Superior Court HOA Case
A Maricopa County judge held that court-authorized self-help cleanup costs could be charged to the owner’s ledger, secured by an assessment lien, and foreclosed under A.R.S. § 33-1807.
Last updated July 2, 2026. Case: Val Vista Lakes Community Association v. Susan Wellman, Maricopa County Superior Court No. CV2021-001865.
Scope note: This page covers Val Vista Lakes Community Association v. Susan Wellman (Maricopa County Superior Court No. CV2021-001865) as a public Arizona superior-court HOA case guide. It is built from the court’s filed minute entries, especially the June 2021 default-judgment minute entry, the November 2021 injunction-enforcement minute entries, the November 3, 2023 under-advisement ruling on lien foreclosure, and the March 28, 2025 Rule 50 ruling. Currency caveat: the last collected minute entry, dated April 2, 2025, continues a contempt/enforcement evidentiary hearing to July 24, 2025; the collected record does not show the result of that continued hearing. Superior-court rulings bind only the parties and are not precedent. This page is educational and is not legal advice.
The takeaway
The superior court allowed Val Vista Lakes to use A.R.S. § 33-1807 lien foreclosure to collect unpaid nuisance-abatement costs. Because a prior judgment authorized association self-help, the association charged cleanup costs to the owner’s ledger under the judgment and governing documents; the court held those costs were secured by the assessment lien and were foreclosable once the unpaid balance exceeded the statutory threshold.
Case Participants
Petitioner Side
- Val Vista Lakes Community Association (Plaintiff)
Homeowners association that obtained the default judgment, pursued nuisance abatement, charged cleanup costs to the owner’s account, and sought lien foreclosure. - Gregory A. Stein (Counsel)
Counsel of record for the association in many of the early and summary-judgment entries. - Tessa Knueppel (Counsel)
Counsel appearing for the association in later enforcement and contempt proceedings. - Joshua M. Bolen (Counsel)
Counsel appearing with Tessa Knueppel for the association in later enforcement proceedings.
Respondent Side
- Susan M. Wellman (Defendant)
Homeowner defendant who opposed the association’s lien-foreclosure and later contempt/enforcement requests. - Arizona Federal Credit Union (Defendant)
Financial institution defendant named in later proceedings related to the supplemental foreclosure claim. - Olen V. Lenets (Counsel)
Counsel of record for Susan Wellman in the summary-judgment and later enforcement entries.
Neutral Parties
- Scott A. Blaney (Judge)
Maricopa County Superior Court judge who issued the November 2023 summary-judgment ruling and later enforcement rulings. - Richard Albrecht (Judge)
Judicial officer who handled 2021 injunction-enforcement and early supplemental-complaint proceedings. - David W. Garbarino (Judge)
Judicial officer who handled the June 2021 default-hearing minute entry.
What happened
Val Vista Lakes sued Susan Wellman over alleged violations of the association’s declaration and governing documents. The November 2023 ruling describes the alleged conditions as a large quantity of trash, unauthorized backyard structures where transient individuals were living, inoperable vehicles, and other nuisance conditions.
A June 2021 default hearing produced a formal judgment against Wellman. In November 2021, after an order-to-show-cause hearing, the court reaffirmed the injunction, ordered notice before the association removed unapproved structures and debris, and stated that trash and debris were not to accumulate in the yard in the future. A correction a week later made clear that Wellman and others were not to interfere with association removal efforts.
The association later used the injunction’s self-help remedy. The November 3, 2023 ruling states that its contractors removed more than 220,000 pounds of trash and other unauthorized items at a cost of $38,960.99, not including attorneys’ fees and costs. The association charged that cleanup amount to Wellman’s ledger under the default judgment and governing documents. After partial payments, it filed a supplemental complaint to foreclose on the remaining balance.
Judge Scott A. Blaney granted partial summary judgment for Val Vista Lakes on lien foreclosure. The court held that the cleanup costs were properly charged to the ledger and secured by the association’s assessment lien. It also held the association was entitled to foreclose because, when the supplemental complaint was filed, Wellman was delinquent in payment of lien-secured amounts of at least $1,200 under A.R.S. § 33-1807(A).
Wellman argued that the association failed to satisfy the A.R.S. § 33-1807(K) notice requirement before filing foreclosure. The court rejected that argument on the facts before it, reasoning that the parties were already litigating the issue and the court had already entered the default judgment, so Wellman had sufficient notice that collection activity was underway.
