Fourth District, Division 1 Sees No Error in Individual Assessment.
In San Diego Country Estates Assn., Inc. v. Ward, Case No. D055182 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 22, 2010) (unpublished), an HOA and homeowner (a trustee of his revocable inter vivos trust) got embroiled in a retaining wall construction dispute in which trustee was hit with a judgment and attorney’s fees, assessed against the trustee in both his trust capacity and as an individual. He appealed in the individual capacity assessment of the awards against him.
The backdrop was that defendant built a retaining wall without getting necessary pre-approvals from the HOA, even though he did so for a prior room addition and a previous pool/patio construction. The retaining wall construction was disapproved because it was found to pose a risk to neighboring properties. Also, defendant lost an unopposed SLAPP motion on his cross-complaint against HOA and individual volunteer members of the Board. The lower court found him individually responsible for the $10,845 in fees and costs incurred by the HOA. HOA then won a summary judgment, with defendant contesting he should be personally responsible for any costs or fees.
In rebuffing defendant’s claim, the appellate court found that the record showed defendant personally had controlled all improvements to the property and controlled the litigation, such that he would be personally liable for fees and costs under Probate Code section 18001. (See also Haskett v. Villas at Desert Falls, 90 Cal.App.4th 864, 878 (2001).)