135 Nev., Advance Opinion 46
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA
ARTEMIS EXPLORATION COMPANY, No. 75323
A NEVADA CORPORATION; HAROLD
WYATT; AND MARY WYATT, FILED
Appellants,
vs. OCT 0 3 20E
RUBY LAKE ESTATES ETF!
HOMEOWNEWS ASSOCIATION,
Respondent.
Appeal from a final judgment in a real property action. Fourth
Judicial District Court, Elko County; Alvin R. Kacin, Judge.
Affirmed.
Gerber Law Offices, LLP, and Travis W. Gerber and Zachary A. Gerber,
Elko,
for Appellants.
Leach Kern Gruchow Anderson Song and Karen M. Ayarbe, Reno,
for Respondent.
BEFORE PICKERING, PARRAGUIRRE and CADISH, JJ.
OPINION
By the Court, CADISH, J.:
In 1991, the Nevada Legislature adopted the Uniform Common-Interest Ownership Act, as codified in NRS Chapter 116. See 1991 Nev.
SUPREME COURT
OF
NEVADA
10) I947A 40,
01 - 4( MI-
Stat., ch. 245, §§ 1-128, at 535-79; NRS 116.001. NRS Chapter 116 defines
what constitutes a "common-interest community," see NRS 116.021, and
also authorizes the creation of a "unit-owners association" to govern the
common-interest community, see NRS 116.011; NRS 116.3101. As relevant
to this appeal, a unit-owners' association is authorized to impose
assessments on unit owners for the unit owners' association to maintain
"common elements," which, generally speaking, comprise real estate within
the common-interest community that is owned by the unit-owners'
association but that benefits all unit owners. See NRS 116.017.
Appellants own property in Ruby Lake Estates (RLE), a
neighborhood which was created in 1989. In the underlying declaratory
relief action, they challenged respondent Ruby Lake Estates Homeowner's
Association's (RLEHOA) authority to impose assessments on them. In
particular, appellants argued that RLE was not a validly created "common-interest community" because the recorded Declaration that created RLE did
not expressly state that RLE's residents would be responsible for paying
assessments for the maintenance of common elements or other real estate
aside from their individual units, which appellants contend is required
under NRS 116.021. Alternatively, appellants contended that RLEHOA
was not a validly created "unit-owners' association" because it was not
organized until 2006, while NRS 116.3101 requires a unit-owners'
association to be created before the first lot in the common-interest
community is conveyed. The district court granted summary judgment for
RLEHOA, thereby affirming RLEHOA's authority to impose assessments
on appellants.
SUPREME COURT
OF
NE/ADA
2
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