<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Helvetica;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Segoe UI";
panose-1:2 11 5 2 4 2 4 2 2 3;}
@font-face
{font-family:TIMES;
panose-1:2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Lato;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:#1F3864;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864">Sean – Thank you so much for taking the time to prepare and give testimony to the Committee on HB2140. I just finished watching and appreciated your prepared testimony and your direct answers
on the questions not well addressed by Mr. Spiegelman, who attempted to testify in favor of the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864">I understand Representative Dan Griffey represents the 35<sup>th</sup> district, which covers all of Mason county and portions of Kitsap and portions of Thurston counties. I encourage our members
in the 35<sup>th</sup> and our lobbying team to reach out to Mr. Griffey to discuss more deeply.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864">craig<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none"><img width="240" height="57" id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image001.png@01DA4DF1.DA888C90" alt="cid:image001.png@01D70602.BE4197F0"><img width="42" height="42" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image003.jpg@01DA4DF1.DA8D2070" alt="WLTA-WTP1 LOGO small"></span><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#A39161;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none">Craig Trummel</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none">Regional Underwriter/Washington State Counsel</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#A39161;mso-ligatures:none">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F497D;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#1F3864;background:white;mso-ligatures:none">C: 206.580.8344</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;background:white;mso-ligatures:none">
</span><span style="font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> |
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Segoe UI",sans-serif;color:#1F497D;background:white;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:ctrummel@wfgtitle.com">ctrummel@wfgtitle.com</a> |
<a href="http://www.wfgtitle.com/">www.wfgtitle.com</a> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table class="MsoTableGrid" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="0" style="width:476.75pt;margin-left:5.4pt;border-collapse:collapse;border:none">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td width="636" valign="top" style="width:476.75pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Confidentiality Notice: The information contained in this electronic e-mail and any accompanying attachment(s) is intended only for the use
of the intended recipient and is non-public in nature and may be confidential and/or privileged. If any reader of this communication is not the intended recipient, unauthorized use, disclosure, dissemination or copying is strictly prohibited, and may be unlawful.
If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender by return e-mail, and delete the original message and all copies from your system and promptly destroy any copies made of this electronic message.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="636" valign="top" style="width:476.75pt;padding:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#002060;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="https://wfgtitle.com/privacy-policy/"><span style="color:#002060">Click Here for WFG’s Plain English Privacy Policy</span></a></span></u><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F3864"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"> Legislativecommittee1 [mailto:legislativecommittee1-bounces@washingtonlandtitle.com]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Holland, Sean<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, January 22, 2024 6:17 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> 1 WLTA Legislative Committee <legislativecommittee1@washingtonlandtitle.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Legislativecommittee1] Draft testimony - HB 2140<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt:.75pt"><span style="font-size:1.0pt;color:white">This message was sent securely using Zix® [zixcorp. com] Here’s a draft of my testimony for tomorrow. Good morning Chair Taylor, Ranking Member Walsh, and members
of the committee. My name is Sean Holland. I am speaking for the Washington <o:p>
</o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt:.75pt"><span style="font-size:1.0pt;color:white"></span><span style="font-size:1.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:white"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<table class="MsoNormalTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" style="width:100.0%">
<tbody>
<tr style="height:15.0pt">
<td style="border:solid #003E6A 1.0pt;background:#005FA8;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in;height:15.0pt">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.zixcorp.com/get-started/__;!!D1GiJZDdVrw!eXc7aHvkgYA_w6SaHJSbdlhdbzNgHT6hJhw4Zwc8CIOqlw55KQ0VhTo8DLAaggYiG2-Yit9WNUbgjZ-Momiv-Q$" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:Lato;color:white;text-decoration:none">This
message was sent securely using </span><span style="font-family:Lato;color:white;text-decoration:none">Zix</span><sup><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"TIMES",serif;color:white;text-decoration:none">®</span></sup><span style="text-decoration:none">
[zixcorp.com]</span></a> <span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Here’s a draft of my testimony for tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">Good morning Chair Taylor, Ranking Member Walsh, and members of the committee. My name is Sean Holland. I am speaking for the Washington Land Title Association in opposition to House Bill 2140.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">Adverse possession of real property is a legal doctrine that goes back centuries. The concept has been fundamental to Washington law since territorial days. This bill would upend over a century of Washington
law and only lead to a host of new problems. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">Almost exactly 40 years ago, on January 26, 1984, the Washington Supreme Court decided
<i>Chaplin v. Sanders,</i> one of the most significant adverse possession decisions in Washington legal history. The case stated that the most important reason for the doctrine was to quiet titles.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">A secure, insurable, title combines multiple elements. First, is ownership appearing in the record title, usually by deed. Second, is possession. When a seller gives a buyer of land a statutory warranty deed,
RCW 64.04.030 provides that the seller’s warranties include “quiet and peaceable possession” of the property. When there is a mismatch between deed lines and lines of occupation existing over many years, the doctrine of adverse possession provides a way to
bring them back into alignment by quieting title along the lines of occupation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">House Bill 2140 eliminates possession of property as an element of ownership. The bill elevates the boundary lines described in a deed, lines that only a surveyor can locate, over the lines of actual occupation
apparent to all: a fence, a wall, a hedge, a barn or a house. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">This bill says that lines of occupation do not matter. But that makes no sense. Suppose someone buys a property with a house and their deed says it’s 100 feet north to south. But anyone visiting the property
can see there’s a fence at about the 60 foot mark and another house just beyond the fence. Would any rational buyer think they are getting ownership of the neighbors’ house? That’s what HB 2140 would do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">I have been a lawyer for over 30 years. In my experience, where the lines of occupation do not match survey lines, that usually comes as surprise to the owners on both sides and is unsuspected until someone gets
a survey. And I have never seen a situation where someone intentionally set out to adversely possess another’s property.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;margin-left:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:105%">Passing this bill could result in homeowners having to remove their fences, tear up their landscaping, and even move or demolish their homes. That’s not an exaggeration. I have run into situations where every
house on a block or around a lake was on top of a boundary line, not safely between them. Adverse possession provides a way to protect the way people live, not lines in deeds that only a surveyor can locate.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">When a legal doctrine has served Washington well for over a century, it should not simply be dispensed with in a way that creates new winners and losers. Reforms
to Washington’s adverse possession law may be desirable. That would require the involvement of stakeholders. When Washington undertook substantial revisions to its deed of trust act and the law pertaining to condominiums and other common interest communities,
it did so only after a multi-year process involving stakeholders. If the legislature wants to reform the law of adverse possession, it should adopt the same approach.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Sean Holland<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">VP | Underwriting Counsel<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Washington & Montana<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Fidelity National Title Group<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2700<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Seattle, Washington 98104<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Mobile: 206-308-6823<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:Sean.Holland@fnf.com">Sean.Holland@fnf.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none">
<hr size="1" width="100%" noshade="" style="color:black" align="center">
</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none">NOTICE: The information contained in this message is proprietary and/or confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient of this
communication, you are hereby notified to: (i) delete the message and all copies; (ii) do not disclose, distribute or use the message in any manner; and (iii) notify the sender immediately.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
<br>
<br>
</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Lato;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">This message was secured by
<strong><span style="font-family:Lato"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/www.zixcorp.com__;!!D1GiJZDdVrw!eXc7aHvkgYA_w6SaHJSbdlhdbzNgHT6hJhw4Zwc8CIOqlw55KQ0VhTo8DLAaggYiG2-Yit9WNUbgjZ8L4zfpQA$"><span style="color:#0038A8">Zix</span> [zixcorp.com]</a><sup>®</sup></span></strong>.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none">
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>