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Month: October 2016

New Law Helps Tenants With Evictions

On June 9, 2016 Engrossed Senate Bill 6413 was enacted. This bill creates a procedure called “Order of Limited Dissemination” which would prevent tenant screening companies from disclosing an eviction on their report. A judge may sign your order if:

  1. You were wrongly named in an eviction/unlawful detainer action or there was no basis for the action.
  2.  Your tenancy was reinstated after the filing of the unlawful detainer.
  3.  Some other “good cause” which is up to the discretion of the judge.

If you are granted this order you may take it to a tenant screening agency and they will not disclose any evictions on your report. You may then use this report for up to 30 days while trying to obtain housing. This process does not remove the eviction from the public record and so it is still discoverable to the general public.The law also gives landlords up to 21 days to either return the security deposit or submit a statement detailing how the deposit was applied.

Want more information? Check out our list of Housing Law Clinics & Resources, as well as an Eviction Process Guide.

Important Rule Change: Courts May Consider Unpublished Appellate Decisions

Beginning September 1 of 2016, Washington courts may choose to consider unpublished opinions of the Court of Appeals.  While such opinions would still be nonbinding, amendments to GR 14.1 would allow them to be “accorded such persuasive value as the court deems appropriate” – provided the citing party identifies the decision as unpublished and appends a copy to the pleading.  The proposed amendment and rationale can be read here – along with comments received regarding the changes.  The adopted rule may be found here.

Want more help finding Washington Case Law? Check out our Washington Case Law Guide.