Recent Court Rulings

Facts: A husband and wife who owned a home in a luxury planned community sued the homeowners association for negligence after their house was burglarized twice. They claimed that the association owed the owners a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe, and breached that duty by failing to hire a security guard, have monitored gates, and maintain street lights.

Facts: A homebuyer purchased his home, situated in a community association, by a warranty deed that had no reference to the association's declaration. The homeowner failed to pay dues and assessments imposed by the association—one of the obligations in its declaration. Over time, the manager, on behalf of the association, sent multiple letters and invoices to the owner requesting payment of the dues and assessments, without results. Eventually, the association had its attorney send letters to the owner, attempting to collect the amounts owed.

Facts: A condo association for residents age 55 and over hired a manager to perform the snow and ice removal services for the property, except for a recreation area that's closed during the winter. Although the area's pool and tennis courts aren't in use, there are no barriers to cordon off the recreation area to pedestrians or signs posted to indicate that the sidewalk is closed, and the members aren't otherwise advised to stay out of the area.

Facts: An owner in a private residential community complained to the homeowners association that it was failing to enforce the terms of the declaration of covenants as to certain homeowners. The owner alleged that several other owners made changes, modifications, or improvements to their homes without first seeking the association's approval. Under the declaration, changes must be approved first by the association. The owner asked the association to enforce the terms of the declaration, but it refused.

Facts: A member in the penthouse apartment of a New York City cooperative building sued the co-op, its board, and its manager, claiming that they failed to maintain the building in good repair and that they concealed from the co-op's members that dangerous problems existed in the building's fireplaces and flues.

Facts: The parents of a teenage son owned a unit at a complex containing 372 condos on approximately 27 acres. One night, the son's friend arrived at the complex with a classmate to visit the son. The three left the condo and walked to the friend's car. As they approached the vehicle, the friend noticed three individuals sitting in a car “about three spaces down” from his.

Facts: The owners of a custom-built house in a residential development asked the homeowners' association for permission to build a wheelchair access ramp on the front of their home leading to the front door for their disabled son to use. After the owners submitted to the architectural review board several incomplete applications for permission to build the ramp, the association denied the owners' request.

Facts: A community association experienced numerous problems with trespassers entering the interior roads of the community. The unauthorized access resulted in substantial damage to the community's roads by all-terrain vehicles and property damage resulting from campfires, unauthorized parties, and littering. The association constructed a security gate with lights and a surveillance camera at the entrance of the community. To allow each of the community's owners to open the gate, the association provided numeric codes to them without a charge.

Facts: The declaration of covenants and restrictions of a private residential community included an amendment that prohibited owners from renting their homes to tenants. After the association learned that one of the owners in the community was renting her home to a tenant, it sued the owner. The association asked the trial court for an injunction—that is, an order from the court to the owner to stop renting her home to the current tenant and not to rent to future tenants—without a trial. The trial court granted the injunction, and the owner appealed.

Facts: An owner sued the homeowners association, two board members, and two employees of his condo complex for discrimination and retaliation, claiming that they had discriminated against his family on the basis of their national origin (Indian) by depriving them of services provided to white residents. The district court concluded that the owner's allegations were “insufficient to state plausible claims of discrimination or retaliation under the Fair Housing Act (FHA).” The owner appealed.