Practices
Related Practices
Horvitz & Levy prepared a successful summary judgment motion arguing that a homeowners association did not have a duty to provide onsite parking to an invitee, then successfully defended the result on appeal.
Plaintiff was jaywalking at night when an oncoming car hit and seriously injured her. Plaintiff sued the driver and the homeowners association for the residential complex where the friend she was going to visit lived. Plaintiff alleged the HOA breached a common law and statutory duty to provide sufficient onsite parking for its guests. As a result, plaintiff alleged she had to park on the street, and she jaywalked across five lanes of traffic because there were no nearby crosswalks.
Horvitz & Levy prepared a successful motion for summary judgment. The trial court found the HOA owed no duty of care to plaintiff that it may have breached. Plaintiff appealed.
In a published opinion, the Court of Appeal upheld the finding of no duty. The court agreed with the HOA that it owed no common law duty to provide onsite parking for its invitees. It also rejected plaintiff’s argument that a City of Los Angeles zoning variance ordinance, which included a parcel specific requirement for additional “guest parking,” created a duty of care under the negligence per se doctrine.