Cases: Homeowner Associations

Allocation/Homeowner Associations/Reasonableness Of Fees: $750,000 Fee And $33,141.67 Costs Awards Sustained On Appeal

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Reasonableness of Fees

  Entitlement, Apportionment, and Amount Challenges Rejected.      In Sinclair v. Katakis, Case No. F060497 (5th Dist. Jan. 23, 2013) (unpublished), $750,000 in attorney’s fees (out of a requested $1.2 million) and $33,141.67 in costs were awarded against defendants in a battle involving CC&Rs as well as notes and deeds of trust with contractual fee […]

Homeowner Associations: Fifth District Publishes Portion Of Grossman Decision Saying Mandatory ADR Fee Expenses Are Recoverable

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Partial Publication Order Issued on January 16, 2013.      In our December 19, 2012 post, we discussed Grossman v. Park Fort Washington, an unpublished Fifth District decision holding in a HOA-homeowner battle, among other things, that fees expended by a prevailing party on mandatory ADR efforts in these types of disputes are recoverable. We

Allocation/Homeowner Association: Property Owners’ Attorney’s Fees Incurred In ADR Dispute Resolution Matters Were Properly Recoverable

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Trial Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion In Awarding All Requested Fees But 10 Hours On Unsuccessful Matters.      Homeowners association, in this one, must have felt the sting of statutory fee-shifting provisions which allowed the property owners to recover $112,665 in fees based on winning a dispute over the correct interpretation of CC&Rs.

Prevailing Party: Trial Court Did Not Err In Finding Neither Party Prevailed In HOA Driveway Characterization/Slander Of Title Dispute

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Standard of Review

       In Mankowski v La Cumbre Owners Assn., Inc., Case No. B236025 (2d Dist., Div. 6 Nov. 13, 2012) (unpublished), plaintiff townhouse owner was apparently really mad that the trial court found no one prevailed in her slander of title/declaratory relief action over the characterization of a driveway after her sister contributed to her

SLAPP: Homeowner Not Appealing Merits Determination Had No Basis To Challenge Fee Award To Winning HOA

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: SLAPP

  $8,744.50 Fee Award Affirmed on Appeal.      The underlying dispute was a homeowner-homeowner association (HOA) dispute in which defendants represented HOA but homeowner sued the HOA attorneys for legal malpractice. Defendants won a SLAPP motion and were awarded $8,744.50.      Homeowner appealed the adverse result in Kumar v. Robert E. Weiss Inc., Case No.

Costs/Homeowner Associations: Some Possible Implications Arising From California Supreme Court’s Pinnacle Decision

Cases: Costs, Cases: Homeowner Associations

May Have Some Repercussions for Construction Defect Litigation Costs and Homeowner/HOA Fee Recovery.             On August 16, 2012, our state supreme court issued its opinion in Pinnacle Museum Tower Assn. v. Pinnacle Market Development, Case No. S186149 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Aug.16, 2012).  The high court found that CC&Rs mandating arbitration between developers and homeowner associations

Homeowner Associations/POOF!: Strange Procedural Posture Requires Reversal Of $46,300 Fee/Costs Order When Judgment of Dismissal Reversed in Fourth Appeal of Dispute Involving Homeowner and HOA

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: POOF!

  Bizarre Circumstances Led to Reversal and Denial of Motion to Dismiss Appeal of Fee/Costs Award.      Well, the fourth appeal in a longstanding mold/water intrusion/infestation dispute between a homeowner and HOA involved homeowners’ challenge to a judgment of dismissal in favor of HOA as well as the lower court’s order awarding HOA attorney’s fees

Allocation/Homeowner Associations: HOA Members Losing HOA Interest In Foreclosure Action Had To Bear Fee Exposure To HOA

Cases: Allocation, Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Apportionment Not Required.      Weiss v. Citrus Heights, LLC, Case No. D058614 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Aug. 2, 2012) (unpublished) is yet a stark reminder in these economic times of fee exposure that can be visited upon foreclosed owners of homeowner association interests.      The Jumbo Lemon.  1925.      In this one, homeowners in

Homeowner Associations/POOF!: Reversal Of HOA Award Means Homeowner Survives To See What Happens On Remand

Cases: Homeowner Associations, Cases: POOF!

  Appellate Court Tells Everyone That Some Claims May Not Be Compensable.      Homeowner Association (HOA)/homeowner disputes seem to be very acrimonious. However, depending on who prevails, there may be fee exposure under Civil Code section 1354 (CC&R enforcement) or Civil Code section 1717 (contractual fee enforcement). But, each side may have to wait until

Homeowner Associations: HOA Cannot Gain Fee Recovery Even For Frivolous Recall Election Dispute Loss By Plaintiff Homeowner

Cases: Homeowner Associations

  Statutory Language Did Not Encompass Losing Homeowners, So Concluded in a “Reluctant” Decision By the Appellate Court.      This next case demonstrates judicial restraint based on the appellate court’s construction of the governing statutory language. If they could have done otherwise, they would have — we surmise — but the panel left this “loophole”

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