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After seven of their goats fell victim to coyote killings, Steve and Karen Blume thought they had come up with a solution: Build a taller fence.
Instead of bringing the family peace of mind, however, the new fence has sparked an expensive legal battle with their homeowners association (HOA), which claims that the structure violates neighborhood rules and should be removed.
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The dispute highlights a costly reality for millions of homeowners living in HOA-governed communities. Even well-intentioned home improvements can trigger lawsuits, legal bills and expensive compliance orders.
According to KCAL News (1), the Orange County family initially had a standard six-foot fence around their property in Laguna Hills. But after coyotes repeatedly jumped the barrier and killed seven of their blue maize goats, Steve began experimenting with ways to keep them out.
“The coyotes were just jumping over the fence and killing my goats,” he told KCAL. “It’s a horrible thing to go out there and see our goats ripped apart.”
He first added mesh to raise the fence to about eight feet before incorporating blinking lights. When both of those measures failed, he installed a 45-degree angled extension, bringing the effective height to roughly nine feet. He says that finally stopped the fatal attacks.
The HOA says rules still apply
The fence may have protected the family’s animals, but it also caught the attention of their HOA.
The association has filed a lawsuit seeking to force the family to bring the fence back into compliance with the community’s six-foot height limit. According to the HOA, it spent nearly a year attempting to negotiate with the homeowners before filing the suit, saying that the family declined mediation and refused to modify the structure.
The Blumes have acknowledged that they did not receive approval before making the amendments to their fence, but they argue that they were responding to an emergency. They also contend that California law requires pet owners to responsibly protect their animals.
On January 1, 2026, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed six bills into law (2) — supported by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) — to help protect the well-being of animals in the state. Those laws are largely tied to the sale of pets, but some are structured to keep pets safe.
The new FOUND Act (AB 478), for example, ensures that companion animals are protected during emergencies and that local governments implement clear procedures to support pet owners during those emergencies. And, the pre-existing Humane Care and Anti-Cruelty law (3), under California Penal Code Section 597, prohibits animal abuse, including torturing, wounding or killing a living animal.
Karen questioned why nearby tennis courts can legally stretch to heights of up to 15 feet to keep the balls from flying over the fence, but their fence extension — designed to save living animals — is prohibited. The family also has also claimed that the alternatives proposed by the HOA would cost them thousands of dollars while offering less protection against the predators.
HOA disputes can become costly quickly
Coyote concerns have become increasingly common in suburban communities across California, where a combination of development expansion and wildfire-wrecked habitats (4) have brought homeowners and wildlife into closer contact. Research (5) shows that over the last decade California coyote occurrences have increased with “both proximity and intensity of urbanization.”
It’s also worth noting that in California, in particular, the Wildlife Resources Committee (WRC) issued an important recommendation in 2025 to remove coyotes from the state’s list of non-game animals. Previously, the classification made coyotes one of the only wildlife species in the state that anyone could kill — “in any number, at any time, for any reason,” according to Project Coyote (6).
“Killing coyotes indiscriminately doesn’t reduce conflict, it fuels it,” the organization wrote in its 2025 Impact Report (7), making a case for a regulatory framework that treats coyotes as “ecologically vital animals.” Coyotes help keep smaller predators like skunks, racoons and foxes in check and provide natural pest and disease control.
Although coyotes have been responsible for attacking both people and pets, animal rights groups have advocated for peaceful protection practices to help communities live in harmony with coyotes rather than claiming more lives — their lives.
That’s largely why many homeowners have simply invested in taller fencing and other deterrents like motion-activated lighting and coyote rollers — long, extruded aluminum tubes that sit atop fences and spin when animals attempt to hop over.
But not all those deterrents are compliant and, for homeowners with HOAs, disputes can become financial issues long before they even reach a courtroom. Legal defense costs can climb quickly depending on how long a case drags on. And, even if a homeowner ultimately reaches a settlement, they may still be responsible for attorney fees, mediation expenses or the cost of bringing their property back into compliance.
For families living in HOA-governed homes, balancing safety with neighborhood restrictions isn’t always straightforward.
As the Blumes’ case moves through the courts, the outcome could determine whether protecting pets from wildlife justifies breaking architectural rules — or whether homeowners must continue following HOA regulations even when they believe that those rules put their pets at risk.
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
WECT (1); Animal Legal Defense Fund (2); Animal Law (3); Nature World News (4); ScienceDirect (5); Project Coyote (6), (7)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
