Water is flowing back into Greenhills Estates’ lakes in Chowchilla, but the legal disputes are far from over.
After more than a year of disputes over lake maintenance, water bills and a lawsuit, a group of current and former homeowners is now formally challenging the Greenhills Master Association Board (HOA).
Meanwhile, Martin Boone, a Pheasant Run managing member and Water Resource Council (WRC) board member, brought his own defamation claims against HOA President John Campbell.
Greenhills’ original lawsuit also remains in court, with another case management conference set for Oct. 8 after the HOA’s attorney pushed for a trial date.
Homeowners take action
The homeowners filed an alternative dispute resolution, or ADR, request alleging the board violated California law and the community’s governing documents.
The ADR request gives the HOA an opportunity to resolve the dispute before additional legal action is pursued. Under California Civil Code, the HOA has 30 days to respond. If it does not, the request is considered rejected.
The group wants lake maintenance restored and the HOA’s current lawsuits withdrawn. It’s also asking the board to reopen the clubhouse, replace gym equipment and the HOA’s management company, improve transparency and reimburse homeowners who lost access to community amenities.
The filing alleges the board improperly closed the clubhouse, removed gym equipment and converted part of the facility into office space for on-site management without homeowner approval.
Homeowners are also questioning additional fees charged to some lakefront homeowners. They want the board to provide documentation showing the charges were properly established or issue refunds if it cannot.
Bill VanPatten is among those who signed the request.
VanPatten no longer lives in Greenhills, but he remains a defendant in the HOA’s lawsuits. He said his concern centers around how the board handled the disputes in the first place.
“Follow procedure, which is you try to mediate first. You don’t just run to a court and sue,” VanPatten said.
Campbell declined to discuss the homeowners’ filing.
“I’m not going to discuss IDRs, ADRs or other concerns that may have been expressed by members,” Campbell said. “So I can’t really comment on that.”
Related Reports:
Boone brings his own claims against Campbell
The HOA board is not the only one facing new claims.
Boone filed a cross-complaint at Madera Superior Court against Campbell, accusing the HOA president of libel, slander and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The dispute centers, in part, on posts Campbell made from his personal Nextdoor account about Boone and the governance of the Water Resource Council, the entity that manages Greenhills’ lakes and is being sued by the HOA.
In a Feb. 15 post titled “The Switch,” Campbell named Boone while questioning changes to how WRC members were selected. Campbell argued the changes reduced Greenhills homeowners’ influence over water policy and concluded that the outcome was “neither acceptable nor lawful.”
Boone alleges Campbell falsely portrayed him as participating in secret and unauthorized decision-making. His cross-complaint says Boone did not secretly change the WRC’s structure or eliminate Greenhills’ representation on the council.
Matthew Backowski, an attorney for Boone and Pheasant Run, said the dispute began over shared water costs and a written agreement and did not need to escalate into litigation or personal accusations against Boone.
“Those are the kinds of issues reasonable people should be able to sit down and work through. It did not need to become expensive litigation or turn into serious personal accusations against Martin Boone,” Backowski said.
Backowski said Boone’s claims are not based simply on criticism or disagreements over the WRC.
“Mr. Boone is not suing because someone disagreed with him or criticized the WRC,” Backowski said. “His claims concern public statements that he contends were false and damaging to a reputation he spent decades building.”
Campbell’s side is preparing to challenge those claims.
During a recent case management hearing, Greenhills attorney Jacob Sarabian told the judge that Campbell expects to file an anti-SLAPP motion challenging the cross-complaint against him. Sarabian said it remains unclear which firm will represent Campbell on the motion and asked that future scheduling account for it.
An anti-SLAPP motion allows a defendant to seek early dismissal of claims arising from certain constitutionally protected speech or activity.
Pheasant Run also files claims against Greenhills
The HOA now also faces a separate cross-complaint from Pheasant Run LLC, the company that owns the Pheasant Run Golf Course in the Greenhills community.
Pheasant Run accuses Greenhills of breaching the parties’ water agreement by failing to pay its share of certain legal expenses and the full amount of monthly licensing fees.
The cross-complaint alleges Pheasant Run paid $60,812.66 in legal expenses allocated to Greenhills, and that Greenhills owed another $6,757 in unpaid licensing fees as of Aug. 3.
In total, Pheasant Run is seeking at least $67,569.66 in damages, along with additional amounts that may become due.
Pheasant Run is also asking the court to enforce the water agreement with the Water Resource Council and Greenhills and to clarify Greenhills’ continuing obligations under that agreement.
Is water flowing back into Greenhills’ lakes?
Amid the ongoing legal battles, there has been some movement in one dispute: Greenhills paid a large portion of its outstanding water-related costs.
The dispute centers on shared water costs and a 2021 agreement that assigns Greenhills 66.77% of operating and maintenance costs based on lake surface area. Greenhills later challenged the cost-sharing arrangement and filed suit. The WRC later offered non-binding mediation, but the HOA did not respond.
Greenhills sent a letter to the WRC on July 24 with a check of $308,732.92 in overdue costs under the shared water agreement, Backowski said.
Immediately following the receipt of payment, Backowski said, the WRC turned the water back on, and the Greenhills lakes began filling up once again.
“They made a substantial payment for the outstanding WRC fixed cost, variable cost, and after that payment was made, the WRC turned the water back on as it said it would do,” Backowski said.
About $1,800 in licensing fees remains outstanding, along with some attorneys’ fees and costs. Greenhills also paid $11,184 to Pheasant Run for costs it paid on Greenhills’ behalf, Backowski said.
The payment also raises another question: where is the money coming from?
Homeowners have continued paying lake-related fees over the last year while the HOA discussed drawing from reserve funds to cover outstanding lake-related costs.
Campbell declined to explain why the HOA may need to dip into reserves since homeowners have continued paying their fees.
“Anytime you talk about resources, you’re basically talking about legal strategy,” Campbell said.
The broader legal fight already cost the HOA significantly more than it budgeted.
Financial records obtained by The Merced FOCUS show Greenhills budgeted about $39,789 for legal expenses from January through June 2026. By then, the HOA spent more than $139,150.05 – about 3.5 times the budgeted amount.
The records also show the HOA paid a portion of legal bills submitted by Pheasant Run’s attorneys and categorized the payments as “lake repair and maintenance.” The HOA was billed for 66.77% of those costs, the records show.
As for the lakes themselves, Campbell said they will not refill overnight. Pheasant Run Golf Club is prioritizing irrigation during the summer heat, he said, and the lakes are expected to gradually recover into the fall and winter.
“We still have issues to resolve, but the immediate situation is improving,” Campbell said.