Trial Court’s Award of Nearly $600,000 in Attorney Fees to HOA in Action Against Homeowners Requires Reconsideration

This case involved a dispute over a trial court’s award of attorney’s fees to a homeowner’s association (“Association”) in a lawsuit it filed against two members of the Association that were the co-owners of a property subject to Association’s governing documents. Association’s action against Owners alleged violations of community standards consisting of erecting a large tarp adjacent to their home and failing to replace two trees that Owners removed from their yard. Owners filed a cross-complaint against Association alleging claims of selective enforcement or nonenforcement of rules in multiple instances involving other parties.

The trial court found in favor of Association on its complaint, and on the cross-complaint filed by Owners. The trial court’s judgment included an award of attorney fees in the amount of $290,000 for prevailing on its complaint, and an additional award of $286,000 for prevailing as the defendants on Owners’ cross-complaint (nearly $600,000 total). Owners appealed the trial court’s attorney fee order.

The appellate court stated that a trial court’s award of attorney fees must be reversed where it is either: