Aspen Grove Condo. Assn. v. CNL Income Northstar

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 3, 2014
DocketC073530
StatusPublished

This text of Aspen Grove Condo. Assn. v. CNL Income Northstar (Aspen Grove Condo. Assn. v. CNL Income Northstar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aspen Grove Condo. Assn. v. CNL Income Northstar, (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Filed 10/3/14 Certified for Publication 11/3/14 (order attached)

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Placer) ----

ASPEN GROVE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION,

Plaintiff and Respondent, C073530

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCV0023959)

CNL INCOME NORTHSTAR LLC et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

This appeal concerns a water retention basin that was dug in 2004 as part of an expansion project for Northstar Village, a ski resort. The ski resort is owned by CNL Income Northstar LLC and operated by Trimont Land Company (sometimes collectively referred to as CNL). The retention basin was deemed necessary because the expansion project changed the drainage system that diverted storm and snow runoff from approximately 149 acres of developed property. Nearby and downhill from the retention basin are 180 condominium units owned by Aspen Grove Condominium Association (Aspen Grove). Water from the retention basin began to overflow and seep onto Aspen Grove’s property starting in December 2004 and continuing thereafter despite remediation efforts. After several years of attempts to solve the water problems with the

1 retention basin, CNL communicated to Aspen Grove in 2008 that it would not perform any further remedial modification or remove the retention basin. Aspen Grove responded by suing various entities involved in the Northstar Village expansion project, including CNL. The first phase of the bifurcated trial resulted in the trial court’s granting a permanent injunction that requires CNL to remove the retention basin. In this appeal in which we address only the first phase of the bifurcated trial, CNL challenges the mandatory injunction on grounds (1) the trial court erred in admitting evidence of damage to the trees on Aspen Grove’s property, (2) the trial court should have excluded evidence gathered after the discovery cutoff date, (3) Aspen Grove was not entitled to a mandatory injunction because it has an adequate remedy at law in the form of monetary damages and the option of building a trench on its own property to divert the water overflowing from the retention basin, and (4) the mandatory injunction is overbroad in requiring removal of the retention basin. We conclude CNL has not preserved its evidentiary arguments because CNL did not include them as issues for appeal when designating a partial reporter’s transcript. The trial court did not err in concluding Aspen Grove had no adequate remedy at law because only removal of the retention basin would alleviate the continuing damage to Aspen Grove’s property. To hold otherwise would grant a private property owner the right to condemn his or her neighbor’s property by limiting the legal remedy for continuing trespass to monetary compensation. The trial court’s injunctive relief, rather than being overbroad, rests on credible evidence that removal of the retention basin would prevent irreparable harm to Aspen Grove’s property. As a result, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY A Retention Basin Directly Uphill from Aspen Grove In November 2008, Aspen Grove filed a complaint stating causes of action for diversion of surface water, negligence, trespass, and nuisance. A fifth cause of action for mandatory injunction incorporated the other causes of action. Without objection, the trial

2 court bifurcated trial with the first phase limited to injunctive relief, equitable issues, and the question of whether Aspen Grove’s action was timely. During the three-week trial of the first phase, CNL designated almost 600 trial exhibits, more than 240 exhibits from the parties were admitted into evidence, and the trial court heard from at least 18 witnesses. The trial court issued a statement of decision in which it noted that “[t]here is little, if any dispute as to the underlying facts.” CNL does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence for any of the findings made by the trial court. Consequently, we summarize briefly the factual background of this case. In 2004, an expansion project was undertaken for Northstar Village by then-owner Northstar Mountain Properties LLC along with affiliated entities including East West Partners, Inc. and East West Partners-Tahoe, Inc.1 The expansion project added approximately 681,000 square feet of new buildings, driveways, and parking lots. As part of the expansion project, a water retention basin was constructed to collect low flow drainage from the entire 149-acre watershed –- including the newly developed acres of impervious surface improvements such as buildings, driveways, and parking lots. The retention basin was constructed to be partially lined. It is located uphill and only 120 feet away from Aspen Grove’s nearest condominium building. No geotechnical investigation of groundwater levels at the location of the retention basin or downhill on the Aspen Grove property was undertaken –- even though the developer had knowledge of high groundwater levels in the areas. During excavation of the retention basin, high groundwater and water seepage was encountered. Although the retention basin had been planned to have a 58,152 cubic foot capacity, it was constructed with only a 19,074 cubic foot capacity.

1 Although originally named as defendants in the complaint, Northstar Mountain Properties LLC, East West Partners, Inc., and East West Partners-Tahoe, Inc. are not parties to this appeal. For ease of reference, we refer to them collectively as NMP.

3 During the winter of 2004 and spring of 2005, the retention basin overflowed and seeped water onto Aspen Grove’s property. Temporary measures were taken to abate the water problem by using sand bags, pumping equipment, and making some modifications to the basin. In response, the developer deepened the retention basin and raised the berm. But to no avail; the pond continued to retain large amounts of water that infiltrated Aspen Grove’s property throughout 2005. From 2005 until 2007, Northstar Village was owned and operated by Trimont. In January 2007, CNL assumed ownership of Northstar Village. Trimont continued operating the property. Even after the changes of ownership, it appears that NMP –- which was the developer for the 2004 Northstar Village expansion –- continued with its efforts to remediate the retention basin. In 2007, NMP installed an interceptor trench to remove elevated groundwater and control seepage into Aspen Grove’s nearby condominium. The interceptor drain, however, proved ineffective at preventing ongoing water damage to Aspen Grove’s property. Also in 2007, the County of Placer required changes to the retention basin because “the pond size is marginal” and “the design of the retention basin does not provide its intended function” due to “the basin [being] too deep and has a small footprint that doesn’t allow enough infiltration.” In February 2008, NMP submitted to the County of Placer a “drainage report” that recognized “water levels within the retention pond affect the depth to groundwater down gradient from the pond.” To alleviate the problem, NMP proposed a high-flow bypass system so that 56 percent of flows to the retention basin “could be redirected through other water quality treatment facilities instead of through the pond which would enhance the performance of the pond.” Also proposed was a “low-flow outlet in the bottom of the pond” so that the drawdown time would be approximately 12 hours.

4 In response to the high-flow bypass and low-flow outlet proposed in the drainage report, Aspen Grove expressed concerns about their effectiveness and asked NMP to install a monitoring system. Aspen Grove thus requested that NMP install three or four piezometers –- narrow wells used to monitor the depth of the groundwater –- on the Aspen Grove property. In “the late winter of 2008,” representatives of Aspen Grove met with representatives of NMP and an engineer for the County of Placer.

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Bluebook (online)
Aspen Grove Condo. Assn. v. CNL Income Northstar, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aspen-grove-condo-assn-v-cnl-income-northstar-calctapp-2014.