Sands v. Walnut Gardens Condo. Ass'n Inc.

247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 21, 35 Cal. App. 5th 174
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedMay 13, 2019
DocketB282241
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 21 (Sands v. Walnut Gardens Condo. Ass'n Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sands v. Walnut Gardens Condo. Ass'n Inc., 247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 21, 35 Cal. App. 5th 174 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

WILEY, J.

*175This case is about whether condominium owners can make their homeowners association pay for a water leak. Monique Sands and her parents sued and went to trial against the Walnut Gardens Condominium Association, Inc. and its property manager for breach of contract and negligence. The trial court granted a nonsuit. The Sandses settled with the property manager but have appealed against the association. The Sandses argue the trial court erred by granting the nonsuit, by excluding certain evidence, and by denying their motion for a new trial. We reverse and remand the contract nonsuit and affirm the tort nonsuit. We do not reach other issues.

*176I

We summarize the facts. When reviewing a nonsuit, we view facts in the plaintiff's favor and disregard conflicting evidence. ( O'Neil v. Crane Co. (2012) 53 Cal.4th 335, 347, 135 Cal.Rptr.3d 288, 266 P.3d 987.)

The Sandses owned a unit in the Walnut Gardens development. A pipe on the roof broke and water entered the Sandses' bedroom.

*23The association's agent hired people to repair the pipe and roof. The association had responsibility to maintain its common areas, including this piping and roof. The Sandses sued the association for breach of contract and negligence. The trial court selected a jury, heard the Sandses' two witnesses in their case in chief, and granted a nonsuit.

II

We reverse the nonsuit on the breach of contract claim.

Our review of nonsuit judgments is limited. To allow the opposing party to cure defects in proof, we may affirm only on logic stated in the motion for nonsuit, unless the defect would have been impossible to cure. ( Lawless v. Calaway (1944) 24 Cal.2d 81, 94, 147 P.2d 604 ( Lawless ).)

The Sandses claimed a breach of contract. The contract they say, was the association's covenants, conditions, and restrictions, one part of which required the association to keep the project in "a first class condition." The Sandses' first witness, however, testified the association was performing no preventive maintenance at all, even though preventive maintenance was desirable. The roof and pipes over the Sandses' unit had not been inspected or maintained in years.

The association's oral motion for nonsuit was concise to a fault. It first argued there was "a complete absence of evidence" to show a breach of contract. This first argument was incorrect. Reasonable jurors could have concluded a total failure to maintain common areas breached a promise to keep these areas in first class condition.

The association next argued no evidence showed the association was "on notice that it needed to make repairs or do something to the roof or the pipes." This argument too was incorrect. The property manager testified "[m]aintenance wasn't happening. It was a very sad situation for the homeowners." A jury could find buildings need maintenance to remain in first class condition. The association knew "[m]aintenance wasn't happening." As a prima facie matter, no more was needed.

*177In the course of granting the motion, the trial court added oral reasoning beyond the contents of the nonsuit motion. The court said the Sandses' lack of expert testimony would force the jury to "speculate" about how a pipe broke and the roof leaked. By suggesting expert testimony was essential, this contract analysis erred. A complete lack of preventive maintenance is evidence the association did not keep the roof or pipes in first class condition. The jury would not need experts to grasp this.

Neither the motion nor the court's rationale challenged the idea that covenants, conditions, and restrictions comprise a contract between the association and individual owners. (See Pinnacle Museum Tower Assn. v. Pinnacle Market Development (US), LLC (2012) 55 Cal.4th 223, 240, 145 Cal.Rptr.3d 514, 282 P.3d 1217.) Nor did the motion or rationale hint at the rule of deference governing owner suits against homeowner associations. (See Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Clubdominium Homeowners Assn. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 249, 253, 87 Cal.Rptr.2d 237, 980 P.2d 940.) The nonsuit argument did not consider these points. Therefore neither do we. Defects unspecified in a nonsuit motion will be considered on appeal only if the plaintiff could not have cured the defects at trial. (See Lawless , supra , 24 Cal.2d at p. 94, 147 P.2d 604.)

We reverse and remand the nonsuit judgment about the contract.

*24III

We affirm the nonsuit tort judgment.

The association argued there was no evidence "as far as negligence [was] concerned" showing the association "was on notice of any condition that required repair." The trial court rightly decried this effort to "tortify" a creature of private ordering. (See Erlich v. Menezes (1999) 21 Cal.4th 543, 554, 87 Cal.Rptr.2d 886, 981 P.2d 978

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 21, 35 Cal. App. 5th 174, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sands-v-walnut-gardens-condo-assn-inc-calctapp5d-2019.