[WSBAPT] When is a special assessment deemed to be "levied" by a Condominium Association?

[Eric Reutter]

Greetings everyone,

I would be eternally grateful for some insight on a legal issue I have
encountered:

The issue centers around the purchase and sale of a Condominium.

- On the very first page of the NWMLS Purchase and Sale Agreement, Line 13,
the box is checked that reads Seller will pay in full by Closing
"*Charges/assessments
levied before, but due After Closing*."

- The Condominium Association Board approved a special assessment before
the Closing date, and gave notice to Seller about the assessment. The
assessment was not due until after the Closing Date.

- Seller did not pay the special assessment by closing, and escrow dropped
the ball and did not withhold the assessment amount from the sale proceeds.
Buyer was left to pay off the special assessment when this was discovered
after Closing.

- Remedies against Escrow and/or the Seller hinge on whether the special
assessment (which was very clearly approved by the Condominium Board before
the Closing Date) was *levied *before the Closing Date, as per Line 13 in
the NWMLS PSA.

- The resulting legal question becomes: *When is a special assessment
considered "levied" by a Condo Association? *My thought is that it must be
sometime before the assessment becomes actually due(perhaps when the Board
has officially approved the assessment?), but I have found scant legal
authority providing any kind of definition for when a special assessment is
deemed levied. I have checked the Condo Association bylaws and have found
no clarification there.

This must be a fairly common NWMLS selection and issue, but I have not
found anyone who has encountered this issue before. Any guidance/thoughts
would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

-Eric Reutter, J.D., Tax LLM
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