From Our Perspective: Homeowner Wins Battle Against HOA

Robinson & Henry’s knowledgeable attorneys give their professional insight in “From Our Perspective” where we take a closer look at successful outcomes achieved by our attorneys. We’ll also share our legal expertise on other cases and legal issues in Colorado.

In this episode, Civil Litigation Partner Joe Lico discusses a case where he led a homeowner to victory against their homeowner’s association (HOA). The dispute started over unpaid fines, charges, and legal fees that the HOA had imposed, claiming the homeowner had not paid on time. The disagreement escalated into a legal battle when accruing interest, late fees, and attorney’s fees increased the original balance by 500 percent.

At trial, the main question was whether the HOA had properly notified the homeowner of the dues and provided opportunities to pay. Evidence showed the HOA had changed property management companies multiple times leading to a lack of consistent communication. The homeowner made attempts to pay but was referred back to the HOA’s attorneys and locked out of the payment portal.

The court found in favor of our client, the homeowner, deeming the HOA’s lawsuit frivolous and groundless. The verdict not only relieved the homeowner of any additional payments but also required the HOA to cover the homeowner’s legal fees. Joe and his team secured a significant victory at trial, providing relief to the homeowners. 

If you’re in a dispute with your HOA, contact us for a case assessment. This can be an important step towards protecting your rights and potentially saving significant expenses.

Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits. Facts are those of an actual Robinson & Henry litigation case. 

Question: Joe, thank you for joining me. Tell me more about our clients and how this dispute started.

Joe: This initially started as an HOA dispute where the HOA had filed suit against our client because they said (the HOA) that our clients did not pay assessments that were due and owing. And as I’m sure people are aware, when you don’t pay something, ultimately interest starts to accrue, late fees accrue, and ultimately the case got passed off to an attorney who then was assessing attorney’s fees as well. What started out as a small amount for assessments that were due owing, then multiplied 500 times over with late fees, interest and attorney’s fees. 

Question: What were some of the key arguments and evidence presented in court in this case? 

Joe: This was a matter of what steps did the HOA take to notify our clients that this amount was actually due in owing, and then what steps that our clients take to try and pay and actually pay as much as they could. In this matter, the HOA was found to have switched property ownership or property managements two or three times over the course of the three year period. They were unable to demonstrate the proper mailings. 

Did the letters get sent that were required to get sent? Did they show that our clients actually received them? And then, believe it or not, our clients tried multiple times to pay a lot of these assessments and were just referred repeatedly back to the attorney’s offices to pay. 

But they were attaching, like I said, the interest, the late fees, attorney’s fees, and actually got locked out of the portal so they couldn’t even go in and pay.  Rather than work with our client, the HOA actually decided to just sue them for, like I said, 500% more than was actually ever due. 

Question: You mentioned the instances of mismanagement and poor communication. What part did that play in the outcome of this case? 

Joe: It was a big factor because part of what the HOA has to do is show that certain criteria and factors were met by them, including mailing the proper notification, allowing the homeowner in this case to pay the bill.

And with the changing of the property managers, they could never demonstrate what letter was sent, if it was received, what the letter even said, and who it was sent by. So that was a major factor in what did our clients do wrong and what was the expectation when they were never notified as to what they were supposed to do?

Question: How did you prepare to counter the HOA claims of unpaid fees and assessments? 

Joe: We first, of course, started with the client and got their version about what had happened. Then we went through digging through all of the HOA documents we have the right when the lawsuit has been filed to have them prove their case.

We requested the documents, show us the letter, show us any kind of mail logs, show us who was in charge at that time. We made a lot of those requests. Then when we saw that they weren’t able to provide proof of that, it became a question-and-answer session, testimony on the stand. 

That’s what we brought forth to the court was they can’t show that the letter was sent. They can’t even show what letter was sent, who was sent by, when it was sent, to what address it was sent. 

The court deemed that there was really no proof that the HOA did what they were supposed to do, and that our clients were able to show that they tried to log into the portal. 

They tried to pay. They actually did pay all of the assessments, but they didn’t pay the interest in attorney’s fees because they felt like they shouldn’t have to. The court agreed and said that they actually should have allowed the client to pay, not locked them out, and never brought this lawsuit forward. 

Question: Ultimately, what was the court’s decision? How significant was that for our client?

Joe: The court’s decision was that not only did our clients win, but they found that the lawsuit by the HOA was frivolous and groundless, which means never should have been brought. It wasn’t based on good faith. And that’s very important, because not only do our clients not have to pay any more to the HOA, the HOA actually now has to pay our clients their attorney’s fees because they brought forth a bad lawsuit.

Question: If someone is watching in a similar situation in dispute with their HOA, what advice would you give? 

Joe: Call it an attorney right away. Robinson Henry does HOA disputes all the time. You’re going to want to document everything as well as you can to show what notices you’ve been given, what you’ve done to try to correct the situation, and then do your best to try to iron out the situation so you don’t have to go to court.

No one wants to go to court, but you definitely want representation because it’s going to help you in the long run. You should not have to pay anything you shouldn’t have had to legally to have to pay.