In a powerful new decision rejecting an overreaching HOA, the Austin Court of Appeals has reversed two lower courts which required a homeowner to submit to an HOA from whose tentacled reach the homeowner was supposed to be exempt. In Vann v. Homeowners Association for Woodland Park of Georgetown, Inc., No. 03-18-00201-CV, 2018 WL 4140443 (Tex. App.-Austin Aug. 30, 2018), a developer goofed and had to exempt over 100 homes from subdivision governing documents. Right after the developer filed that exemption, a homeowner (the Vanns) bought one of the exempt homes. Several years later, after the developer had left the scene, the HOA starting dinging the Vanns for violations of various rules that did not apply to the Vanns (even though the same rules did apply to the Vanns immediate neighbors!). The Vanns sued to declare the HOA powerless over their property and the rules not applicable. Relentlessly, the HOA claimed the power to declare itself the Vanns' HOA and enforce all the HOA's rules. The HOA refused to acknowledge that the developer had expressly exempted the Vanns from the HOA's reach. After disappointing losses in both the justice court and the county court at law, including large attorney fee awards against the Vanns, the Vanns prevailed completely on appeal. Said the court of appeals in reversing the lower courts: "Our review of the documents outlined above reveals a gap in the logical chain that would establish the HOA’s authority over the Vanns’ property." Right on! That was exactly what the Vanns had been arguing for years, but the pleas always fell on deaf ears because, well, you know, HOA's always win, right?

This is not an uncommon fact pattern. I fairly often see cases where some local "HOA" just endows itself with authority despite the lack of any support in the governing documents. It's not always as clear-cut as the Vann case, though it should be noted that even there, the HOA's appeal briefs accused the Vanns of confusing and misleading the court by merely pointing out the obvious discrepancies in the governing documents. That is a common HOA strategy — demonize and belittle the homeowner, bring the resources of a large law firm to bear, seek huge attorney fee awards against the homeowner, etc.

HOA's hoard power. Too often, they simply won't yield once they take a position. They drive around in golf carts hunting for violations. No amount of reasoned argument or evidence gets them to back off or admit error. The Vanns hung in there and shut it all down, finally getting vindication in the courts and complete freedom from an overreaching HOA. This was a sweet win for a brave, tenacious homeowner.