Co-op and condo board members increasingly wary of personal legal liability

From the March issue:  Convincing busy Manhattanites to serve on their co-op or condominium boards has always been somewhat of a hard sell. Indeed, acting as a board member has long been a time-consuming (and often hassle-filled) job. But now, residents have more reason than ever to avoid seeking election to their boards: getting socked with a personal liability lawsuit. Co-op and condo board members have always been open to legal action, but a slew of recently well-publicized lawsuits — most notably a high-profile suit at the famed Dakota on the Upper West Side — that singled out individual board members as defendants have made the risks more visible, sources told The Real Deal. [more]