[WSBARP] Converting UD to Civil Action

Tue Apr 12 10:23:49 PDT 2022

Uh-oh.  Does it matter what type of damages you are asking for?  There are certain damages that are ancillary to a Writ, such as past rent.  I have a "friend" (heavens to Betsy, not me) where the "friend" has received a order for writ, went in to premises to find it intentional trashed, and later (what? 3 weeks) and asked, under the same UD action, for a judgment (or asked to amend the judgement) to include the cleanup costs.  Perhaps it is necessary to convert the action from a UD action to a general civil action if the LL is requesting damages for the loss of future rent which brings up all those pesky LL mitigation obligation arguments.

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From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Lenard Wittlake
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 8:41 AM
To: 'WSBA Real Property Listserv' <wsbarp at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Converting UD to Civil Action

As for conversion of UD to ordinary civil case, here is what Div III said in the attached case:

The power to convert an unlawful detainer action into a general action for damages
lies exclusively with the trial court. Id. at 47 ("[T]he trial court has inherent power to
fashion the method by which an unlawful detainer action is converted to an ordinary civil
action.") (emphasis added).  "No particular method exists for the trial court to" exercise
its conversion powers.  Barr v. Young, 187 Wn. App. 105, 109, 347 P.3d 947 (2015). But
the court must do something. Merely granting a party's request for general civil damages
is insufficient.  See Angelo Prop. Co. v. Hafiz, 167 Wn. App. 789, 818, 274 P.3d 1075
(2012) (no subject matter jurisdiction when court could have converted unlawful detainer
action to general action for damages, but did not do so).
Nothing in the record indicates the trial court took any action to convert the
Castellons' unlawful detainer action into a general action for damages prior to issuing
judgment. As a result, the court lacked jurisdiction ...

I have had success with a motion and order to convert.  No extra filing fee.

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From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com<mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> [mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of Kaitlyn Jackson
Sent: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 12:08 AM
To: WSBA Real Property Listserv
Subject: Re: [WSBARP] Converting UD to Civil Action

Did anyone answer this question? I have some ideas.

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On Fri, Jan 21, 2022 at 3:31 PM Mark Anderson <marka at mbaesq.com<mailto:marka at mbaesq.com>> wrote:
Dear Listmates:
In an unlawful detainer action based on the landlord wanting to sell the property, we obtained a writ of restitution.  However, the commissioner "reserved" the award of a monetary judgment for unpaid rents because if we wanted to seek payment for back rent owed at the same time that we were seeking a writ of restitution based on an intent to sell, we had to go through the repayment negotiation process.  And so (at least for now) we chose just to take the writ, have it served, and evict the tenant.
The tenant is now out of the property and the sheriff has returned the writ of restitution.  At this point, do I need to start a new civil case for the unpaid rents and damages or can I just pay an extra filing fee to convert this to a civil case for that purpose?  And am I correct in assuming that, in either case, we won't have to go through the repayment negotiation process?  My understanding is that that repayment negotiation process only applies where you are attempting to evict a tenant based on failure to pay rent.
I've never done such a conversion before so any recommendations will help.  Thanks to everyone.
Mark B. Anderson
ANDERSON LAW FIRM PLLC
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