The Spring Lake Homeowner’s Association in Houston has sued Army National Guard captain Bill Fry for building a swingset in his back yard. Fry’s wife says that the couple got permission from the HOA to build the swingset, but the HOA denies that. “They’re in the wrong only because they declined to make the proper application and submit the drawings,” said HOA chairman Harold Lemmon.
The HOA is a private organization, but there’ s no doubt that the over-regulatory and litigious mindset that now permeates America has infected even private institutions. When a man can’t build a swingset for his children without submitting forms, there’s something deeply wrong.