My Next Presentation for the Washington Secretary of State Will Occur on May 9!

My next free virtual presentation about legal issues pertaining to community associations for the Washington Secretary of State will take place from 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 9. It will describe those associations' duties and the state laws that apply to them. If you want to attend this presentation, then you should contact Melissa Harris at melissa.harris@sos.wa.gov. 

Selecting the Right Attorney for Your Commmunity Association

Every community association needs legal guidance from time to time. If your association has not established a relationship with an attorney yet, then it should seek to work with one who focuses their practice on this area, possesses substantial experience, and provides efficient services. Communication style and personality should be considered as well. I place particular emphasis on brevity and clarity when conveying advice, and my clients often remark that they appreciate my informality and practicality. Feel free to contact me to discuss your association's needs and how I can help you address them.

Washington Court of Appeals Addresses Boundary Tree Trespass Claim

Two lot owners in a homeowners association share a property line which runs parallel to a row of Leyland Cypress trees. Some of those trees are located entirely on one property, but some straddle the common property line. One owner removed approximately the top third of the trees. The other owner sued for timber trespass under RCW 64.12.030. In a recent unpublished decision, Division II of the Washington Court of Appeals decided that the defendant did not have the authority to cut the trees in that manner. It noted that trees located directly on property lines are the common property of the adjoining owners and that each owner is entitled to maintain such boundary trees as long as their maintenance does not interfere with the rights of the other owner. In this case, such substantial cutting reduced the trees' effectiveness as a privacy screen for one of the owners.

Happy New Year!

I look forward to assisting my community association clients with their legal issues in 2025. Washington state law pertaining to community associations has changed in significant respects over the past several years, and my office is here to help you understand and react to those changes.         

WA Court of Appeals Upholds HOA's Enforcement of Home Business Restriction

Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals recently published an opinion concerning the validity of an owner's business-related activities within a homeowners association. It decided that the owner's conduct violated one of the covenants that governed the property. The court also rejected the owner's argument that the association had waived its right to enforce that covenant.   

The association’s common space contains an airstrip that all property owners have a right to use for their private planes. The use of the airstrip is subject to restrictions outlined in a set of recorded covenants, including a prohibition on home businesses unless they are entirely within the owner's residential structures and operate in a manner that gives no outward appearance of a business.

The owner's business trained five or six students daily on wing walking within their hangar. Wing walking is climbing from the cockpit to the upper wing rack and along the lower wing and climbing around the exterior of the plane with a safety harness and cable. Training included lessons, photos, and a flight. Students arrived around 8:30 a.m. in four to six cars. Three planes were kept on the property and shuffled in and out of the runway. Only one student could be trained at a time while the others congregated inside and outside the hangar structure. The court held that operating this home business in this manner gave an outward appearance of a business and thus violated the covenant at issue. 

The court also decided that the association did not waive its right to enforce the home business restriction. It first pointed out that the set of covenants expressly includes a provision that failure to enforce any covenant or restriction is not a waiver of the right to do so in the future. The court further noted that there was no evidence that the association had stated an intention to relinquish its right to enforce this covenant.