The collected record continued after the foreclosure ruling. Later entries ordered settlement-conference steps and addressed a separate contempt/enforcement track. On March 28, 2025, the court denied Wellman’s Rule 50 motion, holding that the self-help provision was permissive rather than a prerequisite to court enforcement. The last collected minute entry continued the remaining contempt/enforcement hearing to July 24, 2025.
Procedural timeline
Complete uploaded source-document index
This index is generated from every public-facing source file currently present in assets/court_case_downloads/val-vista-lakes-community-association-v-susan-wellman/raw/: 36 PDFs. Files are ordered by the date/sequence embedded in the normalized filename; AI-generated review materials are labeled separately and should not be treated as court filings.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Ruling granting the homeowner additional time to answer because she had sought counsel, making a May 31, 2021 response timely if filed by that date.
Default Judgment
Type: Decision or judgment
Default-hearing minute entry granting judgment against the homeowner under a formal written judgment signed and entered in June 2021.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Order-to-show-cause minute entry enforcing the default judgment, requiring notice before association removal of unapproved structures and debris, and reaffirming the injunction against future trash and debris accumulation.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Correcting minute entry adding the missing word ‘not’ so the injunction barred the homeowner and others from interfering with association removal efforts.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Ruling granting Val Vista Lakes leave to file a first supplemental complaint after the initial judgment and injunction proceedings.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Oral Argument Set
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Oral Argument
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Ruling denying the association’s request to limit the homeowner’s amended summary-judgment response after Rule 56(d) discovery.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Ruling denying reconsideration of the order that allowed the homeowner to raise any properly supported issue in her amended summary-judgment response.
Oral Argument Set
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Oral Argument
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Oral Argument Set
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Oral Argument
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Under Advisement Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Under-advisement ruling granting partial summary judgment for Val Vista Lakes on lien foreclosure for unpaid self-help cleanup costs secured by the assessment lien under A.R.S. § 33-1807.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Oral Argument Set
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Order-to-show-cause return-hearing entry requiring the homeowner and counsel to explain their nonappearance and setting a combined evidentiary hearing and trial on contempt sanctions.
Oral Argument Set
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Ruling accepting counsel’s calendaring-error explanation for the September 20 nonappearance and taking no further action on that failure to appear.
Oral Argument
Type: Court/source PDF
Evidentiary-hearing minute entry denying the homeowner’s oral summary-adjudication request, receiving association evidence, and staying the hearing for Rule 50 briefing.
Minute Entry
Type: Court order/minute entry
Court or agency order; this is usually the document that tells readers what changed next.
Ruling
Type: Court order/minute entry
Ruling denying the homeowner’s Rule 50 motion and holding that the injunction’s self-help provision was permissive, not a requirement that the association repeatedly clean the property before seeking court enforcement.
Oral Argument Set
Type: Court/source PDF
Uploaded source file in the case record; read it in sequence with the surrounding filings to follow the procedure.
FAQ
What costs did the association foreclose on?
The foreclosure ruling involved unpaid cleanup costs charged after the association exercised a self-help remedy under the default judgment and governing documents. The ruling states the cleanup cost was $38,960.99, excluding attorneys’ fees and costs.
Why did the court treat the cleanup costs as lien-secured?
The court found the self-help costs were properly charged to the homeowner’s account ledger under the default judgment and governing documents, and that those ledgered amounts were secured by the association’s assessment lien.
How did A.R.S. § 33-1807 matter?
The court relied on A.R.S. § 33-1807(A) to hold that the association was entitled to foreclose because the homeowner was delinquent in payment of monies secured by the lien in the amount of $1,200 or more when the foreclosure action was filed.
Did the homeowner’s notice argument succeed?
No. The court rejected the A.R.S. § 33-1807(K) notice argument because the parties were already litigating the issue, a default judgment had already been entered, and the homeowner had sufficient notice that collection activity was underway.
Was the association required to keep using self-help before asking the court for enforcement?
In the March 2025 Rule 50 ruling, the court said no. It read the self-help language as permissive and said the order did not require the association to act as the homeowner’s provider of bulk-trash collection before seeking court enforcement.
Was the case finished in the collected record?
Not completely. The November 2023 lien-foreclosure ruling resolved the summary-judgment issue, but later contempt/enforcement proceedings continued. The last collected entry continued the remaining evidentiary hearing to July 24, 2025.
