Legal Fees

A few months ago, I posted a question concerning a property owner requesting a reimbursement for legal fees voluntarily spent to begin the process to remove the Board. I had hoped this might "go away" but it has returned.
The short story is that two property owner's used personal money to begin the process to remove the Board as there were many issues - most importantly the Board had allowed the covenants to expire. The legal process was a success and a new Board was elected. All legal issues have now been resolved and the community seems to be happy with the results.
While both owners used personal funds, only one is requesting to be reimbursed.
There were many answers from my earlier post - the majority basically being "don't count on a reimbursement".
Since this is now being officially posed to the current Board, my question is - "Should this be directed to the current, or the previous Board?"
If to the current Board, payment would be determined by a vote of the community (assumption). If it is to the previous Board, payment would be determined through legal action (again, assumption).
This is a very small community and this pay-out from the current Treasury would hurt the community a great deal.
Your input here is always appreciated.

I agree with Elle

In California, association funds are not permitted to be used in any election campaign, for directors or otherwise. Perhaps your state has a similar provision. Since the member didn't have (and wouldn't have gotten) board approval to reimburse his personal expense with association funds, he should be satisfied with the election results.