the association defending the road than let you win.”
I looked at him.
“She actually said that?”
“Not those exact words. She said no expense would be spared.”
“Same idea.”
Carl nodded.
“And the people in that room are going to be the ones paying for it.”
That was the first time I understood the full danger of what Margaret was doing.
She wasn’t merely risking her own reputation.
She was gambling with money collected from 96 households.
People with mortgages.
Retirees with fixed incomes.
Families with children.
People who had never asked her to pick this fight.
And they had no idea how fragile her case might be.
The following afternoon, Carl accompanied me to David’s office.
We spread the papers across the conference table.
David read the 2003 minutes slowly.
“Interesting,” he said.
“That’s one word for it,” I replied.
He looked at Carl.
“Can you establish where these copies came from?”
“Yes. Community records. I was on the records committee in 2011.”
“Do you know whether the originals are still held by the association?”
“I believe so.”
“Good. We’ll request them through discovery.”
He turned to me.
“These minutes support the conclusion that the board asserted authority without documenting its legal basis. But they don’t settle the adverse-use question.”
“Which is the critical one.”
“Exactly.”
David stood and opened the 1971 plat on the table.
Carl leaned over it.
My attorney traced the boundaries.
“Here’s the old farm parcel. Here is the recorded Cedarwood Ridge subdivision boundary. And here is the paved road corridor.”
