Duffey

This case presents a different twist on a common situation in California. A property owner proposes to build an improvement which neighbors claim will obstruct their view and violate the “CC&Rs” to which the property is subject. If the homeowner association charged with enforcing the CC&Rs does not take action against the owner, the offended neighbors often take matters into their own hands and sue both the property owner and the homeowner association to prevent the improvement. (See e.g., Posey v. Leavitt (1991) 229 Cal.App.3d 1236 [ 280 Cal.Rptr. 568 ] [deck encroaching on common area]; Cohen v. Kite Hill Community Assn. (1983) 142 Cal.App.3d 642 [ 191 Cal.Rptr. 209 ] [fence obstructing adjoining landowner’s view]; Beehan v. Lido Isle Community Assn. (1977) 70 Cal.App.3d 858 [ 137 Cal.Rptr. 528 ] [construction of house in arguable contravention of setback restrictions].)

In this case it is the homeowner association which has initiated the litigation, in particular, a request for declaratory relief concerning whether the CC&Rs prohibit a proposed improvement. The twist is that the homeowner association has named not only the property owner as a defendant, but the…