Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE IN ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : MISCELLANY / NEWSMAKERS AND MILESTONES

Virginia F. Vosburg, who owns a condominium in The Bluffs, a 642-unit development overlooking Newport Bay, went to court as a matter of principle, her lawyer said.

Her homeowners’ association had decided to assess everyone $7.99 per month for group fire insurance, and Vosburg refused to pay. She wanted to choose her own insurance, she said.

But in Superior Court, the principal expanded beyond Vosburg’s dreams. Not only did the court order her to pay the association $514 in back insurance payments but also to pay the association’s estimated $25,000 in legal fees.

Vosburg appealed, and last week the 4th District Court of Appeal issued its ruling. Vosburg must pay the back insurance payments, must pay the association’s legal fees in Superior Court and now must pay the association’s legal fees in appellate court--another estimated $10,000.

“She felt she was right and they were wrong,” said Vosburg’s attorney, E. Day Carman. He said she acted on principle, and “she’s been done in by the legal system.”