Thomas Seaman, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Heather Gardens Association, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, Defendant-Appellee.
Court of Appeals Nos. 22CA2103 & 23CA0372
COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS
December 28, 2023
2023COA125
Opinion by JUDGE BROWN; Tow and Schock, JJ., concur
Arapahoe County District Court No. 22CV31637, Honorable Elizabeth Beebe Volz, Judge
SUMMARY
December 28, 2023
2023COA125
No. 22CA2103 & 23CA0372, Seaman v. Heather Gardens — Real Property — Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act — Association Records
In this civil action involving the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (CCIOA),
Division VII
Opinion by JUDGE BROWN
Tow and Schock, JJ., concur
Announced December 28, 2023
Robinson Waters & O‘Dorisio, P.C., Kimberly A. Bruetsch, Mike Lazar, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellant
The Hustead Law Firm, Patrick Q. Hustead, Aaron M. Bell, Jason J. Patel, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellee
¶ 2 Section
¶ 3 Plaintiff, Thomas Seaman, appeals the district court‘s order dismissing his complaint against defendant, Heather Gardens
¶ 4 Resolving Seaman‘s contention requires us to determine, as a matter of first impression, whether bank statements may be “[d]etailed records of receipts and expenditures affecting the operation and administration of the association” under section
I. Background and Procedural History
¶ 5 HGA is a nonprofit corporation that manages Heather Gardens, an age-restricted senior living community. The parties agree that HGA is subject to CCIOA and that Seaman is a property owner and resident of Heather Gardens. See
¶ 6 According to Seaman‘s complaint, in April 2020, HGA applied for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and received funds in the amount of $1,085,800. It opened a new account at KeyBank to hold and manage the PPP funds. And in July 2021, it applied for and received forgiveness of the PPP loan.
¶ 7 In June 2022, Seaman requested copies of HGA‘s records including, as relevant here, bank statements for the KeyBank account in which it held the PPP funds. HGA provided Seaman
¶ 8 In August, Seaman filed a complaint in the district court seeking an injunction requiring HGA to produce the requested bank statements. HGA moved to dismiss under
¶ 9 The district court granted the motion to dismiss, concluding that bank statements “clearly” are not “[d]etailed records of receipts and expenditures affecting the operation and administration of the association” under section
II. Analysis
¶ 10 Seaman contends that the district court erred by concluding that bank statements are not, as a matter of law, “[d]etailed records of receipts and expenditures affecting the operation and administration of the association” under section
A. Standard of Review and Generally Applicable Law
¶ 11 We review de novo a district court‘s judgment dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under
¶ 12 We also review de novo issues of statutory construction. Nieto, ¶ 12. In doing so, our primary task is to give effect to the legislative intent as reflected in the plain and ordinary meanings of the words and phrases used. Carousel Farms Metro. Dist. v. Woodcrest Homes, Inc., 2019 CO 51, ¶ 40. We read the statute in the context of the entire statutory scheme, giving consistent and sensible effect to all
B. The Bank Statements May Be Detailed Records of Receipts and Expenditures Affecting the Operation and Administration of an Association
¶ 13 As noted, section
¶ 14 Seaman contends that bank statements fall into one of the categories of records an association is required by statute to maintain and make available to him as a unit owner: “[d]etailed
¶ 15 The relevant terms are not defined in CCIOA. But because they are words in common usage and “people of ordinary intelligence needn‘t guess at [their] meaning,” we consider their dictionary definitions. Butler v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm‘rs, 2021 COA 32, ¶ 14; see Broomfield Senior Living Owner, LLC v. R.G. Brinkmann Co., 2017 COA 31, ¶ 18 (where a statute fails to define a term, we consider its common usage).
- A “record” is “the state or fact of being recorded” or “something that records.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://perma.cc/3H6V-QUWY. To “record” means “to set down in writing” or “furnish written evidence of.” Id.; see Black‘s Law Dictionary 1527 (11th ed. 2019) (A “record” is “[a] documentary account of past events” or “[i]nformation that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that, having been stored in an electronic or other medium, is retrievable in perceivable form.“).
