M.C. from Nevada writes:
Dear Mister Condo,
A Small Claims Court has ordered that I (a non-owner) pay court costs to my Association. I intend to fully comply. My Question is: I believe my HOA (in Nevada) is registered as a Business with a Business License. Can I expect to receive a fully itemized Bill listing the name of any person or contractor and the number of billable hours etc. or can they simply state a lump sum amount?
Mister Condo replies:
M.C., as you no doubt know, I am not an attorney and offer no legal advice or opinions. Please consult with a locally qualified attorney to receive a proper legal opinion. My understanding is that HOAs in your state are non-profit corporations and are required to behave as such. That being said, since Small Claims Court has ordered that you pay court costs to your association, I would think it is incumbent upon the Court to provide their costs to you and for the association to provide you with a bill for their costs (attorney and court). How else would you know what to pay? If the order from the Small Claims Court is for a specific dollar amount (say $5,000, the “lump sum” you have referred to), then you would simply pay that amount in satisfaction of the court order. I am sorry you ended up on the wrong side of the verdict and I certainly hope this doesn’t happen again but if I were you, I think I would pay the amount ordered by the Court and call it a day.