Pennsylvania § 3311 - Tort and contract liability.

§ 3311. Tort and contract liability.

(a) General rule.--

(1) An action in tort alleging a wrong done by a declarant or his agent or employee in connection with a portion of any convertible or withdrawable real estate or other portion of the condominium which the declarant has the responsibility to maintain may not be brought against the association or against a unit owner other than a declarant.

(2) Except as otherwise provided by paragraph (1):

(i) An action in tort alleging a wrong done by the association or by an agent or employee of the association, or an action arising from a contract made by or on behalf of the association, shall be brought against the association.

(ii) A unit owner shall not be subject to suit or, except as otherwise provided by subsection (b), be otherwise directly or indirectly held accountable for the acts of the association or its agents or employees on behalf of the association.

(3) If the tort or breach of contract occurred during any period of declarant control (section 3303(c)), the declarant is liable to the association for all unreimbursed losses suffered by the association as a result of that tort or breach of contract, including costs and reasonable attorney's fees. If a claim for a tort or breach of contract is made after the period of declarant control, the association shall have no right against the declarant under this paragraph unless the association shall have given the declarant:

(i) notice of the existence of such a claim promptly after the date on which one or more members of the executive board who are not designees of the declarant learns of the existence of such a claim; and

(ii) an opportunity to defend against such claim on behalf of the association but at the declarant's expense.

Any statute of limitation affecting the association's right of action under this section is tolled until the period of declarant control terminates.

(4) A unit owner is not precluded from bringing an action contemplated by this subsection because he is a unit owner or a member or officer of the association.

(b) Lien of judgment.--Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, a judgment for money against the association, if and when entered of record against the name of the association in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county or counties where the condominium is located, or in the office of the branch of the court of common pleas embracing such county or counties, shall also constitute a lien against each unit for a pro rata share of the amount of that judgment, including interest thereon, based on the common expense liability allocated to that unit (section 3208). No other property of a unit owner is subject to the claims of creditors of the association.

(c) Indexing judgment.--A judgment against the association shall be indexed in the name of the condominium.

(d) Applicability of section.--The provisions of this section shall be applicable to all associations without regard to whether the association is organized as a corporation or as an unincorporated association.

(Dec. 18, 1992, P.L.1279, No.168, eff. 45 days)

Cross References. Section 3311 is referred to in section 3102 of this title.