Summary 2010 WY 72

Summary of Decision issued June 3, 2010

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court.

Case Name: Dwan v. Indian Springs Ranch Homeowners Assoc., Inc.

Citation: 2010 WY 72

Docket Number: S-09-0064

Appeal from the District Court of Teton County, the Honorable Nancy J. Guthrie, Judge.

Representing Dwan: David G. Lewis, Jackson, Wyoming.

Representing Association: Edward F. Hess, Hess, Carlman & D’Amours, LLC, Jackson, Wyoming.

Facts/Discussion: Dwan contended that the Court’s previous decision in the case entitled her to summary judgment on her claims for damages and attorney’s fees.

Claim for damages: The district court correctly interpreted the Court’s previous decision in the case in which the Court ordered that Dwan’s application to build the addition on her home be approved by the Association. While restrictive covenants are contractual in nature that does not necessarily mean that a homeowner is entitled to recover contract damages against the homeowners association. Because Dwan failed to establish that her claim for damages stated a viable cause of action, the district court did not err in granting the Association’s motion for summary judgment on the issue.
Claim for attorney’s fees: Wyoming follows the American rule that each party in a lawsuit bears its own attorney’s fees in the absence of an expressed contractual or statutory provision. The Court has also recognized that restrictive covenants may provide contractual authority for the recovery of attorney’s fees. The language in the CCRs did not entitle Dwan to recover attorney’s fees from the Association. The sentences quoted by Dwan allow the Association to recover attorney’s fees when it enforces the CCRs. They do not allow a homeowner like Dwan to recover attorney’s fees against the Association.

Conclusion: Dwan failed to establish that her claim for damages stated a viable cause of action. The language in the CCRs did not entitle Dwan to recover attorney’s fees from the Association.

Affirmed.

J. Burke delivered the decision.

Link: http://tinyurl.com/2cxgsyt .

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