Justice David Schmidt
Sea Gate Association (SGA) moved for summary judgment in its favor against defendants homeowners. SGA sought to recover outstanding assessment dues and charges required from property owners in the gated community. Defendants took title to their property by deed and their mortgage contained provisions obligating the borrower to pay community association dues, fees and assessments, and granting lender Chase the right to do and pay for whatever was appropriate to protect its interest in the property in case the borrower did not. Defendants voluntarily paid the dues and charges assessed for five years, then stopped. Chase paid SGA the amount due from defendants’ escrow account. The complaint sets forth claims for breach of contract, among other things. Defendants challenged SGA’s entitlement to collect the dues and charges claiming they had no obligation to pay them as no obligation appeared in the chain of title to the property. The court stated despite the absence of any statement in defendants’ deed concerning dues and charges, defendants’ agreement to pay the dues and charges was implied in fact by their purchase of the property within the SGA’s gated community. Thus, SGA’s motion was granted.
