Court Opinion

ID: 9670473
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:21:22.899342+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:04.459872
License: Public Domain

SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, C.J.
¶ 54. {concurring). I join the mandate but write separately. My rationale is more narrowly linked to the facts and posture of this case than the majority opinion may be redd to suggest.
¶ 55. This case involves a developing body of law known as "community association law," governing common-interest communities and their associations. For a discussion of this body of law, see Restatement of the Law (Third) of Property: Servitudes, ch. 6 (2000).
¶ 56. Absent a demonstrated conflict with the Condominium Act or a claim for equitable relief, the court should not undertake a far-reaching review of the Community Declaration in a declaratory judgment action to determine whether its provisions are per se unreasonable.
¶ 57. Failure of the Community Declaration to follow the prescriptions of the Condominium Act does not render the Condominium Act inapplicable. Here, each condominium is created and governed by a separate Condominium Declaration. Each Condominium Declaration explicitly subjects the property to the rights and privileges set out by the Condominium Act. The Community Declaration recognizes that separate Condominium Declarations and Condominium Associations are a part of the overall development and governance scheme at Geneva National.
¶ 58. Thus it is apparent that the Community Declaration and Condominium Declarations function in tandem to govern the rights of condominium owners at Geneva National.
*592¶ 59. Unlike Justice Prosser, who views today's decision as a blueprint for evading the requirements of the Condominium Act, see Justice Prosser's concurrence, ¶¶ 75-76, in my view today's decision rests on the fact that the plaintiffs have not shown specific interference by the developer within the self-governance of individual condominiums. To the extent that the plaintiffs protest potential interference where it has not yet has occurred, such claims are not ripe.
¶ 60. The majority's discussion of planned communities hints at recognizing, without benefit of statutory authorization, a new legal form in large-scale planned communities. Discussion or recognition of a novel legal form is unnecessary to resolve this case. No feature of Geneva National, including its scale, its mix of property uses, or its specific amenities, frees the developer to violate the requirements of the Condominium Act with respect to the condominiums.
¶ 61. The assertion that private planned communities (by whatever label) "function as semi-autonomous, private quasi-towns," majority op., ¶ 19, should not provide a basis for today's decision. Municipalities and other public governing bodies are accountable to citizens and property owners in many ways the developer at Geneva National is not. The Community Declaration does not appear to create any fiduciary or trust responsibilities protecting property owners' interests. Rather, the Community Association's duties and responsibilities are carried out "in the sole and absolute discretion of the Board of Directors."
¶ 62. Control of the governance structure at Geneva National is important to the property owners for many reasons, but perhaps most fundamental is the ability to levy assessments against property owners. Courts should not treat the development here, or others like it, as simply akin to private municipalities.
*593¶ 63. Yet in the present case, although abuses can be imagined, the plaintiffs have not demonstrated actions that contravene established law. Here, the plaintiffs are not challenging any allegedly unjust enforcement of particular covenant provisions. Rather, they argue that even provisions of the Community Declaration that have not been enforced against their interests should be struck down as per se unreasonable.
¶ 64. The plaintiffs identify objectionable actions by the developer, but they do so to illustrate their generalized claim of unreasonable control. The plaintiffs do not argue that any one action or assessment of dues or fees was by itself so unreasonable that it cannot be enforced. A court may decline to enforce the terms of a deed restriction, covenant, or contract when such enforcement would be unjust.
¶ 65. Although couched in terms of a declaratory judgment, the relief the plaintiffs seek is for the court to trigger the provision terminating the developer's powers and control. As a practical matter, the plaintiffs ask the court to oust the developer from the governance of Geneva National. Rather than invoking "reasonableness" as a shield to protect against unjust enforcement of the Community Declaration by the developer, the plaintiffs seek to use "reasonableness" as a sword — or at least as a sharp pen with which to rewrite the Community Declaration. The plaintiffs' allegations of unfair control in this case do not justify the potentially dramatic and laborious relief which they ask from the court.
¶ 66. For the foregoing reasons I write separately.