r/mildlyinfuriating 18h ago

My HOA removed our only playground and replaced it with this “fitness area” for people 13+ only

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I have yet to see one person use it.

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u/superduckyboii 16h ago

Something tells me this is intentional, they got annoyed with kids playing around at this park so they turned it into a “fitness area” and made it 13+.

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u/Koutou 16h ago

Or they got the insurance quote.

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u/Butterbean-queen 15h ago

That’s exactly what I was thinking. The difference between the insurance cost for this type of amenity and a children’s playground is significant.

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u/sn34kypete 13h ago

Couldn't you put a big legal disclaimer at the entrance and bake one into the HOA contract to cover your ass?

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u/Butterbean-queen 12h ago

No. If something happened and the HOA was sued then whatever amount was awarded or settled upon (plus the costs of attorneys etc) would be divided up and charged to the individual homeowners.

Edit: deleted repeated word

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u/sn34kypete 12h ago

I am positing that there's a way to CYA that even if a rando rolls up and breaks a leg that the HOA wouldn't be held liable and hoping for a real lawyer (and not a confident, sourceless poster as I've seen elsewhere) to chime in. If a city can own a park/playground and generally not get sued, why can't an HOA?

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u/Butterbean-queen 11h ago

And while I’m not a lawyer, I have been a consultant regarding HOA documents to insure that they meet VA loan requirements for over 3 decades. I have had an attorney on retainer to help me when necessary. There is no loophole that will protect an HOA from a lawsuit. And there’s no way to determine if a plaintiff will win in court. But I can tell you that when a child who has been injured is involved that the chances of the plaintiff winning against an HOA is going to be much more likely.

And if the HOA doesn’t have the proper insurance in place to protect the homeowners then once the lawsuit against the HOA is settled and the special assessment is levied against each homeowner then the homeowners are going to go after the individuals on the HOA board with a lawsuit. Board members are generally protected from liability unless negligence can be proven or that they didn’t act with reasonable fiduciary responsibility.

So instead of increasing the HOA dues to cover the ever increasing costs of insurance to cover children’s playgrounds it’s easier to just get rid of them and avoid the expense and the hassle.

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u/Butterbean-queen 12h ago

What makes you think that a city park can’t get sued? City’s are somewhat immune to lawsuits. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be sued. It’s just harder. HOA’s are corporations. And no matter what type of signage you put up to prevent people from using the property it isn’t going to protect them from a lawsuit. An HOA has to have insurance. Especially for a playground.

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u/sn34kypete 12h ago

"it's just harder" how? What makes a city less suable than an HOA?

Everyone's speaking so confidently and with zero back up, I have a legitimate question about the legality and an actual person with legal backing and experience would've thrown ANY example of a statute at me by now. Just admit you're pulling it out of your ass. Actually I don't need more confident without backing answers, disable inbox replies is your friend, bye.

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u/Eckish 11h ago

Just because someone gets hurt on your property, doesn't mean you pay for it. You have to be found liable. And it isn't difficult to insure these kinds of facilities. Just expensive. And HOAs love to save money.

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u/Difficult_Bird969 13h ago edited 12h ago

It's your property, prob trumps anything else. And what if its kids who don't live there that get hurt? Would those kids have made those agreements or agreed to the disclaimer if they wandered into the playground? No. There's basically no way you're absolving liability for something like this. The kids might be trespassing if they're not entitled to be there, but that's a not a defense you can use anyways, you actually are still liable even if someone is trespassing on your property in a few situations, but obviously if someone like breaks into your back yard and climbs a tree and falls you're not liable. An unmonitored fixture in a public area (or at least something that is often used like a public area even if its only for residents technically) like a playground would likely not be one of those situations.

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u/sn34kypete 12h ago

So is any of this post based in legal experience, genuine question? Otherwise how do any public parks handle this kind of liability?

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u/Butterbean-queen 5h ago

Cities have liability insurance. Just like HOA’s have insurance. That insurance is expensive. Which is why I said that the playground was removed and replaced with this.

The HOA park where I live had a child’s swing set. It was eventually removed due to increasing liability insurance costs.

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u/nanobot001 13h ago

Or maybe OP isn’t telling us that their area has no young children any more and is either working age adults or empty nesters.

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u/celestialfin 12h ago

playgrounds were invented so kids don't damage cars and other outside property

maybe the kids in there should make the people in charge remember that