## Facts

- A developer created a large planned community in Omaha, Nebraska, and recorded a 1968 declaration imposing subdivision-wide covenants.
- The declaration required all lot owners to be members of the homeowners’ association and to pay dues used to operate and maintain common amenities and services (e.g., entrances, docks, lakes, parks, recreational facilities, security, and nuisance control).
- The declaration authorized the association to impose a lien against a lot for nonpayment of dues and to enforce the lien.
- George and Jean Egermayer purchased a home in the subdivision with record notice that their property was subject to the declaration.
- In 1987, the association billed dues; the Egermayers refused to pay.
- The association filed an equity action to foreclose the lien securing the unpaid assessments.
- The Egermayers argued the payment obligation did not “touch and concern” the land and did not add value to their property.
- The trial court entered judgment for the association (about $884 plus costs) and allowed foreclosure of the lien.

## Issues

1. Whether the recorded declaration’s covenant requiring subdivision homeowners to pay dues to the homeowners’ association was a valid covenant running with the land.
2. Whether the association could enforce the unpaid dues obligation by foreclosing the lien authorized by the declaration.

## Decision

- The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment.
- The court held the assessment covenant was a valid covenant running with the land and binding on successor owners who took with record notice.
- The court upheld the monetary judgment for unpaid dues and the association’s right to foreclose its lien.
- The court declined to review the denial of a new trial because the claimed error was not argued in the appellants’ brief.

## Legal Principles

- A covenant runs with the land when the original parties intended it to run, it “touches and concerns” the land, and the required privity of estate exists.
- A recorded, subdivision-wide declaration may show intent to bind successors and provide notice to later purchasers.
- An obligation to pay assessments to maintain and operate common areas and recreational amenities within a planned community “touches and concerns” the land because it relates to owners’ use and enjoyment and confers a direct benefit by enhancing property value.
- A homeowner’s subjective view that services do not increase value does not defeat enforceability where the covenant objectively benefits lots under a common development scheme.
- When a declaration authorizes a lien for nonpayment of assessments and the assessment covenant runs with the land, the lien may be enforced through foreclosure in equity.

## Conclusion

The court held that mandatory homeowners’ association dues used to maintain and operate common amenities in a planned community constitute a covenant running with the land, and the association may enforce unpaid dues by foreclosing the lien created by the recorded declaration.


Regency Homes Ass'n v. Egermayer, 498 N.W.2d 783 (Neb. 1993)