HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 18, 2022
Published: Fri, 03/18/22
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 18, 2022
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In this week's tip, we deliver some encouraging news for thoughtful and conscientious condo and HOA boards.
A California court in Sunset Greens Homeowners Assn. v. Spagenski says an HOA has the right to demand an owner remove their dog from the community after the dog's repeated attacks on other dogs. And a Michigan court in Burling v. Skief, which involved a mobile home community and the landlord-tenant relationship, also prevented liability against the landlord. Both decisions should help condos/HOAs acting reasonably to protect owners from future dog attacks.
In Sunset Greens, Douglas and Arden Spagenski and their son John were disputing the Sunset Greens HOA's demand that the family get rid of their German Shepard, Kato. The dog had attacked four other dogs in the community in three separate incidents, attacks from which one of the dogs didn't survive. Kato also bit humans who were attempting to intervene in the melees.
After the first incident, the HOA sent the family a notice of violation, held a hearing, and imposed requirements on Kato while also ordering reimbursement of the injured dog owners' vet bills.
After the second assault, the HOA did the same, providing notice of a hearing, which the Spagenskis didn't attend. The board then determined Kato was a "dangerous, immediate, and unreasonable infringement or threat to the health, safety, or quiet enjoyment of neighboring owners" and a nuisance. The board ordered Kato immediately and permanently removed from the community.
Within a month, there was a third attack, but the Spagenskis claimed it happened in an adjacent area, not within the community, apparently implying the HOA had no authority to act.
The HOA then sued the Spagenskis to force the removal of Kato from the community. The court issued a temporary order evicting Kato from the neighborhood until the trial could take place.
The Spagenskis questioned whether Kato was such a nuisance that the HOA had the authority to ban him from the property. They also claimed their dog was either surprised, provoked, or taunted in each instance. Finally, they claimed that they'd since gotten training for Kato to cure the problem.
And surprise, surprise, they contended for the first time that Kato was an emotional support dog.
The trial court granted judgment without a trial to the HOA, and the Spagenskis appealed. In August 2021, the appellate court upheld the trial court's decision. Specifically, the court held that Sunset Greens' CC&Rs gave the board the authority to banish an animal from the community if the animal had been determined to create an unreasonable annoyance or nuisance.
And bonus: California law permits victorious HOAs to recover their reasonable attorneys' fees and costs in actions to enforce their governing documents. The appellate court held that Sunset Greens was entitled to that recovery, too.
Check out our new article, https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4480.cfm, for the details of the Michigan case, information on why our experts are pleased with the outcomes, and for advice on how to win if you ever have to take a dog owner to court.
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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