Teroso Del Valle Master Homeowners Ass'n v. Griffin
| Decision Date | 03 October 2011 |
| Docket Number | B222531 |
| Parties | TEROSO DEL VALLE MASTER HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. MARTIN GRIFFIN et al., Defendants and Appellants. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
(Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. PC042530)
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Randy Rhodes, Judge. Affirmed.
Law Offices of Michael L. McQueen and Michael L. McQueen for Defendants and Appellants.
Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger and Ricardo P. Cestero for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Defendants and appellants Martin and Carolyn Griffin appeal from a judgment following a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff and respondent Tesoro del Valle Master Homeowners Association (Tesoro) on its claims that appellants installed a solar energy system at their residence in contravention of conditions, covenants and restrictions governing their property. Unmindful of applicable standards of review, appellants raise a host of issues in an effort to undermine the jury verdict. We affirm. The jury properly determined the disputed issues and substantial evidence supported the determinations; Tesoro properly evaluated appellants' application for their system, brought suit and received a jury trial; and the trial court properly exercised its discretion in the admission and exclusion of expert testimony.
Tesoro's Governing Documents.
Tesoro is a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation that manages, administers, maintains, preserves and operates the residences and common areas in the Tesoro community. On May 29, 2003, the developer of the Tesoro community recorded with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office a Master Declaration of Establishment of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions for Tesoro del Valle (CC&R's). The purpose of the CC&R's is to enhance and protect the value, desirability and attractiveness of the Tesoro community, as well as to give the Tesoro Board of Directors (Tesoro Board) the authority to maintain community standards.
Article 7 of the CC&R's addresses the duties and responsibilities of Tesoro's volunteer Architectural Control Committee (ACC), providing that homeowners must obtain the ACC's approval before making any improvements to their property. Section 7.2 of the CC&R's outlines the application process, providing the application requirements and stating that the ACC may grant approval only if the applicant has complied with those requirements and the ACC, in its discretion, concludes that the proposed improvement conforms to the CC&R's and is harmonious with the existing development.
Section 8.1.18 of the CC&R's reiterates that "[t]here shall be no construction, alteration, or removal of any Improvement in the Project (other than repairs or rebuilding done by the Association pursuant hereto) without the approval of the Architectural Control Committee." Further, section 8.1.20 of the CC&R's states: "Within slope areas, no structure, planting, fencing, . . . shall be placed or permitted to remain or other activities undertaken which may damage or interfere with established slope ratios, create erosion or sliding problems, or which may change the direction of flow of drainage channels or obstruct or retard the flow of water through drainage channels." That provision also imposes on the homeowner the duty to maintain the landscaping installed on the slope by Tesoro.
In December 2003, Tesoro approved Design Guidelines to "help assure continuity in design, which will help preserve and improve the appearance of the community." Section III, paragraph G, specifically directed to the architectural standards for solar energy systems, provides:
Appellants' Solar Energy System Installation.
In 2005, appellants purchased their home at 29313 Hacienda Ranch Court (property) in the Tesoro development.1 Their corner property was approximately 15,000 square feet and included a slope outside the perimeter wall. They were providedwith a copy of the CC&R's at that time and understood they would be bound by them. They also received Tesoro's Design Guidelines and agreed to be bound by those as well. Appellants were aware that they were required to maintain their property, including the slope, and to submit a written application to obtain approval from the ACC before making any improvements to their property. After submitting the required applications, they made several improvements to their property, such as the installation of a pool, casita and landscaping including a fountain and hardscape.
In 2007, appellants met with Joe Hawley, then with Advanced Solar Electric, who gave them a proposal for the installation of a solar energy system for their property. They told Hawley they were interested in the system being installed on the slope adjacent to their residence. Appellants submitted an application to install a solar energy system on October 2, 2007.2
Euclid Management Company was responsible for Tesoro's day-to-day management. When Martin walked the application into the Euclid Management office, association manager Patty Prime told him it was not likely to be approved. She informed him that the application was incomplete in several areas and that she was unaware of any other solar energy systems being installed outside a perimeter wall. According to the CC&R's, the ACC had 45 days from the submission of appellants' application to review and rule on it.
The CC&R's and Design Guidelines specify the application requirements, which include the submission of a plot plan drawn to scale, a detailed description of the proposed materials, a landscape plan and a drainage plan. Appellants' application met none of the requirements. It contained only a handwritten drawing with a rectangle signifying the approximate location of the proposed solar panels. It did not contain information concerning the panels' dimensions, number or color; the setback; theproposed alterations to the landscaping; or the amount of electricity proposed to be generated.
Because of Prime's negative comment, while their application was pending appellants sought a proposal from Hawley for the installation of solar panels on the roof of their residence. They received a proposal on October 10, 2007, which provided for the installation of 36 solar panels on their roof and 22 panels on the slope, but they did not amend their pending application or submit a revised application to reflect the changes. Instead, on November 8, 2007, they signed a $97,000 contract with Advanced Solar Electric for the installation of the new proposed solar energy system.
Also on November 8, 2007—before the expiration of the 45-day time limit—the ACC issued a letter denying appellants' application.3 The denial letter was misaddressed, however, and appellants did not receive it until November 17, 2007—46 days after October 2, 2007. Summarizing the ACC's position, Tim Collins handwrote four comments on appellants' application noting that the roof of the casita adjacent to appellants' residence should be considered as a location for the panels; that the project's dimensions and minimum setbacks needed to be provided on the site plan; that appellants needed to indicate how the slope beneath the solar panels would be maintained; and that they needed to submit photographs of the existing landscape and superimpose the proposed panel elevation. The ACC was concerned about the proposed slope-mounted system because it was at the entry to the neighborhood, adjacent homes had a direct line of sight, the CC&R's prohibited slope alteration and any alteration or landscape removal could impact drainage. The ACC expected that appellants would address the expressed concerns and submit a revised application.
After receiving the denial letter, Martin attended and spoke at a meeting of the Tesoro Board, informing the board members that he deemed the untimely denial of his project an approval, he had engaged a solar contractor and he intended to proceed withhis project starting in January 2008. Hawley also tried to respond to the ACC's concerns. The ACC, however, saw no indication that appellants had investigated installation of the solar panels on the casita roof or that they had made efforts to comply with the ACC's other requests. The Tesoro Board also directed Prime to prepare a timeline of events concerning appellants' application, and after review concluded that all applicable time limits had been satisfied.
On December 18, 2007, appellants received a letter from Tesoro's attorney, Jeffrey Beaumont, instructing them to stop further efforts to install a solar energy system on their property. Beaumont wrote to appellants again during the first week of January 2008, instructing them to stop construction.
Nonetheless, appellants proceeded with the installation of a solar energy system in January 2008. The system involved installing solar panels on the roof, and, in preparation...
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