Opinion
CV-19-767
09-28-2022
PHILLIP WOODWARD AND KATHERINE WOODWARD APPELLANTS v. DIAMANTE MEMBERS CLUB, INC.; AND DIAMANTE, A PRIVATE MEMBERSHIP GOLF CLUB, LLC APPELLEES
Robert S. Tschiemer, for appellants. Schnipper, Britton & Stobaugh, by: Beau Britton, for separate appellee Diamante Membership Club, Inc.
APPEAL FROM THE SALINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 63CV-18-792] HONORABLE GRISHAM PHILLIPS, JUDGE
Robert S. Tschiemer, for appellants.
Schnipper, Britton & Stobaugh, by: Beau Britton, for separate appellee Diamante Membership Club, Inc.
RITA W. GRUBER, JUDGE
This is a companion case to Faigin v. Diamante, a Private Membership Golf Club, LLC, 2022 Ark.App. 361, also handed down today. The background facts and procedural history are set out in that opinion. Only facts specific to appellants will be detailed below. Appellants, Phillip Woodward and Katherine Woodward (collectively "appellants") own property within the Diamante subdivision located in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas. The appellees, Diamante, A Private Membership Golf Club, LLC; and Diamante Members Club, Inc. (collectively "appellees"), respectively, are the former and current owners of a private golf club associated with the developed subdivision.
In this appeal, appellants argue the same points on appeal as the appellants in Faigin. As detailed in Faigin, res judicata precludes appellants' claims; thus, we affirm the circuit court's application of the doctrine and grant of summary judgment to Diamante Members Club, Inc. ("New Club").
I. Background Facts
Appellants purchased a lot in the Diamante subdivision on September 10, 1994. In or around 2014, appellants ceased making their monthly club payments, and appellee Diamante, A Private Membership Golf Club, LLC ("Old Club"), filed a lien for unpaid monthly dues on the property. Later, New Club filed a complaint to foreclose the lien on May 30, 2018. In response, appellants filed a motion to dismiss based on a pending declaratory-judgment action filed in the Garland County Circuit Court by appellants and three other property owners to determine the legal and equitable rights between the lot owners and New Club. The circuit court denied appellants' motion to dismiss, holding that jurisdiction for New Club's foreclosure action was in Saline County, not Garland County.
On March 1, 2019, appellants filed their answer and counterclaim for fraud. The circuit court entered a final judgment and decree of foreclosure granting summary judgment to New Club on the basis of res judicata on May 31, 2019. The court awarded attorney's fees to New Club on July 19, 2019, and appellants filed timely notices of appeal.
II. Discussion
The circuit court concluded that appellants were attempting to relitigate claims that had previously been decided, or could have been decided, in Dye v. Diamante, a Private Membership Golf Club, LLC, 2017 Ark. 42, 510 S.W.3d 759, and applied the doctrine of res judicata. For the reasons set forth in Faigin, 2022 Ark. 361, and incorporated herein by reference, we hold that the circuit court properly applied res judicata in granting summary judgment to appellee.
Furthermore, appellants' argument on appeal that they were not parties in Dye was addressed in another companion case, Dana v. Diamante Members Club, Inc., 2022 Ark.App. 366, Case No. CV-19-769, also handed down today, and for the reasons set forth there and incorporated herein by reference, we find no merit to this argument.
III. Conclusion
As in Faigin, we conclude that all the requirements of claim preclusion are met; accordingly, the circuit court's order granting summary judgment to New Club is affirmed. Having concluded that res judicata bars relitigation of appellants' claim, we need not consider the other points on appeal.
Affirmed.
Gladwin and Barrett, JJ., agree.