“Detailed” means “marked by abundant detail or by thoroughness in treating small items or parts.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://perma.cc/3QN2-QVFE. - A “receipt” is “a writing acknowledging the receiving of goods or money,” “the act or process of receiving,” or “something received.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://perma.cc/V287-RKCF; see Black‘s Law Dictionary at 1521 (“Receipt” includes “[a] written acknowledgment that something has been received; esp., a piece of paper or an electronic notification that one has paid for something.“).
- “Expenditure” is defined as “the act or process of expending” or “something expended,” namely a “disbursement” or “expense.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://perma.cc/3MNA-5FRQ. “Expending” is further defined as “to pay out” or “spend.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, https://perma.cc/7JPM-BWER; see Black‘s Law Dictionary at 723 (defining “expenditure” as “[t]he act or process of spending or using money, time, energy, etc.; esp., the disbursement of funds” or as “[a] sum paid out“).
¶ 17 Thus, we conclude that an association‘s bank statements will typically fall within the unambiguous language of section
¶ 19 First, to the extent bank statements are already included in one of the eighteen categories of records an association is required to maintain as set forth in subsection (1), the legislature need not have separately listed them. Certain of the eighteen categories are narrow — for example, “[a] list of the names, electronic mail addresses, and physical mailing addresses of its current executive board members and officers,”
¶ 21 To be sure, personal bank account information belonging to an individual member is not one of the eighteen categories of records identified in subsection (1). See
¶ 22 Third, interpreting subsection (1)(a) to include an association‘s bank statements does not render any other category of record superfluous. HGA points us to subsections (1)(g) and (1)(j), arguing that “[i]f, as Seaman claims, [subsection (1)(a)] covers all documents related to ‘money coming in and going out of the association,‘” subsections (1)(g) and (1)(j) would be unnecessary. True, we avoid constructions that would render any words or phrases superfluous. See McBride v. People, 2022 CO 30, ¶ 23. But we are not convinced that the records identified in subsections (1)(g) and (1)(j) necessarily constitute “[d]etailed records of receipts and expenditures affecting the operation and administration of the association.”
¶ 23 Section
¶ 24 Section
¶ 25 HGA also argues that the bank statements Seaman requested are not, as a matter of fact, the type of records contemplated by section
¶ 26 But more importantly, these are factual issues that cannot be resolved in HGA‘s favor on a
¶ 27 For these reasons, we conclude that the district court erred when it determined, as a matter of law, that the bank statements Seaman requested did not fall within section
C. Records Generated by Third Parties May Be Maintained by an Association
¶ 28 HGA also contends that section
¶ 29 First, several of the eighteen categories of records an association is obligated to maintain are records an association is unlikely to generate itself. For example, “[r]ecords of claims for construction defects” may include demand letters and complaints asserting claims for construction defects, which are likely to be drafted by the association‘s legal counsel.
¶ 30 Second, excluding records created or kept by third parties from those an association is obligated to produce would frustrate the purpose of section
¶ 31 Third, we are persuaded that an association must make records generated by a third party available to unit owners by reference to a public entity‘s obligations under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA). Just as CCIOA entitles unit owners to inspect certain association records, CORA entitles members of the public to inspect public records. See
¶ 32 On several occasions, Colorado courts have concluded that records created by or in the possession of third parties nonetheless constitute public records that must be made available to the public. See Leonard v. Interquest N. Bus. Improvement Dist., 2022 COA 78, ¶¶ 18-19 (documents that a public entity has a “contractual right to
¶ 33 In the end, we conclude that the district court erred by dismissing Seaman‘s complaint under
III. Attorney Fees and Costs
¶ 34 In the district court, HGA requested and was awarded attorney fees and costs pursuant to section
IV. Disposition
¶ 35 We reverse the district court‘s judgment and its order awarding attorney fees and costs to HGA, and we remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
JUDGE TOW and JUDGE SCHOCK concur.
COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS
