A homeowner’s association has appealed a judgment in which they were victorious to the Missouri Supreme Court because the lower court failed to award attorney fees and litigation expenses.
Arrowhead Lake Estates Homeowners Association originally sued defendants Ajay Aggarwal and Megha Garg to enforce subdivision restrictions and covenants and although Boone County Circuit Judge Kimberly Shaw ruled in favor of Arrowhead, she failed to award attorney fees and litigation costs, according to the appellant’s Jan. 11 brief.
“Courts are conservative and they try to preserve the status quo as much as they can,” said St. Louis attorney Sid Chase. “If the Missouri Supreme Court has accepted this petition for review, it’s because they see something wrong.”
Arrowhead Lake Estates Homeowners Association Inc. v. Ajay Aggarwal and Megha Garg is scheduled to be heard before the Missouri Supreme Court remotely on March 30 at 11 a.m. CST.
Among Arrowhead’s arguments in their pleading to the Missouri Supreme Court is that the trial court erred in not awarding attorney’s fees and litigation expenses because there was a contract in place in the form of a subdivision declaration, which required the award of prevailing party attorney’s fees and litigation expenses.
“There is no doubt that their subdivision declaration is a contract and that they are entitled to that if they properly asked for it at trial and they did,” Chase told the St. Louis Record. “Because they properly asked for it, not granting it is an abuse of discretion. it's wrong when courts do things like this, but they do it."
Arrowhead’s attorney Thomas M. Harrison declined to comment at this time but Chase said Arrowhead should win on appeal.
“Unfortunately, many times judges split the difference but the homeowner's association won and they have a right to the extra, which is their costs,” Chase said. “The parties contracted for attorney's fees, costs, and expenses in a valid document, and nobody is saying this association agreement is not valid. The only thing the attorney should do next is present the bill, which is subject to inspection and cross-examination. The attorney is entitled to it but the courts are fickle creatures.”