Elliot H. Berton, Esquire

Steven L. Sugarman, Esquire

Admitted: 1980, Pennsylvania

Practice Areas: Condominium & Homeowners Association Law; Real Estate; Commercial Litigation;Construction Litigation; Bankruptcy; Collection Law.

Law School: Temple University

Contact

Mr. Sugarman is the founding principal of the law firm of Steven L. Sugarman & Associates, with offices located in Berwyn, Philadelphia, Lancaster and Allentown, Pennsylvania and Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He concentrates his practice in the field of community association law, real estate and construction litigation. Mr. Sugarman is a member of the College of Community Association Lawyers and a past president of the Community Associations Institute (CAI), Pennsylvania/Delaware Valley Chapter. He is also a member of the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations and the American and Pennsylvania Associations for Justice. Mr. Sugarman has been awarded Martindale Hubbell’s highest AV Preeminent peer review rating and has been featured as a Pennsylvania “Super Lawyer” in Philadelphia magazine every year since 2007. A past and current chairman of CAI’s Legislative Action Committee in Pennsylvania, Mr. Sugarman actively participates in the drafting of key legislation governing common interest communities, and his writings include the article, “Setting the Standard of Care in Premises Liability Cases,” published in CAI’s Journal of Community Association Law. Mr. Sugarman is an adjunct faculty member at Villanova Law School where he developed and teaches a course on Condominium and Homeowner Association Law and serves as an expert witness on community association matters brought before Pennsylvania’s Courts and General Assembly. A frequent lecturer at the local and national levels on real estate and community association matters, Mr. Sugarman has presented numerous programs for CAI, National Business Institute, National Constitution Center and Pennsylvania Bar Institute, including programs entitled “Assessing the Law of Assessments in Condominium and Homeowner Associations,” “From the Developer to the Association: Tackling the Transition in the Community Association,” “How the Uniform Planned Community Act Really Works;” “Dealing with Developers’ Liabilities in Condominium and Homeowner Associations;” “New Issues in Condominium and Homeowner Associations: Conflicts and the Courts;” “Condos & HOAs from A to Z: Understanding the Basics” and “Condominium and Homeowner Associations: Lessons on Liabilities, Liens and Litigation.” Mr. Sugarman earned a B.A. degree from Cornell University and a J.D. degree from Temple University School of Law.

Bar/Professional Activity:

  • College of Community Association Lawyers – Inducted, October, 2000; Nominating Committee, 2007 to 2010; Amicus Curiae Committee, 2010 to present
  • Community Associations Institute – Past President, Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter; Chairman, CAI’s Pennsylvania Legislative Action Committee
  • American Bar Association
  • Pennsylvania Bar Association
  • American Association for Justice
  • Pennsylvania Association for Justice
  • Chester County Bar Association
  • Regularly participates in the drafting of key legislation governing common interest ownership communities in Pennsylvania.
  • Serves as an expert witness on community association matters brought before Pennsylvania’s courts and its General Assembly.
  • Adjunct Faculty member at Villanova Law School, 2010 to present.

Honors & Awards:

  • Pennsylvania Super Lawyers – 2007 to present.
  • Community Association Institute’s Robert H. Wise President’s Award (2004)
  • AV Rating – Martindale-Hubbell
  • Influential Philadelphia Area Lawyers – Philadelphia Magazine – Nov. 2009

Scholarly Lectures & Writings:

  • Course planner and frequent lecturer for CAI, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, National Business Institute, National Constitution Center, management and insurance companies and other organizations. Representative programs include: “Assessing the Law of Assessments in Condominium and Homeowner Associations,” “From the Developer to the Association: Tackling the Transition in the Community Association,” “How the Uniform Planned Community Act Really Works,” “Dealing with Condominium and Homeowner Associations in a Down Economy,” “Legally Green: Reconciling Restrictive Covenants with Eco-Friendly Practices in the Community Association,” and “Fixing the Failed Development in the Common Interest Community.”
  • Publications include: Setting the Standard of Care in Premises Liability Cases, published in CAI’s Journal of Community Association Law.

Significant Decisions:

  • Metroclub Condominium Association v. 201-59 North Eighth Street Associates, L.P., 47 A.3d 137 (Pa. Super. 2012) (challenging the right of a declarant to control parking spaces following the termination of the period of Declarant control of the association).
  • Wrenfield Homeowners Association, Inc. v. DeYoung, 600 A.2d 960 (Pa. Super. 1991) (attorneys’ fees are fully recoverable as “costs of collection” against a delinquent owner)
  • Mayflower Square Condominium Association v. KMALM, Inc., 724 A.2d 389 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1999) (requiring unit owner to pay assessments under governing documents and general principles of property law).
  • Klein Real Estate v. Ridings at Brookside Condominium, 67 Pa. D.&C. 4th 384 (Lehigh Co. 2004) (a condominium association’s publication to its members is not defamatory since the association has a “conditional privilege” to communicate with its members).

Educational Background:

  • Cornell University (B.A., 1976)
  • Temple University (J.D., 1980)