Court of Appeal 4th District Division 2 Oral Argument Tuesday 1/6/2026 PM Session - Jan 06, 2026
argumentCourt of Appeal 4th District Division 2 Oral Argument Tuesday 1/6/2026 PM Session
California Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two
1h 52m
8 chapters
transcribed 10 days ago
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What procedural steps open the oral argument for the LePay v. Fairways HOA case?
Good afternoon, Justice Minitrez. I just need to check your audio. Can you hear me now? I sure can. Thank you very much.
All rise.
Good afternoon. Please be seated. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to my colleagues for the first case on this afternoon's calendar. First, let me introduce you to Justice Richard Fields.
Good afternoon.
And Justice Michael Huffell.
Good afternoon.
My name is Justice Carol Coddington, and I will be presiding over this panel. We only have one case for this panel's consideration, and that's the matter I'm calling, number 18 on the calendar, Alcante-Eason versus the Superior Court. Wait a minute. LePay, Simon LePay versus Fairways HOA.
And hello, how are you?
Hello,
good afternoon. What is your name?
My name is J.C. Chemours.
And you are here for?
I'm counsel for the appellant, Simone LePay.
I didn't hear your last name. Can you spell your name for the record?
Sure, the first name is just two letters. It's just J.C.,
and the
last name is Chemours. C-H-I-M-O-U-R-E-S. Chemours. Yes,
thank you. Let me make sure I'm pronouncing Chemours.
Correct, yes.
Sort of like
an S instead of a C. Okay. It
is my
first time here, so nice to meet all of
you. Nice to meet you. Thank you. And you're going to have 15 minutes on the clock. Would you like to reserve some of your time for rebuttal?
I will reserve about five minutes.
Okay. And is there anyone here for responding?
Yes, Your Honor. It's Nicholas Hepburn on behalf of respondents.
Thank you, Mr. Hepburn. Will you also spell your name for the record?
Nicholas, N-I-C-H-O-L-A-S. And Hepburn is H-E-P-B-U-R-N.
Thank you. Okay, Mr. Shimora, you have 15 minutes and you are on the clock.
Thank you. And thank you all for the detailed tentative. I do appreciate it. I still wish to argue it. To outline, there's about three things I'm going to discuss today that I'd like to bring the court's attention to. The first is I believe there's a dispute of fact regarding the extent of the fire damage here, which is relevant for the analysis under the CCMRs. The second issue is the court's interpretation of section 11.3 I'd like to discuss today. And then the third thing I'd like to discuss are certain evidentiary objections that we state.
And your first one, the extent of fire damage, how is that relevant if insurance did pay it apparently and they fixed it and so your client isn't on the hook for it, how does it matter
then? Sure. FIRST OFF, WE DIDN'T MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT THE HOA HAS NO DISCRETION TO PERFORM ANY REPAIRS WHATSOEVER. I UNDERSTAND THE COURT DISAGREES WITH THAT IN THE TENET OF RULING, BUT IT IS STILL RELEVANT BECAUSE TO THE EXTENT THE HOA HAS ANY AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT REPAIRS, ITS AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT THOSE REPAIRS IS LIMITED TO PERFORMING REPAIRS ON PROPERTY THAT ACTUALLY NEEDS REPAIR. IF THE PROPERTY IS NOT DAMAGED, IF IT DOES NOT NEED REPAIRS, THE H.O.A. HAS NO LAWFUL REASON TO BE IN THE PROPERTY, AND UNDER THE CCNR'S, IT MUST HAVE SOME LAWFUL PURPOSE TO ENTER TO PERFORM SOME DUTY.
I LOOKED THROUGH THE RECORD. WHEN I GOT TO THE ADVANCED ANALYSIS INCORPORATED REPORT, THE PEOPLE WHO GOT THERE, THIS IS PAGE 842 OF THE RECORD, They didn't see any damage to the unit at all. I mean, they didn't record any damage at all. The only damage they reported was the fire department breaking in to check if there was a fire. But then afterwards, I saw documents from the HOA apparently getting an insurance agent to pay for damage. So to me, it's sort of, well, Insurance companies don't usually pay to renovate if there's not actually damage, so it seemed like enough proof that they actually fixed things that needed to be fixed, and I couldn't understand where the damage It seems unlikely that they would have fixed things that made them worse.
I
would love to have a reason for the why they did it. I don't have a reason for the why for you today. But I can tell you that there are certain, based on the evidence before the court, there is dispute regarding what was actually repaired and what was not. And the tentative ruling the court cites to the insurer's repair estimate, and it's about $90,000 worth of damage for the estimate.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What procedural steps open the oral argument for the LePay v. Fairways HOA case?
12:28–28:27
2
How does counsel for the appellant outline the three main disputes in the case?
28:27–43:27
3
What evidence does the appellant present regarding fire‑damage versus unnecessary repairs?
43:27–1:07:15
4
How do the parties interpret the meaning of “maintained by the association” in Section 11.3?
1:07:15–1:22:38
5
What statutory and case‑law authorities are cited to define an “inhabited dwelling”?
1:22:38–1:34:27
6
How does the court address the admissibility and weight of the CCTV video without audio?
1:34:27–1:46:13
7
What arguments are made about the relevance of prior sexual‑assault evidence and propensity rules?
1:46:13–1:49:51
8
What final rulings and procedural outcomes conclude the oral argument?
1:49:51–1:52:24
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