No Right To Refuse Payment

The Court Turns a Right Into a Duty as it Orders a Board to Assess its Members to Pay a Creditor.

A 2005 decision of the California

Second Appellate District Court of Appeal in JamesF. O'Toole Company vs. Los Angeles Kingsbury Court[1] answers the question: can association members be forced to pay, by special assessment, debts incurred by their association? Essentially, O'Toole upholds a lower court order requiring a community association to levy a special assessment to pay a judgment creditor. The importance of O'Toole is not that a community association was required to pay its debts--every person or entity should pay what it owes. The importance of O'Toole is that the court required the board of directors to levy a special assessment upon the members, one that the members had specifically rejected, to pay the obligation. The court also appointed a receiver to enforce collection of the assessment, and pay the creditor.
[1] JAMES F. O'TOOLE COMPANY, INC., v. LOS ANGELES KINGSBURY COURT
OWNERS ASSN., 126 Cal. App. 4th 549; 23 Cal. Rptr. 3d 894 (SECOND
APPELLATE DISTRICT 2005).

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