Denial Of HOA’s Fee Request Affirmed On Appeal. In Mims v. Park Hill on Pepper Avenue Community Association, Case No. E065990 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Sept. 13, 2017) (unpublished), successor homeowner initially sued HOA on various fraud-based claims based on the failure to provide her notice that the property was within the HOA and […]
Fee Recovery Not Allowed Under Section 5235(c), With DCA Also Providing Guidance On Definition Of “Frivolous” Under Same Provision. The Fourth District, Division 3 faced a first impression statutory interpretation of Civil Code section 5235(c), which provides that “[a] prevailing association may recover any costs if the court finds the action to be frivolous,
HOA-Homeowner Battles Can Result In Large Fee Exposure We do not really need to get into the specifics of Mustafa v. Mountain View Park Homeownerss Assn., Inc., Case No. E063529 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 8, 2017) (unpublished), but the end result in sobering for purposes of our blog. Basically, homeowner lost a gnarly
HOA Argued For More General Prevailing Party CC&R Status—Did Not Get It. Thompson v. Lakewood Hills Homeowners’ Assn., Case Nos. A144674/A146081 (1st Dist., Div. 5 May 19, 2017) (unpublished) highlights how the basis for fee entitlement can drive the result in a case. In a word, HOA was awarded fees/costs by
HOA Disputes Can Be Costly, Especially With Fee Shifting! Aspen trees. 2015. Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. Library of Congress. We have explained that HOA – homeowner disputes can be costly. Especially where one party prevails, in this case the homeowner. In Lingenbrink v. Del Rayo Estates Homeowners Assn., Case No. D070966 (4th Dist., Div.
Only Time Finite Fees On Trespass Claim Recoverable Under HOA Fee-Shifting Statute. In Hussein v. Driver, Case Nos. A144786/A145655 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Jan. 27, 2017) (unpublished), plaintiffs and defendants, homeowners in a common interest development as well as the parents of defendants, were drawn into a parking space dispute where slander of
Losing Plaintiff’s Fee Denial Also Affirmed In Dueling Fee Motion Case. Homeowner/landowner cases seem to bring a lot of angst and emotions, maybe not as much as the recent presidential election, but still on the top level on a range scale from 1 to 10—we would say most disputes are in the 7-10
Failure To Appeal Fee Ruling Or Amended Judgment With Fee Ruling Deprived Appellate Court Of Jurisdiction To Decide Fee Challenge. In our October 3, 2016 post, we discussed Nellie Gail Ranch Owners v. McMullin, an unpublished 4/3 DCA decision, at the time, which decided it could not entertain a homeowner challenge to an
Result Was That Appellate Court Could Not Entertain Challenge To $187,000 Fee Award. For you readers out there which follow our post, we have many, many times observed that practitioners should independently appeal any separate fee awards no matter when made just to be safe. This next case illustrates why this needs to
HOA Counsel Did Good Job Of Apportioning Fees As Far As Reasonableness Of Amount. The attorney for the prevailing homeowners association (HOA) did something very smart in Bryan Ranch Homeowners Assn. v. Lawrence, Case No. A147659 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 16, 2016) (unpublished), which we will now describe. There, a homeowner
