CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals sided with Glade Springs Village Property Owners Association in an appeal by Justice Holdings seeking to find an error with the lower court's ruling.
Justice Haley Bunn authored the majority opinion. Justices John Hutchison and Bill Wooton recused themselves from the appeal.
"We conclude, as explained below, that the circuit court correctly determined that the Uniform Act applied to GSV," Bunn wrote in the June 15 opinion. "We further conclude that the circuit court, while it improperly expanded the impact of its holding, did not err when it granted summary judgment regarding the termination of the Association’s loan with Justice Holdings."
Bunn wrote that with respect to the assessments and other funds, they reversed, in part, vacate, in part, and remand those issues to the circuit court, because the order is insufficient to allow the Supreme Court to conduct an adequate appellate review.
The Supreme Court affirmed the Oct. 5, 2020, order of Raleigh Circuit Court granting summary judgment for the association and severing the exemption provisions from the declaration.
"We affirm the circuit court’s October 6, 2020 order to the extent that it granted the Association’s motion for summary judgment on the issue that the Utilities Loan was terminated on February 16, 2020, and that the Uniform Act applies to GSV," Bunn wrote.
Bunn wrote that the Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s order to the extent that it determined that the loan was invalid or void and affirmed the order that found the Uniform Act applies and that Justice Holdings is the declarant of GSV.
In 2021, Circuit Judge Robert Burnside issued an order granting a $6.6 million summary judgment against Justice Holdings in the 2019 case.
In 2019, Justice Holdings filed a civil complaint against the association seeking amounts due under a loan agreement and Justice Holdings claimed the original developer Cooper Land Development agreed to loan the association $15 million to fund the construction and installation of water, sewer and electric utilities in the development. Justice Holdings is the successor developer to Cooper Land.
In October 2020, Burnside ruled the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act applied to Glade Springs Village from its inception, and he ruled the provision that would have exempted the developer from assessment liability was invalid.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 22-0002
