Maarten Kalway v. Calabria Ranch Hoa LLC

506 P.3d 18, 66 Arizona Cases Digest 8
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 22, 2022
DocketCV-20-0152-PR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 506 P.3d 18 (Maarten Kalway v. Calabria Ranch Hoa LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maarten Kalway v. Calabria Ranch Hoa LLC, 506 P.3d 18, 66 Arizona Cases Digest 8 (Ark. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA

MAARTEN KALWAY, A MARRIED MAN DEALING WITH HIS SOLE AND SEPARATE PROPERTY, Plaintiff/Appellant,

v.

CALABRIA RANCH HOA, LLC, AN ARIZONA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; MARK A. REID AND FLORENCE J. CLARK, HUSBAND AND WIFE; EDWARD A. PHLAUM AND DIANE LYN PHLAUM, HUSBAND AND WIFE AND AS CO-TRUSTEES OF THE EDWARD A. AND DIANE LYN PHLAUM REVOCABLE TRUST, DATED APRIL 10, 2017; AND STUART J. SCIBETTA, AN UNMARRIED MAN AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE STUART J. SCIBETTA LIVING TRUST DATED APRIL 1, 2015, Defendants/Appellees.

No. CV-20-0152-PR Filed March 22, 2022

Appeal from the Superior Court in Pima County The Honorable Janet C. Bostick, Judge No. C20181284 REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED

Memorandum Decision of the Court of Appeals, Division Two No. 2 CA-CV 2019-0106 Filed March 13, 2020 VACATED

COUNSEL:

Gerard R. O’Meara, Charles W. Wirken (argued), Gust Rosenfeld P.L.C., Phoenix, Attorneys for Maarten Kalway

Craig L. Cline (argued), Thompson Krone P.L.C., Tucson, Attorneys for Calabria Ranch HOA LLC, Mark A. Reid, Florence J. Clark, Edward A., and Diane Lyn Phlaum, The Edward A. and Diane Lyn Phlaum Revocable Trust, Dated April 10, 2017, Stuart J. Scibetta, and The Stuart J. Scibetta MAARTEN KALWAY v. CALABRIA RANCH HOA LLC, et al. Opinion of the Court

Living Trust Dated April 1, 2015

CHIEF JUSTICE BRUTINEL authored the opinion of the Court, in which VICE CHIEF JUSTICE TIMMER and JUSTICES BOLICK, LOPEZ, BEENE, and MONTGOMERY joined. ∗

CHIEF JUSTICE BRUTINEL, opinion of the Court:

¶1 In this case, we are asked to decide the extent to which a homeowners’ association (“HOA”) may rely on a general-amendment- power provision in its covenants, conditions, and restrictions (“CC&Rs”) to place restrictions on landowners’ use of their land. Although CC&Rs are generally enforced as written, we interpret such restrictions to reflect the reasonable expectations of the affected homeowners. Construing such provisions narrowly, as with any restrictive covenant on real property, we hold that a general-amendment-power provision may be used to amend only those restrictions for which the HOA’s original declaration has provided sufficient notice.

I. BACKGROUND

¶2 Calabria Ranch Estates is a residential subdivision comprised of five lots located east of Tucson. Maarten Kalway owns Lot 2, which at nearly twenty-three acres is the largest of the lots. The remaining lots range from 3.3 to 6.6 acres. 1 The lots are subject to CC&Rs, first recorded in the original declaration in 2015, to “protect[] the value, desirability, attractiveness and natural character of the Property,” as stated in the CC&Rs’ general-purpose statement.

¶3 According to the original declaration, the CC&Rs could be amended “at any time by an instrument executed and acknowledged by the [m]ajority [v]ote of the owners” under the general-amendment-power

∗ Although Justice Andrew W. Gould (Ret.) participated in the oral argument in this case, he retired before issuance of this opinion and did not take part in its drafting. 1 Each of the five lots is owned separately except for Lots 4 and 5, which are jointly owned and together comprise 11.65 acres. 2 MAARTEN KALWAY v. CALABRIA RANCH HOA LLC, et al. Opinion of the Court

provision. A “[m]ajority [v]ote” consists of at least four of the six possible votes. Each lot is entitled to one vote, except Kalway’s lot, which has two.

