MOORE, Judge.
This court's opinion of November 18, 2011, is withdrawn, and the following is substituted therefor.
Mary Jane Downing appeals from a judgment entered by the Montgomery Circuit Court ("the trial court") granting a motion for a summary judgment filed by Halcyon Oaks Homeowners Association, Inc. ("the association"), and Jewel Green; granting a motion to dismiss filed by J. Knox Argo, Nicholas Hughes, and J. Knox Argo, P.C.; and denying a motion for a partial summary judgment filed by Downing.
On March 30, 2010, Downing filed in the trial court a petition for a writ of mandamus and a complaint against the association and Green, in her individual capacity and as president of the association. Downing alleged that the association and Green had failed to allow her to inspect the corporate records of the association and requested that the trial court require the association and Green to allow her to access those records. Downing also alleged that the association and Green had breached their fiduciary duty to her by failing to allow her access to the corporate records. Downing further alleged that Green and the association had slandered the title to her property by filing a notice of "lis pendens falsely accus[ing her] of not paying assessments charged against the [Downing] property." Finally, Downing alleged that Green and the association had maliciously prosecuted an action "alleging that Downing had failed to pay assessments imposed by [the association]."
On May 11, 2010, the association and Green filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for a summary judgment. On February 4, 2011, Downing filed an amended complaint. In her amended complaint, Downing asserted the same claims she had asserted in her original complaint and added Argo, Hughes, and J. Knox Argo, P.C., as defendants with regard to the slander-of-title and malicious-prosecution claims. Downing also included
The association and Green again moved for a summary judgment, and Hughes, Argo, and J. Knox Argo, P.C., moved for a dismissal. Downing moved for a partial summary judgment on her request for a declaratory judgment. The association and Green responded to Downing's motion and attached evidentiary materials in support of their response. Downing then moved to strike certain evidence submitted by the association and Green in support of their response to her motion for a partial summary judgment. On March 9, 2011, the trial court entered a judgment granting the association and Green's motion for a summary judgment; granting the motion to dismiss filed by Hughes, Argo, and J. Knox Argo, P.C.; and denying Downing's motion for a partial summary judgment and her motion to strike. On March 31, 2011, Downing filed her notice of appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court; that court transferred the appeal to this court, pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 12-2-7.
Green is the president of the association. Green testified in her deposition that the association was formed in 1989. She testified that the Halcyon Oaks subdivision is composed of garden homes and townhomes. According to Green, the annual assessment fee for all homeowners in the subdivision was originally set at $25 and townhome owners paid additional monthly dues for their parking. She testified that, at some point, the annual assessment fee was increased to $50 for only garden-home owners.
Green testified that she had been told that, in 2002, the townhome owners got together and decided that they wanted to pay an annual assessment fee of $50 per year instead of the additional monthly dues they were paying for parking and that the association had agreed and had increased the townhome owners' annual assessment fee to $50. She testified that she was not present for that discussion and that there were no corporate records showing the increase. She later stated, however, that all the homeowners were sent a letter regarding paying an annual assessment fee of $50 and that the townhome owners were supposed to pay an annual assessment fee of $50 according to the association's bylaws and the minutes of a meeting of the association's officers.
Downing purchased a townhome in the Halcyon Oaks subdivision in or around 1990. By purchasing the property, she automatically became a member of the association. Downing paid an annual assessment fee of $25 each year and did not increase her payment to $50. On June 8, 2009, Downing received a notice from Green informing her that she owed the association the amount of $25 per year from 2005 through 2009 plus a $100 fine. On July 24, 2009, Downing received a letter from Argo, who is an attorney with J. Knox Argo, P.C., on behalf of the association; that letter stated that Downing owed the association the total amount of $444.98, which included past-due fees, interest, and attorney fees, and that a lawsuit would be filed if she did not pay the amount owed by August 3, 2009.
On August 17, 2009, the association filed in the Montgomery Circuit Court a complaint against Downing and five other members of the association seeking past-due assessment fees, along with late fees,
Downing testified in her affidavit that, on November 2, 2009, she sent a letter to Green requesting access to certain records of the association. According to Downing, she received no reply from Green, so she submitted a second request on December 3, 2009. According to Downing, Green did not respond to that letter either. Downing's attorney testified in his affidavit that, on January 18, 2010, he submitted a request to Hughes for access to the corporate records identified in Downing's November 2, 2009, request. He testified that he had several follow-up communications with Hughes regarding that request.
