Bangerter v. Hat Island Cmty. Ass'n (Majority and Dissent)
Annotate this CaseMatt Surowiecki Sr. sued the Hat Island Community Association (HICA), arguing that HICA violated its governing documents by not charging assessments on an equitable basis. After review, the Washington Supreme Court concluded HICA’s governing documents granted the association broad discretion in setting assessments, and that the association’s decision on assessments was entitled to substantial deference. Here, the association’s elected board of trustees made the decision to raise funds through a combination of use-based fees and per-lot assessments as authorized in its governing documents. This decision was ratified by a vote of the members. Surowiecki’s evidence established, at most, that there might be more than one equitable way to distribute the costs of maintaining the community’s obligations. He did not show, however, shown as a matter of law that either the process used, or the result reached, was not equitable.
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