BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

A major change is expected in the Homestead Farms Golf Course litigation, should a recent filing in the case be granted by the court.  On October 23, 2023, attorneys for Defendant MJ Management, LLC filed a motion requesting a change to MJ Management’s pleadings. This request includes an amended counterclaim for a Defendant Class Action to prosecute additional claims against the approximate 600 individual parcel owners in the Homestead Planned Residential Community, a golf course community located in Lynden, Washington.

A Defendant Class Action has been described by some legal commentators as a “unicorn” in the world of class action litigation as they are particularly uncommon, but the attorneys for MJ Management believe that this is an appropriate action for the case that has now been raging in Whatcom County Superior Court for over three and a half years. “There is no question that this is an uncommon legal theory,” says attorney Jeffrey Possinger, one of the attorneys representing MJ Management and other defendants. “But it has been used effectively in other jurisdictions around the United States, and it appears that this may be the first time a Defendant Class Action has been brought in Washington State.”

The attorneys for MJ Management believe that this is the most effective way to collect the past due assessments that MJ Management alleges it is owed by the various homeowners in the community who have not paid the Joint Maintenance Fees since 2020, when the litigation began. In 2020, the monthly fee was raised to $93 per month from the $36 per month that had previously been charged to the homeowners.

The attorneys for MJ Management believe that the alternative, which would require bringing over 600 separate collection lawsuits against the various homeowners, would be inefficient and expensive, and a Defendant Class Action is a more effective means of both collecting the maintenance fees that are owed, as well as equitably distributing the attorney’s fees and other costs of collection across the appropriate 600 class members.

The hearing for the Defendant’s motion has been set for Friday, December 8, 2023, before Superior Court Judge David Freeman, who is presiding over the case. A jury trial is set to begin on April 30, 2024.

Readers can find additional information, updates, and insights at our case website.

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