Bellevue Farm Owners Association v. Stevens

• Decision Date: 11 May 2020
• Docket Number: 77830-7-I,77603-7-I,77401-8-I,78430-7-I,78300-9-I
• Court: Washington Court of Appeals
• Parties: BELLEVUE FARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a non-profit corporation; LAUREN BARRETT and WILLIAM BARRETT, husband and wife, trustees of the Laurie Barrett Residential Trust and of the Bill Barrett Residential Trust; WEBSTER AUGUSTINE III, an individual; HOOPOE LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company; GIGI BIRCHFIELD and MARK BAUTE, husband and wife; TIMOTHY DOHERTY and CHRISTINE DOHERTY, husband and wife; PATRICK DOHERTY, an individual; GLEN CORSON and KIM KYLO-CORSON, husband and wife; JANTANA KUPPERMANN and BARUCH KUPPERMANN, husband and wife; RODNEY SMITH and MARY MARGARET SMITH, husband and wife; MATTHEW STRAIGHT and VERONICA STRAIGHT, husband and wife; TOM TUCCI and DIANE TUCCI, husband and wife; and DANA PIGGOT, an individual, Respondents, v. CHAD STEVENS and "Jane Doe" STEVENS, husband and wife, Appellants, PETE FINDLEY and "Jane Doe" FINDLEY, husband and wife; CASCADE MOUNTAIN RENTALS LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company; and DOES 1 to 10, Inclusive, Defendants. BELLEVUE FARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a non-profit corporation, LAUREN BARRETT and WILLIAM BARRETT, husband and wife, trustees of the Laurie Barrett Residential Trust and of the Bill Barrett Residential Trust; WEBSTER AUGUSTINE III, an individual; GIGI BIRCHFIELD and MARK BAUTE, husband and wife; TIMOTHY DOHERTY and CHRISTINE DOHERTY, husband and wife; PATRICK DOHERTY, an individual; GLEN CORSON and KIM KYLO-CORSON, husband and wife; JANTANA KUPPERMANN and BARUCH KUPPERMANN, husband and wife; RODNEY SMITH and MARY MARGARET SMITH, husband and wife; MATTHEW STRAIGHT and VERONICA STRAIGHT, husband and wife; TOM TUCCI and DIANE TUCCI, husband and wife; and DANA PIGGOT, an individual, Respondents/Cross Appellants, HOOPOE LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company, Plaintiff, v. CHAD STEVENS and "Jane Doe" STEVENS, husband and wife, Appellants/Cross Respondents, PETE FINDLEY and "Jane Doe" FINDLEY, husband and wife; CASCADE MOUNTAIN RENTALS LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company; and DOES 1 to 10, Inclusive, Defendants. BELLEVUE FARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a non-profit corporation; LAUREN BARRETT and WILLIAM BARRETT, husband and wife, trustees of the Laurie Barrett Residential Trust and of the Bill Barrett Residential Trust; WEBSTER AUGUSTINE III, an individual; GIGI BIRCHFIELD and MARK BAUTE, husband and wife; TIMOTHY DOHERTY and CHRISTINE DOHERTY, husband and wife; GLEN CORSON and KIM KYLLO-CORSON, husband and wife; JANTANA KUPPERMANN and BARUCH KUPPERMANN, husband and wife; RODNEY SMITH and MARY MARGARET SMITH, husband and wife; MATTHEW STRAIGHT and VERONICA STRAIGHT, husband and wife; TOM TUCCI and DIANE TUCCI, husband and wife; AND DANA PIGOTT, an individual, Appellants/Cross Respondents, v. CHAD STEVENS and "Jane Doe" Stevens, husband and wife, Respondents/Cross Appellants, and ROBERT STEVENS and DOES 1-10, Inclusive, Defendants.

BELLEVUE FARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a non-profit corporation; LAUREN BARRETT and WILLIAM BARRETT, husband and wife, trustees of the Laurie Barrett Residential Trust and of the Bill Barrett Residential Trust; WEBSTER AUGUSTINE III, an individual; HOOPOE LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company; GIGI BIRCHFIELD and MARK BAUTE, husband and wife; TIMOTHY DOHERTY and CHRISTINE DOHERTY, husband and wife; PATRICK DOHERTY, an individual; GLEN CORSON and KIM KYLO-CORSON, husband and wife; JANTANA KUPPERMANN and BARUCH KUPPERMANN, husband and wife; RODNEY SMITH and MARY MARGARET SMITH, husband and wife; MATTHEW STRAIGHT and VERONICA STRAIGHT, husband and wife; TOM TUCCI and DIANE TUCCI, husband and wife; and DANA PIGGOT, an individual, Respondents,
v.
CHAD STEVENS and "Jane Doe" STEVENS, husband and wife, Appellants,

