A Liquor License, a Nightclub, and a Property Rights Nightmare in Mesquite
The City of Mesquite granted a liquor license to a nightclub that allegedly didn’t meet the city’s own parking requirements. That one decision set off a chain reaction that has cost one Nevada woman nearly a million dollars — and she still can’t open her own business.
That woman is Erica Nicholas. She owns three commercial parcels at Red Hills Commercial Center in Mesquite. She runs an apparel business. She had plans to open a family fun center at what used to be a movie theater. Five years later, she still hasn’t been able to open it.
Her advocate is Raelene Schifano, founder of two HOA accountability organizations — HOA Fight Club and HOA United — who knows firsthand what it’s like to be on the wrong end of an HOA’s power. Schifano’s activism began after her own condo association erroneously fined her $15,000 for a smoking violation that occurred while she was out of state.
She has since testified before state legislatures to champion bills that increase transparency, protect owners from unfair foreclosures, and limit the power of boards that operate without accountability.
She says what Nicholas has faced is far from unique. It’s a pattern she sees play out every single day.
Not an HOA at All?
Before we get to the parking lot, the nightclub, or the court order, there’s a more basic question. Was this even a legitimate HOA to begin with?
Red Hills Commercial Center, or RHCC, is a collection of individually owned commercial parcels. Not a condo complex. Not a shared apartment building. Each parcel has its own deed and its own owner.
Nevada’s HOA statutes — NRS Chapter 116 — govern common interest communities. But the law is specific about who it covers.
Under NRS 116.1201, a planned community where all units are restricted exclusively to nonresidential use is exempt from Chapter 116 — unless the declaration specifically opts in. There’s no evidence that ever happened at RHCC. No vote. No declaration opting in. Nothing.
A motion for summary judgment was filed arguing exactly that — RHCC simply does not fall under NRS 116. The association’s own representatives reportedly acknowledged in a public meeting that no reciprocal parking agreement exists. They don’t even appear to have a legitimate board. There’s no record of a proper election.
“A nonprofit cannot force me to join it,” Nicholas tells NN&V.
These are fee simple properties — meaning each owner holds full, individual title. You can’t just declare authority over someone’s deed because you filed some paperwork.
If the court agrees, the association never had the power to enforce a single rule against Nicholas — or any other owner at Red Hills — from day one. And that raises a serious question about every dollar collected from every owner over the years.
Nicholas says she pays the association $80,000 a year. Multiply that across multiple property owners over multiple years. If the authority was never legal, what do you call collecting money under that authority?
What the Records Actually Show
Two independent experts have reviewed the evidence. Their conclusions are striking.
Brown Civil Engineering examined the subdivision plat — the official recorded map of the property. Their finding? No shared parking easements legally exist.
Under Nevada law, an easement must be recorded, signed by all affected owners, and clearly defined. The final map for RHCC, recorded in Book 138, Page 77, shows easements for ingress, egress, utilities, and drainage. There are no parking easements, and no common areas either.
Mesquite Title Company reached the same conclusion. There is no bona fide reciprocal easement on record.
The CC&Rs — the association’s governing documents — only imply shared parking. But implication doesn’t create a legal right.
Making things worse, some property owners had parking language quietly added to their deeds years after the fact. In at least one case, a 2005 deed had no parking restrictions. A 2016 deed on the same property suddenly did — with no clear legal basis for the change.
Then there’s the bombshell.
A 2022 email from the property manager suggested that owners should deed their parking areas to the association to create a “common area.”
If those rights already existed, there would be no need to create them. That email is essentially an admission that the authority being enforced didn’t legally exist.
The Nightclub Next Door
Here’s where it gets uglier.
Nicholas tells NN&V that Mesquite’s municipal code requires 53 parking spaces for an establishment with an occupancy of 250 — and that the city issued the nightclub’s liquor license anyway, despite the club not having those spaces on its own property.
So where do the customers park? On Nicholas’ lot.
Nicholas put up barriers to stop it. The association went to court and told the judge she was impeding parking and blocking emergency exits. A temporary restraining order was granted.
The next day, police showed up and removed her barriers; an incident Nicholas called “humiliating.”
“I don’t have any police protection,” Nicholas said. “The police have made me the criminal. I’m afraid to call the police.”
Nicholas says the information the judge was given was patently false, and the maps back her up.
For now, the nightclub’s customers park on her property. And, because they’re on her property, any liability from an incident — a drunk patron falling, a fight, a car accident — could land on her insurance.
She didn’t invite them. She tried to keep them out, but a court order stopped her. Now she holds the bag.
The Human Cost
Nicholas has spent roughly $600,000 in legal fees over five years, with another $400,000 in association fees on top of that. Her family fun center never opened.
Nicholas and Schifano say the financial destruction is deliberate.
“They use your own money to go after you,” Nicholas said.
“It’s a predatory industry that is losing a lot of people their homes,” Schifano said. “People lose their homes because they can’t afford to fight their attorneys. Everybody quits.”
Schifano says the system is built to grind people down.
“Management for the association and the attorneys that work for the HOA are the same attorneys that own the collection agency — they are basically self-dealing,” she said.
Every late bill gets attorney fees piled on. And HOA attorneys aren’t always bound by the same fair debt collection laws that protect consumers.
“HOA attorneys don’t have to follow fair collection laws — homeowners end up in collections for a fifty-dollar fee and five thousand in attorney fees,” Schifano said.
Why This Matters to Every Property Owner
This isn’t just a Mesquite story. It’s a property rights story.
Conservatives have always understood that property rights are the foundation of freedom. Your deed is supposed to mean something. Your title is supposed to protect you.
If a body like this association can, as alleged, claim authority it was never granted, enforce rules it never legally created, collect fees it was never owed, and bury property owners in legal fees until they quit — that’s a serious problem.
Most property owners can’t afford to spend $600,000 fighting back. They lose their properties. They walk away. The association wins by attrition.
What the Other Side Says
Association supporters argue the CC&Rs allow for shared parking and that years of historical use back their position. Their attorney has suggested the fix is for owners to deed their parking areas to the association — creating the common area structure that would give it real authority going forward.
But that’s exactly the point. You can’t enforce rights you don’t have and then ask people to hand them over to clean up the mess.
What Comes Next
The case is now before District Court Judge Nadia Krall. An evidentiary hearing is set for May 14. Multiple issues are on the table — the temporary restraining order, the maps, and the easement questions.
If the court finds the association was never operating under a valid legal framework and that no easements exist, everything it has done loses its foundation.
The TRO that stripped Nicholas of control over her own property loses its basis. And a woman who has spent five years and a small fortune fighting for what was already hers might finally get some answers.
We’ll have a full follow-up once the court rules.
You Can Take Action Right Now
If you’re frustrated with your own HOA — or just want to know your rights before a problem starts — here’s your chance to get educated.
Americans for Prosperity–Nevada is hosting a free, hands-on homeowner training on Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their Las Vegas office at 2310 Paseo Del Prado, Suite A202.
Featured trainers include Jim Manley, an attorney and HOA legal expert, and Wiz Rouzard, AFP–Nevada’s Deputy State Director and a leader in property rights advocacy.
Topics include your rights as a property owner, how to hold boards accountable, and proven strategies for real change in your community.
Seating is limited. RSVP is required. Complimentary food will be provided.
Reserve your spot here.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
