Tutungi

This appeal concerns the conflicting claims of plaintiff Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., and defendants Alfred Tutungi, Mounir Doche, and Maryse T. Doche (borrowers) to earthquake insurance proceeds held by defendant Foothill Village Homeowners Association (association). In a suit for declaratory relief by plaintiff, successor owner of borrowers’ condominium by foreclosure, the trial court granted borrowers summary judgment and ruled that they rather than plaintiff were entitled to the proceeds. We hold that plaintiff, successor to borrowers’ ownership and association membership, has established its entitlement to the funds, and accordingly we reverse.

Facts

The case was decided on cross-motions for summary judgment by plaintiff and borrowers, and both sides agree that the material facts are undisputed. In 1992, borrowers acquired unit 21 of the Foothill Village Townhomes, a 22-unit condominium project in Sylmar (project). The purchase was partly financed by a corporate predecessor of plaintiff, which took a note and trust deed for $118,450. In addition to the unit, borrowers’ property included an undivided one twenty-second interest in the common area of the project,…