Mediation is next up for the dispute concerning the Palos Verdes Homes Association board election.  There is a chance the challengers in the election, who supposedly won four of the nine seats, might not end up in their positions in the end.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the association and the activists into mediation to reach a settlement on their own.  The lawsuit was filed in May 2017, and was an attempt to contest the association’s rules for board elections.  The suit was filed by resident L. Ried Schott and the Residents for Open Board Elections with the goal of reducing the number of votes require for an election to be valid.

According to current rules, ballots are not tallied until 50 percent of the 5400 eligible households in the community have cast their votes.  This ground rule has been in place since 2009.  If these requirement is not met board members are free to re-appoint themselves.

In the current election under debate, there was an extended election period that still did not yield the required number of votes.  At the moment, the total number of votes is confidential because some people involved believe it could affect the outcome of the dispute.

Some are calling for release of the number of votes, stating it is actually other issues that are keeping the two sides from reaching a resolution.  For instance, the homes association wants to combine the current lawsuit with another lawsuit filed in 2013 regarding a land swap that transferred public lands to a couple for private development.

Now, the two sides will attempt mediation and have until May 1^st to come to a decision on their own or it is turned over to a judge.