Recent Court Rulings

Facts: A condominium member replaced the carpeting in his unit with wood floors to alleviate his wife’s dust allergies, which worsened since she and the member had moved into the unit. The member didn’t ask the condo association for approval to replace the carpet. After the wood floors had been installed, the members who occupied the unit below complained to the association that they could hear constant noise from the unit above.

Facts: A condo association asked a trial court for a determination that it was the owner of 39 of 67 parking spots that were located between its condos and some townhouses that were part of a homeowners association. The condo association alleged that starting in 1985 and continuing through 2008, it believed that it held title to all 67 parking spaces, but discovered in 2009 that it did not, in fact, own title to the spaces.

Facts: A homeowner flew the American flag on a flagpole in front of his house. The association sued the homeowner to enjoin him from displaying the flag. The homeowner asked a trial court for a judgment in his favor without a trial. The trial court ruled in favor of the homeowner without specifying the grounds upon which it made the decision. The association appealed.

Decision: A Texas appeals court upheld the lower court’s decision.

Facts: Two homeowners sued the association. They asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the association from locking them out of their home due to the foreclosure on their home. They claimed that the president of the association began harassing one of the homeowners due to her nationality and language barrier.

Facts: A homeowner asked her HOA for permission to build a fence for her German shepherd puppy. Under its restrictive covenants, the HOA was required to answer an application for architectural changes within 30 days of submission. The HOA rejected her application.

Facts: A condominium owner who enjoyed playing tennis purchased a unit in 1986 that had a tennis court for the common use of all unit owners. Over the years, the tennis court fell into disrepair. In 2013, the condominium’s owners’ association (COA) proposed removing the tennis court and converting it to a different common use.

Facts: On Jan. 17, 2010, a pedestrian, while walking his dog, slipped and fell on patch of black ice in the roadway owned by the condominium homeowners association (COA). The COA had contracted out snow removal for the roadways and walkways to a landscape company for the 2009 and 2010 winter season. If a weather event met certain conditions, the contractor would automatically perform the snow removal. Otherwise, the COA would call the contractor for any additional services. The contractor last plowed the roadway on Jan. 2 and 4. At that time, sand and salt were applied.

Facts: Since Feb. 1, 2008, the owners of a townhouse, with the approval of the condominium association, rented their unit to a couple with one child. The association had a rule that “[n]o townhouse shall at any time be permanently occupied by more than four (4) persons.” In August 2013, the couple gave birth to twins. In November 2013, the couple asked the owners for a 12-month lease extension. The association rejected the request.

Facts: A couple and their five children, including two minors who were physically and mentally disabled, lived in a home located in a residential subdivision. The community’s covenants, conditions, and restrictions prohibited homeowners from building above-ground structures or improvements without approval of the HOA’s Architectural Review Committee.

Facts: A Florida homeowner sued his community association for violating the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) by refusing his request to keep an emotional support animal as a reasonable accommodation to the community’s “no-pet” policy.