Real Estate Litigation
Real estate is the most valuable thing most people and businesses own, so the disputes over it are rarely small. We litigate fights over the sale, ownership, condition, and use of property, from a deal that fell apart or a seller who hid a defect to a title cloud or a commercial tenant who won't leave.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
5
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Real estate litigation lawyers for Bellevue and Seattle property owners
Oseran Hahn litigates disputes over real property for Pacific Northwest owners, buyers, sellers, landlords, and developers. A real estate dispute can freeze a sale, cloud a title, or tie up a building for years, and the law here is a mix of contract, statute, and old common-law doctrine. We handle purchase-and-sale fights, seller-disclosure and fraud claims, quiet-title and ownership actions, commercial lease and eviction disputes, and the easement and boundary cases that have to be tried. The goal is to clear the cloud and protect the property's value.
A real estate dispute is a fight over who owns property, what condition it's in, and how it can be used, and the stakes are usually the asset itself. We litigate purchase-and-sale disputes when a deal breaks down, including suits to force a sale through. We bring and defend seller-disclosure and fraud claims over hidden defects. We quiet title and resolve competing ownership claims, including partition among co-owners. We handle commercial lease defaults and unlawful-detainer evictions. And we try the easement, boundary, and broker disputes that can't be settled, protecting the property with a lis pendens where the title itself is at stake.
Purchase and sale disputes
When a real estate deal breaks down, the money and the property are both on the line. We litigate disputes over purchase-and-sale agreements: failed closings, contingency and financing fights, earnest-money forfeitures, and breaches by buyer or seller. Because each parcel of land is treated as unique, a wronged buyer can often sue for specific performance, a court order forcing the sale to close, rather than settling for damages, and we pursue or defend that remedy depending on the side. Washington requires real estate contracts to be in writing (RCW 64.04.010), and we record a lis pendens to lock down the property while the dispute is litigated (RCW 4.28.320), so the seller can't convey it out from under the claim.
Seller disclosure, fraud, and property-condition claims
Buyers who discover a serious problem after closing often have a claim the seller hoped they wouldn't pursue. Washington requires most residential sellers to deliver a disclosure statement, the Form 17, identifying known defects (RCW 64.06), and a seller who conceals or misrepresents a material condition can be liable for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, or breach despite an as-is clause, which does not shield active concealment. We pursue these claims for buyers and defend them for sellers and brokers, and where the conduct is deceptive in the consumer sense, the Consumer Protection Act and its treble damages may come into play (RCW 19.86). The fight usually turns on what the seller actually knew and when.
Quiet title, ownership, and partition actions
Some disputes are about who owns the property at all. We bring and defend quiet-title actions to resolve competing claims, clouds, and defective conveyances (RCW 7.28), and we litigate adverse possession, where someone who has openly occupied land for ten years, or seven under color of title with paid taxes, can claim ownership (RCW 4.16.020 and RCW 7.28.070), with attorney fees available in some cases (RCW 7.28.083). When co-owners can't agree on what to do with a jointly held property, we bring or defend partition actions to divide it or force a sale (RCW 7.52). These cases decide title itself, so getting the record and the legal description right matters more than anything.
Commercial lease and unlawful-detainer disputes
Commercial tenancies generate their own litigation, and the residential tenant protections most people know don't apply: the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18) governs apartments, not office, retail, or industrial space, which is controlled by the lease and the common law. We litigate commercial lease defaults, unpaid rent and CAM disputes, holdover tenants, and lease-interpretation fights, and we prosecute and defend unlawful-detainer actions, Washington's fast-track eviction procedure, to recover possession (RCW 59.12). For landlords the priority is regaining a paying tenant or the premises quickly; for tenants it is buying time and preserving a valuable leasehold. We move at the speed the statute demands.
