The Washington Court of Appeals
recently issued an unpublished opinion relating to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge
of Free & Accepted Masons of Washington.
A member of the Grand Lodge was suspended after he raised allegations
that one of the Grand Masters and the Grand Lodge Entertainment Committee had
mismanaged funds. The member sued to
contest that suspension. However, the
Grand Lodge Constitution states that “no member … shall resort to civil courts
to establish any right or to redress any grievances arising out of the
membership in the Order or connected therewith until … he shall have exhausted
the remedies within the Order and in a manner provided by the Constitution, law
and regulations of this Grand Lodge.”
The appellate court upheld the
requirement that members of the Grand Lodge must exhaust its internal appeal
procedures before filing lawsuits. It emphasized
Washington courts’ unwillingness to interfere with private associations’ interpretations
of internal rules and procedures unless they are arbitrary and unreasonable. The court affirmed the dismissal of the
member’s lawsuit because he did not pursue the proper appeal procedure (vote of
the members at the next annual meeting) before filing it.
Some Washington condominium and
homeowners associations have internal appeal procedures and dispute resolution standards in their original governing documents. Many others do not. For those associations in the latter category,
amending the declaration or covenants to require exhaustion of internal appeal
procedures and fulfillment of dispute resolution requirements (such as
mandatory mediation) can help defuse some future disputes with owners before they turn
into lawsuits.
