RCW 60.42.010 Lien upon personal property—Effective date—Notice of claim of lien—Waiver of lien rights—Court costs, attorneys' fees, and statutory interest.

(1) The lien created under this chapter is a lien upon personal property, not upon real property.

(2) A broker has a lien upon the owner's net proceeds from the disposition of commercial real estate and a lien upon the net rental proceeds from the lease of commercial real estate in the amount which the owner has agreed to pay the broker under a commission agreement. The lien under this chapter is available only to the broker named in the commission agreement, and may not be assigned voluntarily or by operation of law.

(3) Subject to the requirements of subsection (4) of this section, the lien created by this chapter becomes effective on the date of the recording of a notice of claim of lien upon proceeds pursuant to subsection (6) of this section, and is perfected by such recording. Recording must be made with the county auditor or recorder in the county or counties in which the commercial real estate is located.

(4) In the case of a disposition of commercial real estate, the lien under this chapter is not effective unless it is recorded at least thirty days prior to the date a deed conveying the commercial real estate is recorded in the office of the county auditor or recorder in the county or counties in which the commercial real estate is located. In the case of a lease of commercial real estate, the lien under this chapter is not effective unless it is recorded within ninety days after the tenant takes possession of the leased commercial real estate.

(5) The lien created by this chapter is null and void unless, within ten days of recording its notice of claim of lien against proceeds, the broker delivers a copy of the notice of claim of lien against proceeds to the owner of the commercial real estate in the manner provided in RCW 60.42.070. In the case of the disposition of commercial real estate, on or before the date the deed conveying the commercial real estate is recorded, the broker shall deliver a copy of the notice of claim of lien against proceeds to the escrow closing agent closing the disposition in the manner provided in RCW 60.42.070, if the identity of the escrow closing agent is actually known by the broker.

(6) To be effective, the notice of claim of lien against proceeds must state the following:

(a) The name, address, and telephone number of the broker;

(b) The date of the commission agreement;

(c) The name of the owner of the commercial real estate;

(d) The legal description of the commercial real estate as described in the commission agreement;

(e) The amount for which the lien is claimed, which may be stated in a dollar amount or may be stated in the form of a formula for how the amount is to be determined such as a percentage of the sales price;

(f) The real estate license number of the broker; and

(g) That the lien claimant has read the claim, knows the contents, and believes the same to be true and correct, and that the claim is made pursuant to a valid commission agreement, and is not frivolous, under penalties of perjury.

A copy of the commission agreement must be attached to the recorded notice of claim of lien against proceeds. The notice of claim of lien against proceeds must recite that the information contained in the notice of claim of lien against proceeds is true and accurate to the knowledge of the signatory. The notice of claim of lien against proceeds must be acknowledged pursuant to chapter 64.08 RCW. A notice of claim of lien against proceeds substantially in the following form is sufficient:

NOTICE OF CLAIM OF LIEN AGAINST PROCEEDS

PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 60.42 RCW

Notice is hereby given that the person named below claims a lien as to owner's net proceeds or net rental proceeds, but not real property, pursuant to chapter 60.42 RCW. In support of this lien, the following information is submitted:

1. Name, telephone number, and address of lien claimant:. . . .

. . . .

2. Washington state broker's license number of lien

claimant: . . . .

3. Date of the written commission agreement on which this claim is based: . . . . . . . . . , a true and complete copy of which is attached to this notice of claim of lien.

4. Name of the owner: . . . .

5. Legal description of the commercial real estate described in the commission agreement: . . . .

. . . .

6. The amount for which the lien is claimed, which may be stated in a dollar amount or may be stated in the form of a formula for how the amount is to be determined such as a percentage of the sales price:

. . . .

7. The undersigned lien claimant, being sworn, states: I have read the foregoing claim, know the contents, and believe the same to be true and correct, and the claim is made pursuant to a valid commission agreement, and is not frivolous, under penalty of perjury.

. . . .

Signature of lien claimant

. . . .

Name, Street Address, City, State

of person signing

. . . .

Telephone Number of person signing

State of Washington

)

) ss

County of. . . .

)

. . . .

Subscribed and sworn to, or affirmed, before me on  . . . by  . . . .

. . . .

Signature

(Seal or stamp)

. . . .

Title

My appointment expires . . . .

(Add acknowledgment pursuant to chapter 64.08 RCW)

(7) Whenever a notice of claim of lien against proceeds is recorded and a condition or event occurs, or fails to occur, that would preclude the broker from receiving compensation under the terms of the commission agreement, including the filing of a notice of claim of lien against proceeds in a manner which does not comply with this chapter, the broker shall record, within seven days following demand by the owner, a written release of the notice of claim of lien against proceeds.

(8) Whenever the amount claimed in a notice of claim of lien against proceeds is paid to the lien claimant, the lien claimant shall promptly record a satisfaction or release of the notice of claim of lien against proceeds on written demand of the owner no later than five days after receipt of payment. In the case of a disposition of commercial real estate, the escrow closing agent is required to pay to the lien claimant the owner's net proceeds up to the amount claimed in the notice of claim of lien against proceeds. If the amount claimed in the notice of claim of lien against proceeds is to be fully or partially paid to the lien claimant by the escrow closing agent, upon such disposition, then the lien claimant shall submit a release of the notice of claim of lien against proceeds in the amount of the owner's net proceeds or the amount of the lien, whichever is smaller, to the escrow closing agent to be held in escrow pending such disposition and payment. In a suit brought by the owner to compel delivery of the release by the lien claimant, if the court determines that the delay was unjustified, the court shall, in addition to ordering the release of the notice of claim of lien, award the costs of the action including reasonable attorneys' fees to the prevailing party.

(9) An owner of commercial real estate may request that a broker waive the rights to a lien under this chapter, and such a waiver contained in the commission agreement signed by the broker is effective to waive the broker's rights to a lien under this chapter. In a suit filed by a broker to recover amounts due under a commission agreement in which the broker has waived lien rights under this chapter, if the court finds that payment is due to the broker under the commission agreement, the court, in addition to awarding normal damages, shall award to the broker court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, and statutory interest, as provided in RCW 19.52.010, from the date the deed is recorded in the event of a disposition, or from the date the tenant takes possession in the event of a lease.

[ 1997 c 315 § 2.]