To prevent my blog followers from having an anxiety attack over whether they are going to owe more in property taxes, I believe it would be helpful to explain “manifest error”. WAC 458-14-005(14) defines “manifest error” as

an error in listing or assessment, which does not involve a revaluation of property, including the following (a) An error in the legal description; (b) A clerical or posting error; (c) Double assessments; (d) Misapplication of statistical data; (e) Incorrect characteristic data; (f) Incorrect placement of improvements; (g) Erroneous measurements; (h) The assessment of property exempted by law from taxation; (i) The failure to deduct the exemption allowed by law to the head of a family; or (j) Any other error which can be corrected by reference to the records and valuation methods applied to similarly situated properties, without exercising appraisal judgment.

The obvious issue here is how could the Assessor rely on “manifest error” to collect more property taxes from under assessed properties when the law specifically states that a manifest error is one that DOES NOT involve the revaluation or property?

From my reading of the Seattle Times article, it sounds like the Assessor will attempt to take a course of action that is prohibited under the same statute upon which he is relying. That is, revalue property as a result of manifest error.

How will Mr. Hara increase prior assessments without revaluing property? If you know please enlighten me.

Your property taxes are based on your assessed value. Therefore, the most common way to challenge your property taxes is to challenge the property’s assessed value.

Your assessed value is the result of an assessment conducted by the assessor. An assessment is similar to an appraisal except it’s done on a mass scale. During the assessment the assessor determines 1) the value of your land and 2) any improvements done to the property (i.e. house, building, etc.). Further the assessor only physically inspects your property once every six years, so there is a greater chance that an error will occur.

Because an assessment is based on market value, the best way to check the accuracy of your assessment is to compare it to similar properties. Most county assessors’ have websites that allow you to look up the assessed value of your property and compare it to others. If you find that similar properties have a similar value to your property, chances are you probably aren’t being over assessed. However, if the values are much lower, you and the assessor might have something to talk about.

Now that you know what an assessment is and have an idea on how to determine the value of your property, let’s discuss challenging the assessed value. In Washington, you have two options to challenge your assessed value and ultimately taxes. First, you can file a claim with the County Board of Equalization (“BOE”). This is an independent state agency that reviews the assessor’s valuation. Assuming the BOE agrees with the assessor, you can appeal the decision to the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA). If you don’t want to roll the dice with these agency’s and waste two years of your life consider the second route.

Option two is to pay your taxes under protest and file suit challenging the tax. In order to properly pay under protest, you have to follow the strict requirements of RCW 84.68.030 and WAC 458-18-215. I suggest contacting an attorney to make sure you comply with these provisions because failure to do so could ruin your entire claim. Once you’ve drafted your payment under protest, send it in along with your taxes. Also, it’s a good idea to send both documents certified mail so you have proof the assessor received both your taxes and your payment under protest.

Assuming you satisfy these requirements you will have almost a year to file suit in superior court challenging your assessment. If you don’t file suit within that year, you forfeit your ability to obtain a refund for that year’s property tax, but can still challenge taxes paid in the future. The filing and service fee to file suit will be around $320.00, and you have to hire an attorney.

Alright, that is all for now. I will periodically update this blog with more info, but for now, remember “PAY YOUR TAXES UNDER PROTEST!” It costs nothing and preserves your right to file suit in the future.

Ryan

Although the firm working on the litigation was based in Pennsylvania, I thought I would give my readers some background on the regulations in Washington which require contingency fee agreements to be in writing.

The Rule of Professional Conduct (RPC), in addition to other state laws, governs an attorney’s conduct in Washington State. RPC 1.5 specifically requires that if a lawyer is paid by a client through a contingency fee, the lawyer must have a signed agreement with the client which explains how the fee is paid.

In regards to the Sterling Financial case, the attorney representing the lead plaintiff likely failed to obtain a signed copy of this agreement. Therefore, under the RPC’s it likely would have been unethical for the firm to continue the representation.

Assuming the case was not dismissed with prejudice, a new lead plaintiff will likely come forward, sign the required forms, and proceed with the lawsuit. However, until that occurs the case will be on hold.

If you’ve been following the hiring and firing of coaches such as Jim Mora from the Seattle Seahawks or Jim Zorn of the Washington Redskins, you’ve no doubt heard the commentators bring up the Rooney Rule.

The Rooney Rule requires that before an NFL team can hire a new coach it must interview a minority coach for the position. This rule was passed in 2003 and named after the Steelers’ owner Dan Rooney who had long been an advocate for equality in coaching positions. The rule was passed due to the dismal record of minority hiring in coaching positions. Prior to 2003, although more than 70% of the players were African American, only 6% of the head coaches and 28% of the assistant coaches were minorities.

The rule does not necessarily guarantee equal treatment in the hiring process, but will help create a more level playing field.

