Court Vacates HOA Attorney Fee Award Over Inadequate Billing Proof

This case involved a dispute between a homeowners association (“Association”) and an Association member (“Owner”) over unpaid assessments owed by Owner. The case began when Association sued a unit Owner seeking judicial foreclosure based on alleged unpaid association dues. In response, Owner filed counterclaims alleging that Association had breached duties relating to repair and maintenance of common areas and had misappropriated funds.

The foreclosure case ended in the homeowner’s favor, and he was awarded attorney’s fees in the amount of $15,000. Later, the homeowner’s counterclaims went to trial and were dismissed in favor of the association. The association then sought to recover attorney’s fees as the prevailing party on the counterclaims. Although the trial court found that $182,000 in fees had been reasonably incurred, it awarded only $72,800 due to an Alaska rule that awards a percentage of reasonable fees rather than the full amount. Owner appealed the award of attorney’s fees.

The State Supreme Court later vacated the attorney fee award because: