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Michael Holmstedt
v.
Lexington East Unit One Owners Association Board of Directors
Appellant
Michael Holmstedt
Appellee
Lexington East Unit One Owners Association Board of Directors
Attorney for the Appellant
John G. Daufeldt
Attorney for the Appellee
Matthew L. Roth and Jacob W. Nelson
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, The Honorable Christopher L. Bruns, Judge. AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART. Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ. Opinion by Langholz, J. (17 pages)
A homeowner, Michael Holmstedt, appeals the district court’s summary-judgment ruling dismissing his declaratory judgment action against his condominium association’s board of directors, the Lexington East Unit One Owners Association, and the court’s order awarding attorney fees to the Board. He argues that a fact dispute remains about whether the limited financial reviews obtained by the Board for 2018, 2020, and 2022 comply with the requirement in the association’s bylaws for “an audit of the accounts and financial records of the Association.” And he argues that the court erred in awarding the Board attorney fees under a bylaws provision that it concluded authorizes attorney fees in any suit in which the Board is a party. OPINION HOLDS: The court did not err in granting summary judgment. While Holmstedt’s interpretation of the bylaws’ audit requirement is not unreasonable, he failed to generate a material factual dispute because the Board’s interpretation is also reasonable and entitled to deference under the bylaws and the business-judgment rule. But we agree with Holmstedt’s challenge to the attorney-fees award. The bylaws provision relied on by the district court—when properly interpreted in its full context—only authorizes attorney fees when the association sues for a money judgment on unpaid assessments or other sums due or to foreclose on its assessment lien. Neither situation exists here. So we reverse the attorney-fees award based on that bylaws provision.
