4.11 Duty of Association to its Members and Third Parties

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 4.11 Duty of Association to its Members and Third Parties

Section 6.13 of the Restatement sets forth the duties a community association has to its members. In addition to duties imposed by statute ³⁷³ and the governing documents, the association has the following duties to the members:

1. to use ordinary care and prudence in managing the property and financial affairs of the community;
2. to treat members fairly;
3. to act reasonably in the exercise of its discretionary powers including rulemaking, enforcement, and design-control powers; and
4. to provide members reasonable access to information about the association, the common property, and the financial affairs of the association.

It is significant that the duties owed by the association to the members are the same whether the association is under “developer control” or whether the individual lot or unit owners wholly control the association. This portion of the Restatement was explicitly adopted by the court of appeals in Tierra Ranchos Homeowners Ass’n v. Kitchukov. ³⁷⁴

In Martinez v. Woodmar IV Condominiums Homeowners Ass’n, ³⁷⁵ the Arizona Supreme Court placed an additional burden on a community association to members and guests and invitees of members. Carlos Martinez was shot while fleeing from a group of youths in the Woodmar condominium complex. Mr. Martinez was a guest of the tenant of a unit owner. Mr. Martinez sued the Woodmar IV Condominiums Homeowners Association, claiming Woodmar Association was liable for not preventing the attack. The lower court held that the Woodmar Association did not have an affirmative duty to Mr. Martinez because of his status as a guest. However, the Arizona Supreme Court held that while the Woodmar Association had no responsibility to control...