Arroyo v. Pacific Ridge Neighborhood Homeowners Association
San Diego, San Diego · CA · California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One
MIXED · elections-meetings
What happened
Board member Rachel Arroyo challenged a Pacific Ridge Neighborhood HOA recall election under Davis-Stirling equal-access rules after materials the association created, printed, and mailed were treated as outside 'association media' under HOA election-rule definitions. The San Diego County Superior Court sided with the association. The Court of Appeal, construing Civil Code § 5105 independently, held the association failed to give Arroyo equal access to association media for purposes reasonably related to her recall election, reversed, and remanded for the association to try to prove under § 5145 that noncompliance did not affect results, with written findings. Arroyo recovered costs on appeal.
What the court (or agency) held
VERIFY post-remand election outcome — reverse/remand, not an automatic void. Construing Civil Code § 5105 independently, the court held the association failed to give director Arroyo equal access to 'association media' for purposes reasonably related to her recall election, reversing judgment for the association. Voiding the election is not automatic: remand directs the trial court to let the association try to prove by a preponderance that § 5105 noncompliance did not affect results (§ 5145 analysis), with written findings. Arroyo recovers costs on appeal. MIXED/remand.
Why this matters for members
This result is MIXED — a partial win, not a clean sweep on every claim. Davis-Stirling equal-access rules are statutory; associations cannot define 'association media' out of the statute in election rules. Unequal media access can reverse a judgment even if voiding the election still requires a § 5145 effects showing on remand.
What the member did
Litigated statutory meaning of association media over self-serving election-rule definitions; pressed Davis-Stirling equal-access requirements tied to the recall.
Questions for the board
- Did every candidate get equal access to newsletters, mailers, and other association media about this election?
- Are our election rules narrower than Civil Code § 5105's association-media requirements?
- What record shows whether any access failure affected election results?
Questions for a lawyer
- What counts as association media under § 5105 on these facts?
- What must the association prove under § 5145 to avoid voiding the election?
- What remedies and fee/cost rights follow a finding of unequal access?
Citation
Arroyo v. Pacific Ridge Neighborhood Homeowners Association, 116 Cal. App. 5th 627 (2025); No. D084293 (2025-11-04). California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division One. Outcome chip: MIXED. Flags: MIXED, remand. Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ca-court-of-appeal/117991205.html
_General information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on facts and current law._
General information, not legal advice. Outcomes turn on facts and current law.