Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Clubdominium Homeowners Ass'n
Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Clubdominium Homeowners Ass'n, 21 Cal. 4th 249, 87 Cal. Rptr. 2d 237, 980 P.2d 940 (1999)
Established the California rule of judicial deference to community association board decisions. When a board exercises discretion among reasonable alternatives for ordinary common-area maintenance — acting in good faith, on the basis of reasonable investigation, and in what it believes are the best interests of the association — courts will not substitute their judgment for the board's. The case involved a board's choice to spot-treat for termites rather than fumigate; the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal and applied deference to the board's decision.
Controlling California Supreme Court authority on judicial deference to HOA board decisions. Distinguished from Affan v. Portofino Cove (2010), which held the rule does not protect a board that fails to act at all on a recurring common-area defect.