My Next Free Legal Presentation for the Secretary of State is this Friday

My next free virtual presentation about the Washington Common Interest Ownership Act ("WUCIOA") and other laws affecting community associations for the Washington Secretary of State will take place from 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. on this Friday, October 30. It will describe those associations' rights and duties under the state laws that apply to them. If you want to attend, then contact Melissa Harris at melissa.harris@sos.wa.gov. 

Appellate Court Affirms Verdict Ordering Removal of Unauthorized Structure

The Washington Court of Appeals recently upheld a jury's verdict against two homeowners who erected a metal structure on their lot without the prior approval of their homeowners association's architectural control committee as required by its governing documents. The homeowners were ordered to remove the structure and to pay the association nearly $160,000 in order to reimburse it for the attorney fees and costs that it incurred during the litigation. Owners should strongly consider contacting their community's association before altering their property in a manner that is visible from the exterior. Failure to do so could be a very costly mistake.    

The Limited Effect of a Board's Failure to Comply with Meeting Requirements

As previously discussed on this blog, the state law that governs common interest associations in Washington state requires those associations to comply with numerous requirements relating to meetings. However, it also limits the consequences associated with a board's failure to comply with those requirements. The law first states that actions of a board that do not comply with meeting-related requirements are valid unless set aside by a court. It goes on to state that an action seeking relief for a board's failure to comply with those requirements may not be brought more than 90 days after the minutes of the meeting at which the action was taken are approved or the record of that action is distributed to unit owners, whichever is later.

My Next Legal Presentation for the Secretary of State Occurs on May 29

My next free virtual presentation about WUCIOA and other laws affecting community associations for the Washington Secretary of State will take place from 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 29. It will describe those associations' duties and the state laws that apply to them. If you want to attend, then you should contact Melissa Harris at melissa.harris@sos.wa.gov. 

Legislature Approves New Law Regarding Owner Inquiries and Responses

The Washington State Legislature recently approved a new law regarding inquiries from owners in common interest communities and associations' responses to such inquiries. The full text of the new law is as follows:  

"(1) When a unit owner or the unit owner's authorized agent files a written inquiry by certified mail with the Association regarding one or more topics related to either Association governance or operations, or both, the Association must respond, in the form of a record, to the unit owner or the unit owner's authorized agent within 30 days after receipt of the inquiry. The Association must either give a substantive response to the inquirer or notify the inquirer that additional time is reasonably necessary to respond, such as when a legal opinion or other third-party professional opinion has been requested. For the purposes of this Section, a “substantive response” includes, but is not limited to, a factual explanation, reference to governing documents, statement of current Association practices, or other responsive information reasonably available to the Association. The  Association is not required to obtain a legal opinion or other third-party professional opinion in order to provide a substantive response unless reasonably necessary to address the inquiry.

(2) In any action or proceeding arising out of an inquiry subject to this Section including, but not limited to, any litigation, mediation, arbitration, or administrative proceedings, the prevailing party is entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

(3) The Association may adopt reasonable rules and regulations regarding the frequency and manner of responding to inquiries, one of which may be that the Association is only obligated to respond to one written inquiry per unit in any 30-day period. In such a case, the Association must respond to any additional inquiry or inquiries in the subsequent 30-day period, or periods, as applicable. Nothing in this Section precludes a unit owner from asking more than one question as part of a single inquiry."

This new law takes effect on June 11. If your association's board of directors has any questions about it, then it should consider contacting my office.