2026-09-10 · Indiana · Courts

What happened. A homeowner who lost a $673.38 small-claims judgment appealed it, argued that a statutory cap on assessment increases protected her, and came away owing the association its appellate attorney fees on top of everything else. The Court of Appeals decided Tracy Talley v. Cheswick Homeowners' Association, Inc., No. 24A-SC-581, on 27 February 2025.¹

This is a memorandum decision. Under Indiana Appellate Rule 65(D) it is not binding precedent, and we flag that because the reasoning is nonetheless a clean illustration of a rule that catches Indiana owners constantly.

The two arguments

Talley, appearing pro se, made two points. The first was that her association had raised the annual assessment by more than 10 percent, and that IC 32-25.5-3-3 requires homeowner ratification of an increase that size. The second was that a $35 special assessment was improperly levied.

Why the statute did not help her

Cheswick was formed in 2005. As in the Sandoval decision handed down two weeks later, the panel applied the threshold question first: Indiana's Homeowners Association Act reaches associations formed after 30 June 2009 unless an older association elects into it. Cheswick had not. The 10 percent ratification requirement therefore did not apply to this association at all, and what governed instead was the declaration and bylaws — which required a two-thirds vote of the board, not a vote of the membership.

The special assessment failed for a similar reason. The governing documents let the board levy special assessments “at any time,” without limiting them to enumerated purposes, so there was nothing for the $35 charge to violate.

The part that cost her

The declaration contained a prevailing-party clause providing for “reasonable attorneys' fees.” The panel held that such a clause reaches fees incurred on appeal, and that the award is not discretionary once the association has prevailed:

“The Association unquestionably prevailed in this action. It obtained judgment at trial and has successfully defended that judgment on appeal against Talley's arguments.”

The trial judgment — $673.38 in damages plus $700 in trial-level fees — was affirmed, and the case was remanded to fix the amount of additional appellate fees owed.

1. Talley v. Cheswick Homeowners' Ass'n, No. 24A-SC-581 (Ind. Ct. App. Feb. 27, 2025) (mem. dec.) ↩
2. Indiana Appellate Courts — decisions database ↩