This One May Have Interesting Repercussions In HOA Lien Enforcement Actions.
Huntington Cont’l Town House Assn. v. JM Trust, 2014 Cal.App. LEXIS 41 (Orange County Superior Court Appellate Division) (Jan. 13, 2014) (published) is an interesting decision in the HOA assessment lien enforcement area. In essence, the superior court appellate division decided that a homeowner’s tender of partial payments toward delinquent assessments had to be applied to those assessments, especially if it mooted a judicial foreclosure proceeding. Although the HOA likely wanted to apply it to other charges (including attorney’s fees and costs), the appellate division did not see it that way.
BLOG DISCUSSION—The superior court appellate division did not discuss how the late fees, attorney’s fees, and costs are dealt with. However, based on the remand to recalculate damages, they arguably will be turned into a personal judgment against the homeowner which can be recorded later as a judicial lien against the residence. This decision is going to definitely change how HOA apply payments in assessment lien enforcement proceedings.