On January 18, 2010, Downing answered the association's complaint in case no. CV-09-900966, but she did not file a counterclaim. Downing testified in her affidavit that she had made payments to the association until she had fully paid the amount the association claimed she owed in case no. CV-09-900966. Downing's attorney sent an e-mail to Hughes on January 18, 2010, stating: "[W]e understand that your cashing of the check represents `final payment' insofar as the annual assessments up to 2009 are concerned." On January 22, 2010, Downing's attorney sent another e-mail to Hughes, which stated: "I would also appreciate you advising as to whether you intend on continuing to pursue the pending claim(s) against my client, despite the fact that she has paid the amount claimed by your client." Hughes responded by stating that the association might have an additional claim against Downing. Downing's attorney replied, stating:
That same day, Hughes responded, stating: "With your permission, I will cash the check and file a motion to dismiss." On January 25, 2010, the association filed a motion to dismiss the claims against Downing in case no. CV-09-900966, stating: "Now comes the [association] and shows unto the Court that it has resolved the issues as against ... Downing. [The association] therefore requests a voluntary dismissal as to ... Downing only and shows unto the Court that Counsel for ... Downing has agreed to this motion." That motion was granted on January 27, 2010.
On February 3, 2010, the association produced certain corporate records of the association to Downing; however, the specific records that had been requested by Downing were not produced. Downing's attorney testified that he sent Hughes two e-mails addressing the deficiency in the
On May 13, 2010, Argo sent Downing's attorney an e-mail in which he stated, in part: "If there is something else which you contend should be furnished to establish the dues, please state such with specificity." Downing's attorney responded to that e-mail, listing the documents that were being requested. Downing and Hughes testified that, although some of the requested records were produced on February 3, 2010, Downing has not been allowed access to all the documents requested in her letters of November 2, 2009, and December 3, 2009.
On November 1, 2010, Downing's attorney sent Hughes an e-mail inquiring whether the notice of lis pendens against Downing's property would be removed. On December 14, 2010, Downing's attorney sent Hughes and Argo an e-mail demanding the removal of the notice of lis pendens. The notice of lis pendens was not removed until February 9, 2011. Downing testified that she had not been aware at the time she filed her answer in case no. CV-09-900966 that the notice of lis pendens had been filed against her property.
Downing testified that she had believed the representations of Hughes and the association that she owed the association $1,144.98. She testified that, when the corporate records were produced on February 3, 2010, she discovered that case no. CV-09-900966 and the notice of lis pendens had been filed without merit. Downing testified in her deposition that she had telephoned Wells Fargo a month before her deposition to inquire about refinancing her home loan, but, she said, she was told that she could not refinance the loan because there was a "lien or something" against her house.
On appeal, Downing first argues that the trial court erred in entering a summary judgment in favor of the association and Green.
Pritchett v. ICN Med. Alliance, Inc., 938 So.2d 933, 935 (Ala.2006).
We first address Downing's claim of malicious prosecution against Green and the association. The association and Green assert that summary judgment was appropriate on that claim because case no. CV-09-900966 was not terminated in Downing's favor.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Goodman, 789 So.2d 166, 174 (Ala.2000). In Evans v. Alabama Professional Health Consultants, Inc., 474 So.2d 86, 88 (Ala. 1985), our supreme court held that a stipulation of dismissal filed in a case was "in the nature of a settlement agreement, compromising the interests of both parties, but `in favor' of neither party." The court concluded that, because the prior action in which a stipulation of dismissal had been filed had not been terminated in favor of the malicious-prosecution plaintiff, the malicious-prosecution claim could not be maintained. Id.
In the present case, the undisputed evidence indicates that Downing paid the amount the association was claiming she owed in case no. CV-09-900966, that Downing's attorney then requested that the case be dismissed, and that the association thereafter filed a motion to dismiss the case, specifically noting that Downing had agreed to the filing of that motion. On application for rehearing, Downing argues that, because the stipulation of dismissal was not signed by her and was procured by fraud, her malicious-prosecution claim should be allowed to go forward. She notes that, in Evans, the supreme court specifically held that a stipulation signed by all the parties was in the nature of a settlement agreement. We note, however, that, in the present case, the attorney for the association indicated on the stipulation of dismissal that Downing agreed with it, and evidence was introduced indicating that Downing had paid the amount that the association had requested and had then requested that the association dismiss the case. Thus, there is sufficient evidence of Downing's assent to the stipulation of dismissal. Just like in Evans, we cannot hold that case no. CV-09-900966 was terminated in favor of Downing because it is undisputed that the association dismissed the action only after
The association and Green assert that Downing's remaining claims against them — slander of title, breach of fiduciary duty, a request for a writ of mandamus requiring the association to produce corporate records, and a request for a declaratory judgment — are barred by the compulsory-counterclaim rule.
