Our client was a large homeowner’s association for a custom home neighborhood. It was sued by a developer who claimed that it was being unfairly treated in the review and approval of designs and homes it wanted to build in the neighborhood. However, the HOA was simply applying its discretionary review authority.
We approached this matter by analyzing the covenants and restrictions as well as the HOA’s architectural review committee documents. This HOA’s documents were well crafted and they gave the HOA wide discretion in approvals and disapprovals. The challenges in this matter were that we were engaging in significant litigation over matters that could be easily resolved with a more defined process and better communication with the developer.
We, therefore, engaged in mediation and protracted settlement discussions which allowed both parties to arrive at a fair process for reviewing, approving, or disapproving plans in the future.
