In this December 3, 2014 case, Bethany Trace Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Whispering Lakes I LLC and Waterman-Pinnacle, Inc., the association’s subsequent developer, Waterman-Pinnacle, sold lands designated in the Bethany Trace HOA’s declaration as common areas. As a result, when the Bethany Trace HOA found out, it sued Waterman-Pinnacle to get its common areas back.
In 1990, Leigh Corporation started building out the Bethany Trace HOA. As a part of the initial development, Leigh Corporation drafted and recorded Bethany Trace HOA’s declaration. In the declaration, the common areas were identified as “those tracts, easements or areas of land shown on any recorded subdivision plat of the property which are intended to be devoted to the general common use and enjoyment of the Owners in the Property,” and included certain designated items such as “fences surrounding the property, a maintenance area, a conservation area, an entranceway along with all of the improvements located thereon.” There was one small problem, however. The plat was never recorded. (Does this mean that the common areas were never actually created?)
Eleven years later, Leigh Corporation sold its rights and obligations under the Bethany Trace HOA declaration to Waterman-Pinnacle, the subsequent developer. In the assignment, Waterman-Pinnacle agreed to convey the common areas to Bethany Trace HOA “for no further consideration and free and clear of any liens or encumbrances.” Nevertheless, Waterman-Pinnacle sold the lands designated as common areas to another developer which bulldozed them in anticipation of building additional homes. When Bethany Trace HOA learned of this, it sued to get its common areas back.
In summary, Waterman-Pinnacle argued that, because the plat was never recorded, the common areas identified in the declaration weren’t actually common areas and, therefore, the property could be sold. Bethany Trace HOA argued that the lack of a recorded plat did not affect its interest in the identified common areas as the common areas were identified by name and included metes and bounds legal descriptions in the declaration itself. Interestingly, the trial court agreed with Waterman-Pinnacle’s arguments. As a result, Bethany Trace HOA appealed.
When an appellate court reviews a trial court’s interpretation of a contract, the style of its review is referred to as “de novo.” This means that, because the interpretation of a contract is a question of law, the appellate court is free to reach a different interpretation than that of the trial court.
The appellate court found that the language of the Bethany Trace HOA, when taken in the entirety, provided that Bethany Trace HOA has ownership rights in its common areas. The appellate court further found that the interpretation adopted by the trial court resulted “in portions of the declaration being meaningless” in that the trial court ignored certain portions of the declaration that provided Bethany Trace HOA would own and maintain certain identified common areas. The appellate court held that Bethany Trace HOA’s interpretation of the provisions of the declaration was reasonable and gave meaning to all of the provisions in its declaration. The case was then remanded (returned) back to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with the ruling of the appellate court.
When the trial court proceedings take place Bethany Trace HOA will no doubt ask the trial court to order that its common areas be formally returned and to award it applicable financial damages.
The moral of this case is simple. At its core, an association’s declaration is a contract between the association and its members. When interpreting a contract, one sentence or phrase, when read in a vacuum, cannot be used in favor of one party when doing so is contrary to the remainder of the contract when read in its entirety.