¶4 In January 2018, the other property owners (“Other Owners”) amended the CC&Rs by majority vote without Kalway’s consent or knowledge. The amendments change some definitions and add others, create new restrictions, and enact new enforcement measures against owners for violating the covenants. The new restrictions include limiting owners’ ability to convey or subdivide their lots, restricting the size and number of buildings permitted on each lot, and reducing the maximum number of livestock permitted on each lot.

¶5 Kalway brought this action against Calabria Ranch and the Other Owners, seeking a declaratory judgment to invalidate the amendments to the CC&Rs. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, which the superior court granted in part and denied in part. The court invalidated two sections in their entirety and partially invalidated two more sections of the amended CC&Rs. The court further found the invalid provisions severable from the rest of the CC&Rs. 2

¶6 Kalway appealed, arguing that all the amendments are invalid without unanimous consent. Kalway v. Calabria Ranch HOA, LLC, No. 2 CA-CV 2019-0106, 2020 WL 1239831, at *2 ¶ 8 (Ariz. App. Mar. 13, 2020) (mem. decision). The court of appeals disagreed, affirming in a 2–1 decision. Id. at *1 ¶ 1. The court relied on its earlier decision in Dreamland Villa Community Club, Inc. v. Raimey, 224 Ariz. 42, 51 ¶ 38 (App. 2010), which required notice in the original declaration that amendments on specific issues could be imposed non-consensually. Kalway, 2020 WL 1239831, at *3–4 ¶¶ 12–13. Applying Dreamland, the court concluded Kalway acquired his lot with notice that the CC&Rs could be amended by majority vote and that the general-purpose statement in the original declaration was sufficient to provide notice of the amendments. Id. at *4 ¶¶ 14–16. Judge Brearcliffe,

2 The stricken amendments would have restricted owners’ rights to subdivide larger lots into smaller ones and convey them without majority consent (§ 3.10); imposed minimum dwelling and lot sizes (§§ 3.10(c), (f)); permitted a manager to collect “quasi-punitive” fees if required to undertake special maintenance or enforcement duties (§ 4.2 ¶ 2); and authorized compliance and enforcement provisions to address violations (§§ 5.2, 5.3). No party challenged the trial court’s ruling striking these provisions. 3 MAARTEN KALWAY v. CALABRIA RANCH HOA LLC, et al. Opinion of the Court

concurring in part and dissenting in part, argued that the majority’s reliance on each amendment’s harmony with the general-purpose statement of the original declaration would permit “a gauzy statement of purpose” to justify any new amendment, thereby rendering Dreamland’s notice requirement “a nullity.” Id. at *10 ¶ 39 (Brearcliffe, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).

¶7 We granted review because the petition raises issues of statewide importance regarding the scope of an HOA’s authority to amend CC&Rs. We have jurisdiction under article 6, section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution.

II. DISCUSSION

¶8 Initially, we consider whether the original declaration must provide notice of prospective amendments. If an amendment is invalid, we “blue pencil” the amended CC&Rs, striking severable provisions. Valley Med. Specialists v. Farber, 194 Ariz. 363, 372 ¶ 30 (1999) (“Arizona courts will ‘blue pencil’ restrictive covenants, eliminating grammatically severable, unreasonable provisions.”).

A. Standard of Review

¶9 We review questions of law, including the interpretation of CC&Rs and the grant of summary judgment, de novo. Powell v. Washburn, 211 Ariz. 553, 555–56 ¶ 8 (2006); Glazer v. State, 237 Ariz. 160, 167 ¶ 29 (2015). Summary judgment is appropriate when “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Ariz. R. Civ. P. 56(a).

B. Notice Requirement

¶10 Arizona law permits the amendment of CC&Rs by a majority vote if such voting scheme is specified in the original declaration. A.R.S. § 33-1817(A). But § 33-1817(A) does not displace the common law, which prohibits some amendments even if passed by a majority vote.

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506 P.3d 18, 66 Arizona Cases Digest 8, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maarten-kalway-v-calabria-ranch-hoa-llc-ariz-2022.