Owens v. Owens, 31 So.3d 722, 726-27 (Ala.Civ.App.2009) (quoting JJ's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. v. Gobble-Fite Lumber Co., 572 So.2d 1243, 1244-45 (Ala. 1990)).
Downing's claims of breach of fiduciary duty and for mandamus relief arose from the association and Green's alleged failure to produce corporate records in support of the association's claim for past-due assessment fees, which served as the basis of the claims asserted by the association against Downing in case no. CV-09-900966. Downing's slander-of-title claim arose from the filing of the notice of lis pendens against Downing's property in connection with case no. CV-09-900966. Downing's request for a declaratory judgment involved the merits of the association's claims against Downing in case no. CV-09-900966. We conclude that all of those claims have a logical relationship with the claims for past-due assessment fees asserted by the association against Downing in case no. CV-09-900966. Because Downing's claims are logically related to the claims asserted by the association in case no. CV-09-900966, they arise from the same transaction for purposes of Rule 13(a). Owens, supra.
In response to the association and Green's argument that her remaining claims against them are barred by the compulsory-counterclaim rule, Downing argues that, because she was not aware of her slander-of-title claim at the time she filed her answer in case no. CV-09-900066, the compulsory-counterclaim rule is not applicable to that claim. In support of her argument, Downing cites Sho-Me Motor Lodges, Inc. v. Jehle-Slauson Construction Co., 466 So.2d 83, 90 (Ala.1985), in which our supreme court held: "Rule 13(a)[, Ala. R. Civ. P.,] cannot be construed to require a party to file as a compulsory counterclaim a claim which it does not know it has." Downing testified in her affidavit that she was not aware that the association had filed a notice of lis pendens as to her property or that the association's claims were improper until after she had filed her answer in case no. CV-09-900966. We construe Sho-Me as requiring actual knowledge of a claim; thus, the mere filing of the notice of lis pendens, which would have given Downing constructive notice of her claim, would not be sufficient. 466 So.2d at 90. Accordingly, we conclude that her slander-of-title claim against the association and Green is not barred by the compulsory-counterclaim rule.
Based on the foregoing, we conclude that the trial court erred in entering a summary judgment on Downing's slander-of-title claim against Green and the association. We also conclude that the trial court correctly entered a summary judgment on the remaining claims asserted by Downing against Green and the association.
Downing next argues that the trial court erred in granting the motion to dismiss filed by Hughes, Argo, and J. Knox Argo, P.C., with regard to her claims of slander of title, malicious prosecution, and fraud.
Nance v. Matthews, 622 So.2d 297, 299 (Ala.1993). "A ruling on a motion to dismiss is reviewed without a presumption of correctness." Newman v. Savas, 878 So.2d 1147, 1148-49 (Ala.2003).
We initially note that Hughes, Argo, and J. Knox Argo, P.C., argued in their motion to dismiss that Downing's claims were barred by, among other things, the defenses of estoppel, res judicata, accord and satisfaction, and waiver. Downing has failed to present an argument in her brief to this court with supporting authority on each of those defenses. "When an appellant confronts an issue below that the appellee contends warrants a judgment in its favor and the trial court's order does not specify a basis for its ruling, the omission of any argument on appeal as to that issue in the appellant's principal brief constitutes a waiver with respect to the issue." Fogarty v. Southworth, 953 So.2d 1225, 1232 (Ala.2006); see also City of Birmingham v. Business Realty Inv. Co., 722 So.2d 747, 752 (Ala.1998) ("When an appellant fails to cite any authority for an argument on a particular issue, this Court may affirm the judgment as to that issue, for it is neither this Court's duty nor its function to perform an appellant's legal research."). Thus, we conclude that Downing has waived her arguments with respect to the propriety of the dismissal of her claims against Knox, Hughes, and J. Knox Argo, P.C.
Downing's final argument is that the trial court erred in denying her motion for a partial summary judgment on her request for a declaratory judgment and that the trial court erred in denying her motion to strike certain evidence offered by the association regarding the merits of that claim.
Based on the foregoing, we reverse the summary judgment on Downing's claim of slander of title against the association and Green, we affirm the judgment in all other respects, and we remand the cause for further proceedings.
APPLICATION GRANTED; OPINION OF NOVEMBER 18, 2011, WITHDRAWN; OPINION SUBSTITUTED; AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
THOMPSON, P.J., and PITTMAN, BRYAN, and THOMAS, JJ., concur.
Although a notice of lis pendens is not a "lien," for purposes of determining whether the summary judgment was proper, we assume that Wells Fargo was referring to the notice of lis pendens.