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 In our October 3, 2016 post, we discussed Nellie Gail Ranch Owners v. McMullin, an unpublished 4/3 DCA decision, at the time, which decided it could not entertain a homeowner challenge to an […]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 v. Lawrence, Case No. A147659 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 16, 2016) (unpublished), which we will now describe.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
You Betcha, Said 4/2 DCA In Recent Opinion Affirming Noncompliance With Settlement Agreement And Fee Recovery Of About $19,000 Against Homeowners. Rancho Mirage Country Club Homeowners Assn. v. Hazelbaker, Case No. E063272 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 9, 2016) (published) involved a situation where an HOA and homeowners reached a mediated written settlement
Sobering Case for HOAs, Good One for Homeowners. Winchester Community Assn. v. Perrotta, Case No. C075562 (3d Dist. July 21, 2016) (unpublished) involved a situation where homeowners and an HOA got into a dispute over the review of submission of landscaping plans. Association won at the trial level and was awarded attorney’s fees
Nothing in Davis-Stirling Act or CC&Rs Indicated It Applied To Remote Third Parties. In Multani v. APB Properties, Case Nos. B260610/B265172 (2d Dist., Div. 7 June 13, 2016) (unpublished), plaintiff HOA were embroiled in a protracted battle against the HOA and successor property owners of the condominiums regarding the propriety of an assessment
Lower Court Found HOA Did Not “Prevail,” Where Each Side Got Some Relief. HOA-homeowner disputes, as well have seen repeatedly, are generally expensive in nature as far as attorney’s fees expenditures. The loser, either way, can face substantial fee exposure under Civil Code section 5975 (the Davis-Stirling Act’s fee shifting provision) and/or Civil
Shows How CC&R Disputes, If Lost, Can Be Expensive For Homeowners Or HOAs, As The Case May Be. If you go to our category “Homeowner Associations” on our home page, you will see many posts where homeowners or HOAs get hit with substantial fees under the Davis-Stirling Act for losing disputes
Prevailing Party Under Davis-Stirling Act Is A Pragmatic Inquiry, With Fees Mandatory If Prevailing Status Is Properly Made. Almanor Lakeside Villas Owners Assn. v. Carson, Case No. H041030 (6th Dist. Apr. 19, 2016) (published) involves a $101,803.15 fees/costs award to a prevailing homeowner association against homeowners who were found to have violated short-term
However, One Party Did Clearly Prevail, But Got No More On Appeal. Both trial and appellate courts are faced with situations where some parties prevail to some extent, but then have to determine if one or more truly did prevail on a convincing basis. In Marina Pacifica Homeowners Assn. v. So. Cal.
