Homeowner associations (HOAs) do things like keep neighbors in check and keep streets nicely maintained, but many times they can also be a nuisance —ask me how I know. In rare instances, they can be downright horrible. Miami’s WPLG recently reported how one HOA towed vehicles owned by one of its deceased residents, just as his wife was planning his funeral.
Richard Cousley died suddenly of a heart attack at just 59, leaving behind his wife, Dori and his two Dodge Chargers parked in the Plantation Racquet Club, a neighborhood he and his wife lived in for over 20 years. Busy with planning his funeral, she had nearly forgotten the cars were parked in the community’s lot. That’s when the HOA made its move.
“There was no need for this, none whatsoever,” Cousley said. “Imagine you wake up on the morning of your husband’s funeral and the cars are gone.”
Richard’s two black Dodge Chargers were towed by his homeowner’s association. They are at All County Towing and were accruing hundreds of dollars in fees that raise daily.
It’s money this teacher’s aide doesn’t have.
Dori says she called her HOA president who she says authorized the tow.
“I was hysterical, crying when I found out his cars were towed,” Cousley said. “She knew he died. She knew we were planning a funeral.”
Cousley said she asked HOA president Susan Seman “how come you towed his cars after everything he’s done for you?”
Seman hung up the phone, she said.
WPLG’s reporter Jeff Weinsier later contacted the HOA president on his own. Her explanation for what happened wasn’t the most convincing.
“She didn’t call anyone about anything,” Seman told Local 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier.
“But you knew he died?” Weinsier asked.“Sir, how many times do I have to answer that question for you? I heard rumors around the property,” Seman said. “I can’t talk to you any further (other) than to tell you the friggin’ rules,” Seman said. “She knew them.”
Seman says HOA rules dictate a car can’t be parked in a guest spot longer than a month, which was apparently the violation that led the cars to be towed, though WPLG also noticed some other cars on the property that seemed to be in violation of the rules but were not towed. Ultimately, the tow company had some sympathy: WPLG says that they offered to waive the fees, and assist the man’s widow in selling the vehicles, though it probably should’ve never come to that to start with.