Cases: Homeowner Associations

Equities, Homeowner Association, Prevailing Party: Fee Recovery Against Two Voluntarily Dismissing Plaintiffs, Where Other Plaintiffs Still Fighting, Was Abuse Of Discretion Under The Circumstances

Cases: Equity, Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Prevailing Party

  $156,614.47 Fee Recovery Went POOF! On Appeal.     Wasserman v. Ketelhut, Case No. B258642 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Dec. 1, 2015) (unpublished) is an interesting common interest development case where multiple plaintiffs were fighting defendants over various CC&R governing document claims about defendants operating a vineyard which encroached on certain CID common areas.  (BLOG […]

Homeowner Associations/Reasonableness Of Fees/Section 1717: Prevailing Defendants Get $525 In Fees, Not The Requested $675,000

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Appellate Court Found No Basis Under HOA Or Section 1717, But Did Affirm The Small Award Not Challenged By The Other Side—Chastising Defendants For Their Realistic Assessment This Was A Small Claims Matter Undeserving Of Large Fees, But Then Requesting $675,000.      We have to say that our California intermediate appellate courts get interesting

Homeowner Associations: Plaintiff Adjacent Owner Losing Challenge To Neighbor’s Plans Based On CC&Rs Upon Demurrer Properly Assessed With Fees

Cases: Homeowner Associations

    $89,387.50 Was Fee Recovery, With Trial Court Correctly Apportioning After Passage Of City Resolution.        Although technically not a HOA case, we post under this category because it involved an adjacent property owner in the City of Palm Desert suing another neighbor for having noncompliant construction plans under the HOA’s CC&Rs. The

Homeowner Associations: Nonprevailing Homeowner Liable For Prevailing HOA’s Pre-Litigation As Well As Litigation Fees And Costs Under CC&Rs/Davis-Sitrling Act

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  6th DCA Reverses Lower Court Denial Of Pre-Litigation Fees Based On ADR Statutory Provision.     In Rice v. Rancho Palm Grande Homeowners Assn., Case No. H038763 (6th Dist. Sept. 1, 2015) (unpublished), HOA defeated a homeowner’s assessment challenge under the governing CC&Rs and the Davis-Stirling Act fee-shifting provision (Civil Code former section 1354(c)).  The

Homeowner Associations, Prevailing Party: Plaintiff Neighbor Successfully Suing For Coronado Cays CC&R Violations In Replacement Dock Construction Garners $104,718.80 In Attorney’s Fees/Costs

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Plaintiff Prevailed On Practical Level, Although Trial Judge Found It “Was Close.”     This next one recalls to mind the quote “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”          Although finding the prevailing party issue to be closed, the prevailing party prevailed enough to garner $104,718.80 in attorney’s fees and additional costs in

Homeowner Association: $1.2 Million Fee Award Against Homeowners/Short Renting Landlords Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Plaintiffs Sought To Create Precedence, Litigated Vigorously, Should Have To Bear The Fee Tab.      This one is truly frightening and shows why fee shifting is a potential game changer in litigation.      Plaintiffs were condo owners who also engaged in short term renting, deciding to challenge enforcement of certain HOA regulations imposing fees

Homeowner Associations: Defendant Homeowner Prevailing In Plaintiff HOA’s Common Interest Development Enforcement Suit Involving Governing Documents Entitled To Fees Even If No Valid CID/Governing Document Were Proven To Exist

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Civil Code Former Section 1354(c) Fee-Shifting Provision At Issue—Mutuality Principles Applied to Insure “Prevailing Party” Obtains Fees.      The California Supreme Court has extended application of mutuality principles outside of Civil Code section 1717 to prevailing homeowner defendants in common interest development (CID) enforcement suits brought by non-prevailing homeowner associations in Tract 19051 Homeowners

Homeowner Associations: $1,180,646.50 Fee/$27,730 Costs Award Against HOA Owners And In Favor Of HOA Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  All This Over Short-Term Rental Regulations Involving A Little Over $10,000 In Total Delinquencies.      This next case is somewhat frightening for all litigants and practitioners—no matter what substantive areas you practice in. It does echo our “Mission Statement,” which we have referenced many times but will not boar our steady readers with again.

­­Homeowner Associations: HOA Properly Denied Fee Recovery Where Superseded Pleading Of Homeowners Based On Non-HOA CC&Rs

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  $164,474.50 Fee Recovery Denial Affirmed On Appeal.      Patterson v. Sherwood Valley Homeowners Assn., Case No. B254446 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Jan. 6, 2014) (unpublished) demonstrates that the theory of the case may well determine whether fee entitlement for or against a party is in order.      In this one, HOA won a tree

Prevailing Party: HOA Attorney Not Entitled To Costs And Fees In Improper Lien Assessment Charge Dispute

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Prevailing Party

  Other Side Did Obtain a $53,000 Judgment, So Partial Wins and Losses Sustained No Prevailing Party Lower Court Determination.      In Fed. Nat. Mortg. Assn. v. Rothman, Case No. G048156 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jul. 28, 2014) (unpublished), HOA attorney/litigant filed a costs memorandum and fees motion claiming he was the winning party in

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