
Facts
Defendant, Leisure World Community Association (“Association”), consists of nearly two dozen single-family platted communities. One of those is the Plat 24 community. “Each community is governed by its Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). Plat 24’s original CC&Rs required that at least three-quarters of Plat 24 record owners approve any amendments to the CC&Rs. The Watson Trust (“Trust”) owned a unit in Plat 24.
In 2013, the Association recorded the “2013 Consolidated Declaration,” which allegedly only restated the declarations of the other platted communities served by the Association. In actuality, it did more than just restate. In 2014, the Association recorded an Amendment to the Declarations of CC&Rs (“2014 Amendment”), “which modified the voting requirements of every platted community…. the Association received permission from 47 of 54 units in Plat 24.” In February 2017, the Trust demanded the release of the Consolidated Declaration and the 2014 Amendment alleging they were invalid because they were improperly adopted contrary to the applicable statute. The Association refused to release them. Shortly thereafter, the Trust filed a complaint seeking to quiet title and, under a statute “governing the recording of or failure to release documents asserting invalid claims of interest in real property,” seeking other damages. Continue Reading Recording Invalid Documents Gets VERY Expensive