Easement, boundary, and broker disputes
The rest of real property litigation runs from fights between neighbors to fights with the professionals who handled the deal. We litigate easement scope and interference, encroachments, access and view disputes, and prescriptive-easement claims, the contested versions of the boundary and easement matters our real estate group also resolves transactionally. We also handle real estate broker and agent disputes, including breach of the statutory duties a broker owes (RCW 18.86) and commission claims. Many of these matters settle once the law and the survey are clear, and we push for that, but we try the ones where the other side won't move.
Sixty years advising Pacific Northwest owners, developers, and businesses, with a real estate group that handles the deals and a trial group that handles the fights, working together. We know these disputes tie up an asset that has to be sold, financed, or used, so we move to clear title and resolve the matter without destroying the property's value.
We pair deal knowledge with trial skill.
Our real estate and litigation groups work the same matters. Lawyers who know how these transactions are supposed to close make sharper litigators when one doesn't, and our settlements reflect what the property is really worth.
We protect the asset first.
A lis pendens, a quick unlawful-detainer filing, or an early injunction can preserve a client's position before the property is sold, encumbered, or stripped. We move on the protective steps early.
We resolve so the property can move.
Most owners need to sell, finance, or use the property, not litigate it for years. We push toward resolutions that clear the title and free the asset, and we try the cases that genuinely have to be tried.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
The seller backed out of our signed purchase agreement. Can I force the sale?
Often, yes. Because courts treat each piece of real estate as unique, a buyer with a valid written contract can usually sue for specific performance, a court order requiring the seller to complete the sale, instead of just money damages. We also record a lis pendens to keep the seller from conveying the property to someone else while the case is pending. Washington does require the contract to be in writing (RCW 64.04.010), so the first question is always what the signed documents actually say.
I found a major defect the seller never disclosed. Do I have a claim?
Possibly a strong one. Washington requires most residential sellers to complete a disclosure statement, the Form 17, listing known problems (RCW 64.06), and a seller who actively conceals or lies about a material defect can be liable even if the sale was as-is, because an as-is clause does not cover fraud. The case usually turns on proving what the seller knew. We evaluate the disclosures, the inspection history, and the repair records to determine whether the facts support a claim.
What is a quiet title action?
It's a lawsuit to establish who owns a piece of property when there are competing claims, clouds, or defects in the chain of title (RCW 7.28). People bring quiet-title actions to resolve boundary overlaps, old unreleased liens, defective deeds, adverse-possession claims, and similar problems that make a title unmarketable. The result is a court judgment that settles ownership and can be recorded to clear the title. If you can't sell or refinance because of a title problem, a quiet-title action is often the fix.
My commercial tenant stopped paying rent. How fast can I act?
Faster than with a home. Commercial tenancies aren't covered by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, so the residential notice and cure rules don't apply; your lease and the common law control. To recover possession we use the unlawful-detainer process (RCW 59.12), Washington's expedited eviction procedure, which moves much faster than ordinary litigation. We can also pursue unpaid rent, CAM, and damages. The exact steps depend on your lease's default and notice provisions, which we review at the outset.
Is this different from the boundary and easement work your real estate group does?
It's the litigated side of it. Our real estate group resolves many boundary, easement, and title questions transactionally, through surveys, recorded agreements, and negotiation, which is usually faster and cheaper. When the other side won't agree, or when ownership itself is contested, the matter moves to litigation, and that's what this practice handles: quiet title, adverse possession, encroachment suits, and easement disputes tried to judgment. We start with the cheaper path and escalate only when we have to.
When should I call a real estate litigator?
Early, especially when title or possession is at risk. The protective tools that matter most, a lis pendens to freeze a sale, a fast unlawful-detainer filing, an injunction against an encroachment, work best before the property changes hands or the situation hardens. Early counsel also preserves the disclosures, surveys, and communications these cases turn on. By the time a property has been sold to someone else or a defect has been papered over, options narrow, so the early call protects the most.
Recentarticles.
Purchase-and-sale, disclosure, title, lease, and easement litigation for Pacific Northwest property owners, buyers, sellers, and landlords.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
This content is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Viewing this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.