DOG FIGHT: Los Angeles Attorney Sues Homeowners' Association Over Dog Weight Restriction
Online, September 23, 2009 (Newswire.com) - The battle between homeowners and Homeowners' Association (HOA) rules governing pets is a longstanding fight, but here comes another round. On September 4, 2009, Los Angeles attorney Shannon L. Van Dorn filed a Cross-Complaint against Los Feliz Towers Home Owners Association seeking a court order that the HOA's CC&R that restricts dog ownership in the complex to dogs weighing no more than 25 pounds violates the law. California Civil Code section 1360.5 statute specifically allows a condominium owner to keep one of "any" dog, cat, bird or fish. Van Dorn claims that the HOA's weight restriction violates the statute as it precludes the homeowner from owning any dog, as allowed by the statute, and instead allows the HOA unreasonably to dictate the type of dog a homeowner may have. There is no case law on the books regarding section 1360.5 since it was implemented by the California Legislature in January 2001.
The Los Feliz Towers Homeowners Association asserted a claim against Van Dorn, a tenant in the complex, to remove her dog, a 12-year old Golden Retriever, on the basis that the dog is too heavy. The Association has a rule that no homeowner may keep a dog that weighs more than 25 pounds. The HOA has not claimed that the dog is a nuisance or has caused any disturbance at the complex.
Ms. Van Dorn moved into the complex, a 196-unit high rise located in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles, on April 1, 2009, under a lease agreement with homeowner Temidayo Akinyemi, which provided specifically for a Golden Retriever to live with Ms. Van Dorn in the unit. According to court documents, Mr. Akinyemi claims to have thought he had the right to allow larger dogs to live in his unit as he himself lived in the Unit with a German Shepherd and there are several other large dogs currently living in the complex.
Ms. Van Dorn is represented by Jerry B. Marshak, Esq., of Van Dorn & Marshak Law Offices, located in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles. According to Mr. Marshak, "This Association has a long history of abuse of authority and violation of law. A few years ago the Association paid a huge settlement to disabled owner Mimi Greenberg after it refused to provide her a reasonable accommodation for a parking space that would be usable for her. The Association litigated against Greenberg for five years and on the eve of trial finally coughed up the parking space-and $214,000.00. Cleary this Association is carrying on its legacy of litigiousness and unreasonableness."
Homeowners typically have no recourse to fight HOA enforcement of CC&Rs as litigation expense typically precludes it. However, this case seems to have provided the "perfect storm" for litigation over the issue as Los Feliz Towers decided to sue the tenant in this situation, an attorney, rather than the owner of the unit, providing a backdrop for an interesting litigation issue that could affect thousands of California community homeowners.
On September 21, 2009, Los Feliz Towers lost its bid for a preliminary injunction to remove Van Dorn's dog pending the outcome of the case. Judge Helen I. Bendix ruled that the harm to the Association in Van Dorn's keeping her Golden Retriever at this time is "non-existent." The case is filed at the Stanley Mosk courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, department 18. Case number is BC419138.
For more information on the matter please contact Jerry B. Marshak, Esq., 323-661-7300 ext. 1.