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Little Girl's Family Sued Because Backyard Playhouse is Too Pink

Posted: 09/14/2012 12:39 pm

Written by Joslyn Gray for Babble.com

In today's WTF, we have a Georgia family being sued by their homeowners association because a 4-year-old girl's backyard playhouse is pink.

Because OHMYGAH what will happen to the property values if a little girl plays in her backyard?

Under the homeowner association's rules, structures like sheds and garages are deemed "landscape improvements," and both the structure itself, and the color, must be approved by the HOA. The HOA contends that homeowner Becky Rogers-Peck had permission to build the playhouse, but not to paint in pink.

Ms. Rogers-Peck argues that the playhouse isn't the same as a garage or a shed.

"I consider this play equipment like a trampoline or a swingset," Ms. Rogers-Peck said on the Today Show this morning. "Originally, I was just going to buy a Little Tikes Playhouse, and what would have been the difference?"

"Part of the approval is the color," Susan Bradley, HOA president, told August NBC station WMBF. "We didn't disapprove of the play house. We disapproved of the color of it."

The dispute has been ongoing since April, when neighbors complained about the pink playhouse, which cannot be seen from the front of the house. At a recent HOA meeting, Ms. Bradley said that three or four people had complained.

Former Congressional candidate Wright McLeod is the attorney representing the HOA in the case. Local reporter Lauren Walsh asked Mr. McLeod if he thought suing someone over a pink playhouse was, well, dumb.

"I regret that it had to come to it. But to answer your question, I don't think it's dumb. I think it's regrettable that the homeowner would not comply with the rules."

Presumably Mr. McLeod is getting paid for his time, so I would guess it wouldn't be productive for him to say that the lawsuit is dumb. And some residents are outraged that the a lawsuit will cost their HOA money, reported WAGT.

To find out who the HOA should have contacted for legal services, visit Babble!

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Written by Joslyn Gray for Babble.com In today's WTF, we have a Georgia family being sued by their homeowners association because a 4-year-old girl's backyard playhouse is pink. Because OHMYGAH what...
Written by Joslyn Gray for Babble.com In today's WTF, we have a Georgia family being sued by their homeowners association because a 4-year-old girl's backyard playhouse is pink. Because OHMYGAH what...
 
 
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07:59 PM on 09/17/2012
Suburban Haiku:

Homeowners meeting:
Two hours on door colors?
Now I’m seeing red.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jmbsjy
too old for tea parties
06:50 PM on 09/17/2012
Those people complaining have too much time on their hands. Ridiculous!
06:13 PM on 09/17/2012
People need to look up what is meant by, "Pharisee". People who love rules for the sake of rules themselves. Every rule should have a purpose, if there's no true value in it, then people are just publicly displaying their OCD as if they should get a trophy for it or something.
05:06 PM on 09/17/2012
BTW, if 3 homeowners want to complain then let them put their names into the lawsuit making it a public document for the world to see! They shouldn't be able to hide behind the skirt of a HOA!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Damaven
05:04 PM on 09/17/2012
These HOA's have some strange rules. They have to be based in "I've got the power so I will". What a joke. A dollhouse is not a property improvement. If so, take down all basketball nets. Some are attached to the house as opposed to having it's own portable stand.
04:59 PM on 09/17/2012
Dont buy a house with an HOA! Period. They're nosy people!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
frog saves world
macro bio
04:40 PM on 09/17/2012
That's why one of the number 1 things I insisted on when buying a house was that it wasn't apart of any HOA.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
KMBerger
"Cui adhaereo, prae est,"
04:38 PM on 09/17/2012
This country needs to focus more on lawyers looking to arbitrate trivial matters like this than to waste time on civil lawsuits, especially at a time when many State level Justice Departments don't have adequate funds for prosecuting real criminal cases... This is a sign that attorney education needs to be reformed to become a bit more sensible.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
commentsareus
03:36 PM on 09/17/2012
Home Owners Associations [at least this one]; Busybodies on steroids.
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momslilmonster
668 The Neighbor of the Beast
03:10 PM on 09/17/2012
I bet these are some of the same folks who complain about Obama and too much government in thier lives.
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momslilmonster
668 The Neighbor of the Beast
03:08 PM on 09/17/2012
The rules are the rules! Just out of spike the family should paint thier entire house pink so it matches the playhouse and conforms to the HOA rules.
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02:57 PM on 09/17/2012
"Here little girl, have an ugly gray playhouse you'll never use."

Come on, people. It's obvious this HOA is just greedy for extra money.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Gumby
No Mas Taliban Americano!
02:56 PM on 09/17/2012
HOAs? WTF?

Run away! run away!
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
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02:48 PM on 09/17/2012
Dear HOA Busybody Enforcers:

May your afterlife be filled with nothing but every shade of PINK.

~ America the Sane and Colorful
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ResidentPragmatist
My dog is the best person I know.
02:44 PM on 09/17/2012
A bunch of losers with what they consider to be power of some sort. This is precisely why I never have and will never live in a neighborhood like this.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
zombywulf
Pirate Captain Church of Saint Jerry
06:41 PM on 09/17/2012
these are the same people who ban American flags on houses.
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ResidentPragmatist
My dog is the best person I know.
11:19 PM on 09/17/2012
Yeah, I'm no fan of rules, so I try to stay away from places with rules.  :-)