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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS

HUNTERS WOODS SITE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Plaintiff/Counter-DefendantAppellant, v HOMES OF HUNTERS WOODS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Defendant/Counter-PlaintiffAppellee.

UNPUBLISHED May 24, 2011

No. 296001 Ottawa Circuit Court LC No. 08-061390-CH

HUNTERS WOODS SITE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Plaintiff/Counter-DefendantAppellee, v HOMES OF HUNTERS WOODS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., Defendant/Counter-PlaintiffAppellant. No. 296989 Ottawa Circuit Court LC No. 08-061390-CH

Before: HOEKSTRA, P.J., and MURRAY and M. J. KELLY, JJ. PER CURIAM. In this dispute between condominium associations within a phased development, plaintiff Hunters Woods Site Condominium Association, Inc. appeals as of right the trial court's judgment entered in favor of defendant Homes of Hunters Woods Condominium Association, Inc., after a bench trial. Defendant appeals as of right the trial court's subsequent order denying its motion for sanctions. Because we conclude that there were no errors warranting relief, we affirm. -1-

Plaintiff first takes exception to the trial court's ruling that upheld an indemnity provision in defendant's recreational facilities rules and regulations. We review a trial court's factual findings following a bench trial for clear error, but review de novo its legal conclusions. Villadsen v Mason Co Rd Comm, 268 Mich App 287, 291-292; 706 NW2d 897 (2005). "A finding is clearly erroneous if the reviewing court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made." Id. at 292. We also review de novo, as questions of law, the proper interpretation of statutes as well as the relevant condominium documents. In re Rudell Estate, 286 Mich App 391, 402-403; 780 NW2d 884 (2009). MCL 559.153 provides, in pertinent part, that the "administration of a condominium project shall be governed by bylaws recorded as part of the master deed, or as provided in the master deed." A condominium association has an implied power to adopt reasonable rules to govern the use of common property except as limited by statute or the condominium documents. See 2 Restatement Property (Servitudes), 3d,

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Michigan Law