Legal Recourse AOAH
Dennis, could you please briefly define the legal time frame in which a homeowner has to file a petition with the AOAH regarding either a declaration/CC&R or ARS statute violation or both. Lots of AOAH information out there however it is very vague on timelines. Thank you.
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Robert,
The general statute of limitation for any violation of state law is one year from the date of the violation. So, you can only claim a breach of law or governing document within one year of the violation. Any violations that occurred prior to one year before the filing date of your petition are time-barred from consideration by the ALJ.
Dennis
I recently came across an OAH case (24F-H034-REL, Whitmer v Hilton Casitas) where it was determined that CC&Rs, Bylaws, and Rules & Regulations etc., are considered “contracts” (c.f., Powel v Washburn), which would make the SIX-YEAR statute of limitations under ARS 12-548 applicable to CC&R violations.
Would this distinction mean that the ONE-YEAR limitation you mentioned applies only to STATUTORY violations (e.g., ARS 33-1801 et seq.), while CC&R-related claims could fall under the six-year time-frame?
Thank you for your thoughts on this.
Fish7
The statute of limitation for violations of law is clear as one year for both condominiums and planned communities, but as you clarified to me in separate email applies from the time of discovery (or when it could have been reasonable discovered) and not from the time of the violation of that law. While the CC&R’s are contractual these communities were created under statutory authorization and the rules governing these communities are intermixed, so to make the claim that violation of the governing documents have a 6-year statute of limitations is clearly beyond my expertise and capability to make. I’d suggest that in all cases everyone should assume that the statute of limitation for legal action without an attorney is one year from the reasonable opportunity for discovery of a violation. Anyone considering any action against an association in any court and seeking consideration of violations of the governing documents that occurred more than one calendar year prior to filing the action, should get a legal opinion from an attorney on the relevant statute of limitations for that issue.
Dennis