Find Out Why Owner Refuses to Repaint House Trim

This case involved a dispute between a homeowner (“Owner”) and his homeowners association (“Association”) over Owner’s repainting of the trim on his home without first seeking and obtaining approval from Association as required by Association’s CC&Rs. The primary issue involved was the color of the trim that Owner used.

After Owner painted the trim on his home a color that had not been approved by Association, Association attempted to resolve the situation amicably by the parties agreeing to submit the issue to an architect. The architect recommended changing the color of the trim and Owner and Association purportedly agreed to the recommended change although the agreement was not reduced to a written settlement agreement. Nb   Thereafter, Owner failed to comply with the color change that had been agreed upon with the architect and Association filed a complaint against Owner for breach of contract. The breach alleged by Association in its complaint was a breach of the CC&Rs and Association did not mention the settlement agreement that was made with the assistance of the architect in its lawsuit. The relief sought by the Association in the lawsuit was: (i) an injunction compelling Owner to change the trim color, or allowing Association to enter Owner’s property to change the color of the trim; and (ii) an award of attorney’s fees and costs.

In defense of Association’s complaint, Owner admitted:

Author’s Comment:

This case demonstrates the financial risks associated with not resolving conflicts without becoming embroiled in costly litigation. Here, the property owner admittedly changed the color of paint trim on his home without: