HOA Was Prevailing Party Under Easement Agreement Fees Clause, Awarded Its Fully Requested $51,460 In Fees.
In Lemley v. Aliso Homeowners Assn., Inc., Case No. B288789 (2d Dist., Div. 3 July 3, 2019; posted July 5, 2019) (unpublished), HOA and homeowners got entangled in an easement agreement dispute in which homeowners wanted specific performance/declaratory relief to enforce an amendment to the agreement, while HOA defended on the principal grounds of mootness because it recorded an assumption of obligations in the original easement agreement. HOA won, was declared the prevailing party, and was awarded $51,460 in attorney’s fees under the easement agreement fees clause. Homeowners appealed, claiming they were actually the prevailing parties as the catalyst for the HOA’s easement agreement assumption. The appellate court affirmed the result below, determining that homeowners wanted an amendment, not an assumption, and that HOA did prevail by obtaining dismissal of homeowners’ suit. (In fact, homeowners’ failure to appeal the prior dismissal on the merits cemented that they were not the catalysts for the assumption by the HOA.)