Case Dossier
This generated dossier mirrors the structured data surfaced on the OAH/ADRE case pages. It is added from the curated court-case record and the custom page source package, while the hand-authored analysis below remains intact.
Case Summary
| Case ID / citation | CV2021-001865 (Maricopa County Superior Court) |
|---|---|
| Court / tribunal | Superior Court |
| Decision / key date | November 3, 2023 |
| Judge / panel | Hon. Margaret R. Mahoney, Hon. David W. Garbarino, Hon. Richard Albrecht, Hon. Scott A. Blaney |
| Parties | Val Vista Lakes Community Association (Plaintiff, homeowners association) v. Susan M. Wellman (Defendant, homeowner) and Arizona Federal Credit Union |
| Governing law |
|
| Topics | liensforeclosureassessmentsfinescc-and-rsprocedure |
| Outcome / holding | The superior court granted Val Vista Lakes partial summary judgment on lien foreclosure. It held that self-help nuisance-abatement costs charged after a default judgment were properly placed on the owner’s account ledger, secured by the association’s assessment lien, and foreclosable because the unpaid amount exceeded the A.R.S. § 33-1807(A) threshold when the supplemental foreclosure action was filed. |
| Primary public source | View source opinion/order |
Parties, Court, and Research Coverage
| Uploaded source package | 36 PDFs |
|---|---|
| Step-by-step docket roadmap | 11 roadmap entries |
| Video overview | No video embed currently configured |
| Study / briefing material | 1 section |
| FAQ / homeowner questions | 6 questions |
| Curated download aliases | 1 download link |
Key Issues & Findings
Val Vista Lakes Community Association obtained a default judgment and permanent injunction requiring Susan Wellman to abate alleged nuisance conditions and allowing association self-help if she did not comply. After the association used that self-help remedy and charged $38,960.99 in cleanup costs to the owner’s ledger, it filed a supplemental lien-foreclosure claim for the unpaid balance. The superior court granted partial summary judgment to the association on lien foreclosure, holding that the self-help costs were properly charged to the account ledger, secured by the association’s assessment lien, and subject to foreclosure under A.R.S. § 33-1807. Later entries show continuing contempt/enforcement proceedings over the injunction, with the collected record ending before the continued July 2025 evidentiary hearing.
The November 3, 2023 under-advisement ruling started from the default judgment and injunction already entered in the association’s favor. That injunction ordered permanent nuisance abatement and included a self-help provision allowing the association, after notice, to enter the property and abate the nuisance if the owner failed to comply. The court stated that the association then removed more than 220,000 pounds of trash and unauthorized items, charged $38,960.99 in cleanup costs to the owner’s ledger under the default judgment and governing documents, and sued to foreclose after only part of that charge had been paid.
Applying A.R.S. § 33-1807(A) and Laveen Meadows Homeowners Association v. Mejia, the court found the association was entitled to foreclose because the owner was delinquent in payment of monies secured by the lien in an amount of $1,200 or more when the supplemental complaint was filed. The court also rejected the owner’s A.R.S. § 33-1807(K) notice argument, reasoning that the parties were already litigating the issue and that the default judgment had already been issued, so the owner had sufficient notice that collection activity was underway.
The collected minute entries do not show a clean final stop to all enforcement activity. After the foreclosure ruling, later entries show mandatory settlement-conference orders and a separate contempt/enforcement track over continued alleged injunction violations. In March 2025, the court denied the owner’s oral Rule 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law, explaining that the injunction’s self-help language was permissive and did not require the association to keep providing bulk-trash cleanup before asking the court to enforce its order.
This case is important for HOA enforcement disputes because it treats court-authorized nuisance-abatement costs as more than an ordinary fine. The ruling says those self-help costs, once charged under the judgment and governing documents, can be secured by an assessment lien and foreclosed under A.R.S. § 33-1807 if the statutory delinquency threshold is met.
The ruling also gives a trial-court example of how notice arguments may fare when lien foreclosure follows earlier litigation and a default judgment. The court did not require a fresh A.R.S. § 33-1807(K) notice cycle on these facts because the owner already had notice through the litigation and judgment. As a superior-court ruling, it binds only the parties, but it is a useful source for the intersection of injunction enforcement, association self-help, account ledgers, and lien foreclosure.