On Thursday afternoon, Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Beau Oglesby scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for Aug. 30 at 11 a.m.

(Aug. 19, 2021) Although the Ocean Pines Association annual homeowners meeting Saturday was a washout because of the lack of quorum, the greater issue before Ocean Pines voters is the lack of an election, which remains on hold pending action by the Worcester County Circuit Court.

The most important business of the annual meeting is to validate the board of directors election that takes place in July and August, but litigation between disqualified candidate Rick Farr and the OPA Board of Directors put an end to that last week, when Judge Beau Oglesby granted plaintiff Farr’s request for a temporary restraining order to stay the election.

What happens next — whether to accept the election results or restage the contest — is an open-ended question until the judge has both Farr’s complaint and the board’s response in hand and a conference is held.

Farr went to court after he was disqualified following a hastily convened special meeting on Aug. 5. Board Secretary Camilla Rogers, who had deemed Farr a qualified candidate at the onset of the election this spring, reversed course heading into the election’s final weeks after receiving an anonymous tip involving transfer of property ownership through a family trust.

On Aug. 6, Rogers said Farr failed to meet candidacy eligibility requirements, which require candidates to be a Pines property owner of record on Jan. 1 of the election year.

Rogers said Farr was classified as a successor trustee on the property deed until after his mother died in May.

At the behest of Director Doug Parks, another special meeting was held last Monday where a motion to rescind the election was voted down 3-2-1.

Voting against the motion were board President Larry Perrone and members Colette Horn and Frank Brown. Directors Tom Janasek and Camilla Rogers voted in favor of the motion. Parks was unable to attend the meeting following the death of his mother the day before. Director Frank Daly, who is campaigning for reelection, recused himself.

Shortly after the vote last Monday, Farr retained attorney Bruce Bright to file suit in Worcester County Circuit Court prior to the ballot submission deadline on Wed. Aug. 11.

This Monday, Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Beau Oglesby issued a temporary restraining order to stay the election until after a hearing on whether Farr qualifies as a property owner.

Following the board election ballot deadline last Wednesday, the Ocean Pines Elections Committee was scheduled to count votes on Friday.

On Monday, attorneys Anthony Dwyer and Steve Craig, representing Ocean Pines Association Board, filed entry of appearance with the court. On Tuesday, the court issued a deadline of Aug. 19  for association legal counsel to respond.

Among the actions the judge might take, according to Bright, is that he could schedule a court hearing or hold a telephone conference with involved parties.

The current board election was between four candidates — Farr, Daly, Stuart Lakernick and David Hardy — vying for two open seats.

Until the court decision is reached, Daly and Frank Brown, who was appointed to fill the vacancy after former Director Steve Tuttle resigned, will continue to serve as directors.

Association bylaws section 5.01 says board members serve three-year terms that expire once successors are selected.

As for other business at the annual meeting, aside from recognizing Veterans Memorial Foundation President Marie Gilmore for her service (see separate story), there was none. Upon realizing that the crowd of about four dozen did not constitute a quorum, Perrone dispensed with the usual reading of annual reports and adjourned the meeting.