CA Court Finds Homeowners’ Dogs are “Clear & Present Danger” to Community & Grants Injunction

January 31, 2014 – Unpublished decision by California Appellate Court.

A California appellate court affirmed the trail court’s decision in an HOA’s action against homeowners over allegations that the homeowners’ dogs (three large German Shepherds) created a “dangerous situation” in the development. The HOA claimed the homeowners breached terms of the association’s governing documents, created a public and private nuisance, and violated a state statute pertaining to dog bites. The trial court found that the homeowners’ dogs had “menaced, charged, lunged at, attacked, or bitten persons and other dogs within and about the Development” and that the dogs represented a “clear and present danger” to the residents and animals of the community.” The trial court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the homeowners from allowing their dogs to leave their property except to transport them to and from the homeowners’ home. The trial court also ordered the homeowners to pay assessments that had been levied against them.

See decision in Costa_Del_Sol_at_Carmel_Valley_Homeowners_Ass’n_v._Mitchell_(Cal._App._2014)1