PETE FINDLEY and "Jane Doe" FINDLEY, husband and wife; CASCADE MOUNTAIN RENTALS LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company; and DOES 1 to 10, Inclusive, Defendants. BELLEVUE FARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a non-profit corporation, LAUREN BARRETT and WILLIAM BARRETT, husband and wife, trustees of the Laurie Barrett Residential Trust and of the Bill Barrett Residential Trust; WEBSTER AUGUSTINE III, an individual; GIGI BIRCHFIELD and MARK BAUTE, husband and wife; TIMOTHY DOHERTY and CHRISTINE DOHERTY, husband and wife; PATRICK DOHERTY, an individual; GLEN CORSON and KIM KYLO-CORSON, husband and wife; JANTANA KUPPERMANN and BARUCH KUPPERMANN, husband and wife; RODNEY SMITH and MARY MARGARET SMITH, husband and wife; MATTHEW STRAIGHT and VERONICA STRAIGHT, husband and wife; TOM TUCCI and DIANE TUCCI, husband and wife; and DANA PIGGOT, an individual, Respondents/Cross Appellants, HOOPOE LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company, Plaintiff,
v.
CHAD STEVENS and "Jane Doe" STEVENS, husband and wife, Appellants/Cross Respondents,

PETE FINDLEY and "Jane Doe" FINDLEY, husband and wife; CASCADE MOUNTAIN RENTALS LLC, a Washington Limited Liability Company; and DOES 1 to 10, Inclusive, Defendants.

BELLEVUE FARM OWNERS ASSOCIATION, a non-profit corporation; LAUREN BARRETT and WILLIAM BARRETT, husband and wife, trustees of the Laurie Barrett Residential Trust and of the Bill Barrett Residential Trust; WEBSTER AUGUSTINE III, an individual; GIGI BIRCHFIELD and MARK BAUTE, husband and wife; TIMOTHY DOHERTY and CHRISTINE DOHERTY, husband and wife; GLEN CORSON and KIM KYLLO-CORSON, husband and wife; JANTANA KUPPERMANN and BARUCH KUPPERMANN, husband and wife; RODNEY SMITH and MARY MARGARET SMITH, husband and wife; MATTHEW STRAIGHT and VERONICA STRAIGHT, husband and wife; TOM TUCCI and DIANE TUCCI, husband and wife; AND DANA PIGOTT, an individual, Appellants/Cross Respondents,
v.
CHAD STEVENS and "Jane Doe" Stevens, husband and wife, Respondents/Cross Appellants,

and ROBERT STEVENS and DOES 1-10, Inclusive, Defendants.

Nos. 77830-7-I, 78300-9-I, 77401-8-I, 77603-7-I, 78430-7-I

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1

May 11, 2020

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

Andrus, A.C.J.

Twenty homeowners in a San Juan Island development known as Bellevue Farm have spent the better part of a decade fighting-both literally and figuratively-over the meaning of a set of restrictive covenants governing the use of their land and a waterfront parcel owned by the homeowners as tenants in common. They have also fought over the boundaries between privately owned lots and the waterfront parcel, the erection of a spite fence in front of property owned by Chad Stevens, and the management and operation of their homeowner association, Bellevue Farm Owners Association (BFOA).

After four years of summary judgment rulings, a prior appeal to this court, ^[1]a 2016 bench trial, and a 2017 jury trial, no one came away happy with the result. The record reveals a level of animosity between Stevens and his neighbors and incivility between some of the parties and the attorneys that surpasses anything this court has ever seen. With the exception of one decision on certain homeowners' entitlement to an award of attorney fees under the restrictive covenants, we affirm the trial court.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Bellevue Farm

Bellevue Farm is a 54-acre development consisting of 14 separate lots located on San Juan Island's Westcott Bay. The farm was originally short-platted in 1994 into four residential lots (BF Lots #1 through #4) and one waterfront lot approximately 2000 feet in length (common waterfront). The short plat declared that "the shoreline common area shall be owned in common by all owners of lots within the plat."

(Image Omitted)

In 1994, Bellevue Farm's former owner incorporated BFOA as a Washington non-profit corporation and adopted bylaws and a set of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (1994 CC&Rs). The owners amended the 1994 CC&Rs in 1997 (1997 CC&Rs).

