## Facts

- Seaview is an unincorporated Fire Island community of roughly 330 homes used largely for summer recreation.
- Seaview Association of Fire Island, N.Y., Inc. owned and maintained community infrastructure and amenities, including streets, walkways, and beaches, and provided various services (e.g., community management, summer doctor housing, lifeguard and police shelters, erosion devices, nature area, and recreational facilities).
- The Association funded these operations by assessing each property owner a pro rata share of annual costs (excluding certain separately run services such as the water company and tennis courts).
- Defendants acquired multiple Seaview properties beginning in 1963 and ultimately owned seven houses; their deeds granted easements to use ocean beaches and walkways.
- Defendants did not join the Association and refused to pay general assessments, asserting they were nonmembers and did not use recreational facilities.
- The Association sued to recover unpaid assessments for 1976–1984, relying on an implied-contract theory based on defendants’ purchase and ownership with knowledge of how the community functioned.

## Issues

1. Whether nonmember homeowners in a private community may be held liable under an implied contract to pay pro rata homeowners’ association assessments when they purchased property with knowledge that the association provided facilities and services for community residents.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeals affirmed the Appellate Division’s order, with costs, sustaining judgment for the Association.
- The court held that when purchasers know a private community association provides facilities and services for residents, purchasing property may manifest acceptance of conditions of ownership, including an obligation to pay a proportionate share of maintenance costs.
- The court rejected the contention that liability depended on formal membership in the association or claimed nonuse of certain amenities.

## Legal Principles

- An implied contractual obligation to pay homeowners’ association assessments may arise from a property purchase made with notice that the community operates as a private, association-maintained enclave.
- Acceptance of “conditions of ownership” can be inferred from ownership in, and continued participation in, a community whose essential infrastructure and services are provided and funded through association assessments.
- Lack of formal association membership, or an owner’s claimed nonuse of particular facilities, does not necessarily defeat an implied obligation where the owner purchased with knowledge of the community’s assessment-based funding arrangement.

## Conclusion

The Court of Appeals held that defendants’ purchase and ownership of property in a private, association-run community with notice of the association’s services and assessment structure supported an implied obligation to pay pro rata assessments, and it affirmed the association’s recovery of unpaid charges.


Seaview Ass’n of Fire Island, N.Y., Inc. v. Williams, 69 N.Y.2d 987 (N.Y. 1987)