An unpublished opinion by the Washington Court of Appeals earlier this month dealt with a homeowners association’s attempt to enforce a restrictive covenant limiting tree height. The trial and appellate courts both ruled in favor of the association. However, the trial court refused to award the association its attorney fees, and the appellate court upheld that decision. The reasons why these courts reached those conclusions are too complicated to adequately address here, but one important lesson (associations might not recover their attorney fees even if they prevail in litigation) is much easier to explain.
In a lawsuit concerning a violation of the Washington Homeowners' Associations Act or the Washington Condominium Act, the court "may" award “reasonable” attorney fees to the prevailing party "in an appropriate case". The quoted portions of the last sentence give judges discretion to award less than all (and perhaps none) of the attorney fees that associations incur during lawsuits that they eventually win. While it may be true that judges often award prevailing parties all of their attorney fees pursuant to these laws, it is unwise for board members to view this as a guarantee.
Some condominium and homeowners associations have additional rights to collect attorney fees built into their governing documents. Such provisions typically state that the prevailing party in a lawsuit concerning the governing documents or collection of delinquent assessments is entitled to an award of its “reasonable” attorney fees. This is broader protection for victorious litigants, but it still leaves the door open for partial awards if judges decide that attorney fee requests are too large.
In a lawsuit concerning a violation of the Washington Homeowners' Associations Act or the Washington Condominium Act, the court "may" award “reasonable” attorney fees to the prevailing party "in an appropriate case". The quoted portions of the last sentence give judges discretion to award less than all (and perhaps none) of the attorney fees that associations incur during lawsuits that they eventually win. While it may be true that judges often award prevailing parties all of their attorney fees pursuant to these laws, it is unwise for board members to view this as a guarantee.
Some condominium and homeowners associations have additional rights to collect attorney fees built into their governing documents. Such provisions typically state that the prevailing party in a lawsuit concerning the governing documents or collection of delinquent assessments is entitled to an award of its “reasonable” attorney fees. This is broader protection for victorious litigants, but it still leaves the door open for partial awards if judges decide that attorney fee requests are too large.