In 1995, Brad Augustine and some investors purchased BF Lot #4 and short-platted it into eight smaller residential lots. These eight lots-each between one and one-half and two acres in size-became known as South Bellevue Farm and are governed by a separate homeowner association, South BFOA, subject to restrictive covenants recorded against the South Bellevue Farm lots. The South Bellevue Farm lots (South BF Lots #1 through 8) share a water well, a tennis court, and a pond. Within South Bellevue Farm, there are four lots that face the common waterfront and four upslope lots. In 1997, the lot owners in Bellevue Farm and South Bellevue Farm agreed to combine the two groups' meetings and to study the issue of functioning as one homeowner association in the future. From that point forward, while BFOA and South BFOA were two separate entities, each board was composed of the same members so that, in effect, BFOA and South BFOA were considered to be one entity.

B. The Protagonists in this Saga

Every owner in Bellevue Farm and South Bellevue Farm was a party to this lawsuit. The following photograph shows the relative locations of the parcels and their owners:

(Image Omitted)

Chad Stevens.

Stevens, a full-time Cle Elum resident, purchased BF Lot #3, a total of 10 acres, in June 2005. He later short-platted the lot into two five-acre parcels, BF Lots #3A and #3B.^[2] When Stevens purchased the property, the upslope portion, now BF Lot #3A, had a three-bedroom farmhouse, constructed in 1889, and a two-bedroom "hatch house," constructed around 1996.

BF Lot #3B borders the common waterfront. The widest and most usable section of the entire common waterfront sits in front of Stevens's parcel. Stevens later constructed a four-bedroom beach house on BF Lot #3B facing this waterfront area, completing it in July 2012. BF Lot #3B also has a 100-year-old apple orchard. According to Stevens, the apples are primarily the type used in making hard cider. Stevens also planted a vineyard on the upslope parcel.

Stevens purchased the property for its waterfront access and he knew he would have to rent out the property to afford its mortgage. He obtained transient rental permits for both lots and, starting in 2008, began marketing the properties to vacation renters. This short-term rental activity, along with his subsequent open hostility toward and lack of candor with his neighbors, contributed to serious conflicts before and during this lawsuit.

Mark Baute and Gigi Birchfield.

Baute and Birchfield, a married couple, are attorneys who live in California. They initially purchased South BF Lot #1, with a home facing the waterfront, from Brad Augustine in 2005.^[3] This lot is adjacent and to the south of Stevens's BF Lot #3B. Baute and Birchfield obtained a transient rental permit for short-term vacation rentals and hired a local property manager to rent this house. They have rented out this house since they purchased it in 2005.

Five years later, BF Lot #2B, also facing the waterfront and adjacent to and north of Stevens's lots, came up for sale.^[4] Baute and Birchfield purchased the land with their close friends, Jantana and Dr. Baruch Kupperman. The two couples subsequently built a large, joint home on the property.

As a result of these acquisitions, Baute and Birchfield currently have an ownership interest in the lots on both sides of Stevens's lots. The relationship between Baute and Stevens and Stevens's attorneys became particularly adversarial throughout this litigation, with Baute leading the BFOA members into taking certain actions that contributed significantly to the escalation of disputes with Stevens.^[5] Baute was a BFOA officer for the years relevant to this lawsuit.

Jantana and Dr. Baruch Kupperman.

The Kuppermans, who reside in California, joined Baute and Birchfield in purchasing BF Lot #2B and building a large, multi-family home on that lot in 2011. They visit between two and six weeks each year. Together, Baute and Dr. Kupperman obtained a transient rental permit for the large house. The parties disagreed about the frequency of vacation rentals for the home on BF Lot #2B. Baute testified they rarely rent out the larger home. Stevens disputed that testimony, contending the house had been completely booked by short-term renters in the summers.

Glen Corson and Kim Kyllo-Corson.

The Corsons purchased South BF Lot #8, one of the upslope lots without direct waterfront access, ^[6] in 1997. They built their first home on the lot shortly after purchase and subsequently built a larger home on the same parcel in 2015. Before moving into the home as their full-time residence when they retired, the Corsons used their Bellevue Farm property as a vacation home.

Corson held the position of BFOA president, a volunteer position, for roughly a decade-from 2006 or 2007 to 2017. His role in enforcing what he believed were reasonable restrictions on renter use of the common waterfront led to Stevens filing counterclaims against him. Corson took significant direction from Baute in his management of BFOA's day-to-day operations.

Veronica and Matthew Straight.

...