In this situation you have two options 1) turn down the sale or 2) sell on credit.  Assuming you chose the later, get a security interest.  This helpful tool will allow you to repossess the goods in the event your customer fails to pay the remaining balance.  In fact, assuming your security interest meets all the requirements, you can even get your goods back if the buyer files bankruptcy before paying off the debt.

Interested?  Well keep reading because you need to know a bit more before calling your local business attorney.

First, you should know how to create a security interest.  The requirements are:  1) obtaining a security agreement; 2) entering a transaction which involves consideration and 3) giving your buyer (debtor) rights to the goods.  The security agreement will usually be included in the contract and must reasonably describe the goods, be signed by the buyer (debtor) and be in writing or some other form of record.  Consideration is when there is an exchange between parties, i.e. goods for a promise to pay.  Finally, the buyer or debtor must have rights in the goods, meaning that buyer must have ownership rights.  Assuming these and a few other requirements are met you will have a valid security interest.

Having it is just half the fun.  To make sure you protect your interest you need to file it with the Department of Licensing.  Most of the time filing can be done at the DOL’s website.   http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/UCC/uccefees.html.  Filing is important because it protects your interest from other creditors who take a security interest in the goods you sold to the debtor.  If you’re the first person to file, you have priority and your interest will likely be protected.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and security interests are no exception.  Your interest will expire in five years if it is not renewed, so make sure to note the expiration date on your calendar.

Remember, obtaining a security interest is one of the best ways to protect yourself as a creditor.  Now that you know what an interest is and how it can help you, give your local business attorney a call at 206-922-3506 and have him get the ball rolling.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or post.

All the best!

Ryan

Since the suit was filed in federal court, the plaintiffs were entitled to punitive damages up to $300,000. Generally courts don’t award these damages often, unless the conduct is very egregious. In this case, it sounds like it was.

If you want to read more about the settlement, check out the following link:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009708604_weblowes21m.html

Ryan Pauley

Some of you might be wondering “Can the employer just do that?”  Unfortunately, the answer is “yes”.  Washington is an at-will state.  This means that an employer can fire you for any reason unless:  1) you have an employment agreement, or collective bargaining agreement, that states you can only be fired for cause; or 2) the firing would violate a state or federal law (such as Title VII for the Washington Law Against Discrimination).

Based on the information contained in the article it seems that Key Bank’s firing was justified. I can’t fault Key Bank for having the policy, but I still have to give credit to the teller for standing up for himself.

In case you missed the article, here it is.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009579648_teller01m.html

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009518030_apwawalmartsettlement.html

Of course, the question was can the employer enforce the terms that were made after the formation of the original agreement?

I think everyone is familiar with the phrase “you can’t get something for nothing” and it definitely rings true in this situation.  Any modifications to a contract must be supported by independent consideration.  I’m sure some of you are saying, “What the hell does that mean?”  Let me explain.  Consideration exists if there is a bargained for exchange.  Meaning the person making the promise, i.e. my friend above, must be getting something in return for his or her promise which he or she does not already have.  If the person making the promise gets nothing in return, then consideration does not exist and the modification is likely invalid.

Now back to the situation above.  Because my friend made additional promises without getting anything in return from the employer, his/her additional promises, i.e. the modification, are not enforceable because they aren’t supported by consideration.

Interesting stuff huh?  Maybe not for everyone, but it probably is for those like me who are fascinated with the daily contracts which we enter into each day of our lives.

As always, your comments are always welcomed.

Ryan Pauley

First, in the State of Washington, the legislature has passed RCW 19.142 to protect consumers in their dealings with health clubs.  Under this statute, if you’ve been a member to a health club for one year or more and you cancel your membership with 30 days written notice, then the health club cannot continue to withdraw money from your account.  If they do, the health club is likely in violation of 19.142.050(1).

In addition to violating RCW 19.142.050(1), the above situation also violates the Washington State Consumer Protection Act (CPA).  RCW 19.142.100 says that any violation of the Health Club statute is a violation of the CPA.  Under that statute an injured party can go to court and ask the judge to award:  1) the amount of money withdrawn from the account; 2) reasonable attorney’s fees and 3) treble damages equal to three times the actual damages, but not to exceed $10,000.00.

In addition to going to court, the conduct can also be reported to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.  I assume that once the violation is reported the AG will investigate accordingly.  If you are looking for more info on how to report a violation please visit the following site.  http://www.atg.wa.gov/ConsumerIssues/HealthClubs/default.aspx#ViolationsOfTheLaw

Canceling a health club membership can be quite a challenge.  It’s also one of those problems everyone seems to run into, but no one seems to know what their rights are.  I hope that these situations quit happening to me, but if they don’t at least I am prepared to respond accordingly.

Hope you enjoyed this post and please let me know if you have any questions.

Ryan Pauley