HOA Dispute Attorney – What’s The Scope of Injunctive Relief In Actions Against An HOA?

Disputes with Home Owners Associations (HOA) arise often when one homeowner attempts to compel their HOA to enforce association rules upon another homeowner. If internal negotiations and mediation efforts fail in such a dispute and the conflict results in litigation, homeowners have the option of asking the court for a preliminary injunction order. This action would compel the HOA to enforce association rules. Such injunctions, which demand that an HOA use every enforcement mechanism at their disposal under the CC&Rs and the law to seek relief, have been upheld by California courts. [See Ekstrom v. Marquesa at Monarch Beach Homeowners Ass’n (2008) 168 Cal. App. 4th 1111, 1125.]

The homeowner at the center of the Ekstrom case consistently complained of specific nuisance, and sought an injunction to compel the HOA to enforce association rules governing mitigations of this nuisance. The trial court agreed with Ekstrom, and issued an injunction commanding the HOA make use of all enforcement mechanisms available under the association’s CC&Rs. The HOA appealed the injunction, arguing it was too vague and ambiguous, and thereby unenforceable. The HOA also countered that the injunction impeded the association’s discretion in determining how to best enforce their CC&Rs. Id. The California Court of Appeals disagreed and upheld the trial court’s directives in the injunction issued. The Appeals Court held that the judgment was: “sufficiently clear as to what the Association must do. It must comply with its obligations by exercising its discretion ‘in good faith…’” As such, injunctions instructing an HOA to take all permissible measures to enforce association rules are likely to be upheld by California courts.

Struggling with an HOA dispute? Contact Gholina Law’s Los Angeles HOA Dispute Attorneys for a free consultation and case evaluation TODAY.