Inland Empire Dry Wall Supply Co. v. Western Surety Company

¶1 Washington law allows for the recording of a bond to free up property encumbered by a construction lien. When this happens, the bond is substituted for the property and a hen claimant can take legal action against the bond. The question we confront here is who must be sued when a claim is filed against a lien release bond. The *512procedural statute governing lien release bonds unambiguously identifies only the bond surety as an interested party. This is consistent with general suretyship principles, which allow a claimant to seek relief directly against a surety. Because the trial court…