Third Laguna Hills Mutual v. Joslin CA4/3

I.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 2012, Michael Cohan acquired title to a condominium (the “Unit”) after his mother passed away. The Unit is located within a senior community (age 55 and over) in the Laguna Woods Village. The HOA encompasses more than 6,000 homes. The community is managed by Village

1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the

Corporations Code.

2 Management Services (VMS). Starting in January 2014, Cohan committed numerous violations of the CC&Rs, which included: noise violations; illegal occupancy (having renters in the Unit under the age of 55); and routinely leaving clutter around the Unit. This resulted in multiple notices from the HOA, frequent disciplinary hearings, and increasing fines. In October 2014, Cohan received a $125,000 loan from Joslin, secured by a deed of trust. Joslin was an experienced investor in trust deeds. Joslin’s loan represented nearly half of the value of the Unit ($255,000). Cohan agreed to repay Joslin’s loan by making monthly payments in the amount of $936.46. The deed of trust gave Joslin the right to foreclose if Cohan failed to make the monthly payments. In February 2016, Cohan stopped making regular monthly…