Telluride Lodge Association v. Zoline

Pursuant to the declaration creating a condominium complex in Telluride, Colorado, and its governing body, the Telluride Lodge Association (the association) (plaintiff), the association was responsible for the exclusive management, control, operation, maintenance, repair, and payment for improvements of the common elements in the complex. The declarations also provided that each condominium unit owner, by acceptance of a deed of the unit, agreed to pay, among other things, special assessments levied by the association for capital improvements. In 1977 the town of Telluride, Colorado, determined that flat roofs on the building of a condominium complex were unsafe because they were leaking severely and were unable to withstand heavy snow. The complex was ordered to be condemned unless repairs were made. At a meeting of the board of directors of the association, three different repair plans from three qualified architects were reviewed, and a plan that called for pitched roofs was elected. Owners of several units in the condominium complex (defendants) objected because they preferred a different plan that would not eliminate certain clerestory windows. Nevertheless, the association assessed each unit owner an annual per-unit fee to cover the cost of the repair and reconstruction. When the objecting owners refused to pay the assessment, the association filed a notice of lien against their units. The objecting owners argued that the association had no authority to undertake the repairs over the objections of several unit owners and cited a common-law rule that provided that a cotenant may not make improvements on jointly owned property without the consent of the other cotenants, and even if the association did have such authority, it acted unreasonably. The trial court ruled for the association but denied attorney’s fees. The parties cross-appealed.