Hey everyone, it's Double Blog Day! We are getting a lot of COVID-19 related questions and a lot is happening at the state level, so we decided to double up this week. Some of the questions we are getting are about whether communities should be amending their governing documents to fit the realities of social distancing or quarantine, including amendments to change the date of the annual meeting, allow video meetings, electronic notice, or electronic voting. Cutting to the chase, the answer is PROBABLY NOT. read more

On April 17, 2020, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee implemented Proclamation 20-51 relating to "Community Association Meetings and Late Fees" but the Proclamation covers fines, too. Proclamation 20-51: read more

As we enter the seventh year of this quarantine (feels like it doesn't, it?), we are now accustomed to offices, stores, etc. being closed. Cities, states, and the federal government have made numerous efforts to help with rent, mortgages, and other debt. Courts across the country are closed and many pending cases are frozen for the time being. Some courts are taking efforts to freeze the statute of limitations on certain claims while other courts have specifically dictated that statutes of limitation are NOT frozen. read more

Both the Oregon and the Washington Nonprofit Corporations Act have a little known provision that may be helpful as our communities struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak: Emergency Bylaws. Both Oregon and Washington nonprofit corporations are authorized to create emergency bylaws allowing them to operate in case of an emergency. ORS 65.064 provides that an emergency exists "if a quorum of the corporation's directors cannot readily be assembled because of some present or imminent catastrophic event." The Washington counterpart at RCW 24.03.070 incorporates the "for-profit" statute at 23B.02.070, which similarly defines an emergency as the inability of the board to meet because of a catastrophic event. read more