Your suggestion should be the first step. But he needs to collect evidence ASAP because the phone record will be difficult to get if more than a year. The longer to wait, the more difficult to find records and support documents.
one reason I think hoa did bad is the late notice. They should send notice earlier, not one year later. And they should not send attorney letter without a regular notice. It is not normal. Either they send a wrong letter or use the deadline as a trap. That is reason for unfairness of the deadline.
