Maine’s Top Court Stops Condo Deed Holder From Being Kicked Out

Once upon a time, in 2022 to be precise, the Tidewater Loft Condominiums Association sued Judith L. Moskal-Kanz. They sought to foreclose on her unit and sell it.  

Moskal-Kanz bought the condo unit in Old Orchard Beach, Maine through a warranty deed in December 2017. It’s a condo complex overlooking the beautiful Maine beachfront. She acquired the deed subject to the covenants, conditions, and restrictions contained in the Association’s governing documents.

Under the Tidewater Loft Declaration of Condominium, unit owners pay monthly dues (officially called “assessments”) to the Association. If a unit owner doesn’t pay, a lien can be recorded on the unit, per Maine law. Liens can be foreclosed on—just as unpaid mortgages can.

Moskal-Kanz left her monthly dues unpaid, and eventually the debt reached tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid dues, fines, and fees.

HOA unit buyers subject themselves to legally binding rules or face consequences. The unit itself may incur penalties, including liens for unpaid fines. If the HOA files a lien, the unit cannot be sold until the debt is resolved.

The Association Sues to Foreclose on Its Lien  

This all brings us to the day, in early 2022, when Moskal-Kanz received notice from Tidewater Loft that she had the right to bring her account up to date, and resolve the lien. She did not. The lawsuit was on. The Association asked for a court order of foreclosure.

Moskal-Kanz fired back, submitting a counterclaim to the Biddeford District Court. Her disabled daughter, she explained, lives with Moskal-Kanz. Under the applicable law and the condo Declaration, her daughter is entitled to accommodations related to snow removal and trash disposal. The condo leaders knew this. They did agree to provide the accommodations. But they did not follow through on that agreement. Moskal-Kanz claimed that the Association had breached its duties and also violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. She asked the court to find that she was not in default, and to not issue a foreclosure order.

The court put the counterclaim aside, did not address it, and considered only the foreclosure case brought by the Association. That meant Moskal-Kanz’s side could not be heard in the courtroom. The court told Moskal-Kanz outright that her counterclaim was not an issue for the trial.

Moskal-Kanz did attempt to cross-examine Tidewater’s witness about relevant provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act. But the court shut that question down. She might open another case on her claims under federal disability and housing law, said the court. But this was just a foreclosure case and she could not bring federal fair housing law into the matter. She did not get the benefit of her right to have her side heard. So, at the end of the trial, the condo company got what it came for: a judgment of foreclosure and sale. Moskal-Kanz was directed to pay nearly $59,000 in dues and charges within 90 days. Otherwise, Tidewater Loft would be able to seize control of her deed and sell the unit.

It got worse for Moskal-Kanz. The court issued a judgment that she presented no persuasive evidence. Under the circumstances, how could she have done so?   

It bears noting that Moskal-Kanz had already called on the legal system to get fair treatment from the condo property’s leadership for her daughter. She approached the Maine Human Rights Commission procedures to get her plea heard. In September 2023, all five commissioners found reasonable grounds to believe that Tidewater Loft Association discriminated against Judith Moskal-Kanz and her daughter on the basis of disability. At that point she had already opened her legal action at the trial court level. Still, the court was not willing to entertain her arguments—which were the whole basis for the default, the lien, and the foreclosure case brought by the condo leadership.

The Condo Deed Holder Revives Her Counterclaim

So far, a disability accommodation claim was dismissed as irrelevant at the trial court level.

Would Maine’s highest court give the deed holder’s case a new look?

Moskal-Kanz was ready to find out. She filed an appeal with the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. Once again, she claimed federal law was offended by the Association’s failure to accommodate her daughter’s disability.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court decided that the trial court violated Moskal-Kanz’s rights to due process. It was wrong when it refused to allow her evidence, or her counterclaim in general, into the case. As expressed in the Constitution and past court cases, a person being taken to court has due process rights. She has rights to expect:

• Fair notice of the issues.

• The opportunity to be heard.

• The ability to bring evidence and witnesses into the trial, and to respond to the other side’s claims and evidence.

• An impartial finder of facts in the case.

None of those rights were respected in Moskal-Kanz’s case, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court found. And so, both the foreclosure order and the judgment that Moskal-Kanz failed to present evidence were overruled.

On May 21, 2026, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated the District Court’s judgment and remanded the case. In this way, the Maine court system reversed a foreclosure that it had issued. The District Court will now have to reopen the case, this time letting Moskal-Kanz be heard, and her counterclaim considered.

Takeaways From the Case

This recent case is a clear reminder that federal laws preventing discrimination are alive and well. Deed holders do have strong due process rights in our nation’s courts of law.

That said, this case took three years (not to mention the day-to-day stress and legal costs) just to get sent back to the trial court for a fair hearing.

Condo buyers should look carefully at the conduct of a condo property’s leadership before deciding to buy in. It’s important to talk with other owners about their interactions with the board and management. There’s value in having a conversation with the seller of the specific condo the buyer is considering—and a few neighbors as well. There’s value in attending open board meetings.

Of course, due diligence is not a guarantee. A particular buyer’s situation could pose questions that haven’t been answered before. Boards change. Managers are hired and replaced periodically. Any condo deed holder will need to depend to some extent on the integrity of the condo leadership to get the most out of their home.

If that integrity is lacking, the deed holder might need to tap multiple legal channels to obtain fair treatment.