The hundreds of homeowners living in the Horn Rapids community in Richland could be liable for thousands of dollars each in legal fees over a lawsuit filed in 2025.

The community’s homeowners association, or HOA, along with its developer and its agents on a key HOA committee are embroiled in a dispute with another developer over an effort to build townhomes on an empty lot next to the Horn Rapids Golf Course.

But it wasn’t until a year after the lawsuit was filed that the HOA provided official notice to property owners. It took even longer for a required disclosure to be added to sale documents for any Horn Rapids homes on the market.

Now residents are struggling to find buyers for their homes, and no one knows what the ultimate financial liability may be.

“If you’d been there when that lady said her sale fell through,” said resident Tom Harper of the homeowner at a spring town hall meeting who had been preparing to move across the country. “She was devastated.”

The 18-hole Horn Rapids Golf Course is separate from the community surrounding and is currently owned by Tri-City builder Brad Rew and his wife Thera Rew. They purchased it from Bob Souchek in 2019. 

| Photo by Nathan Finke

Townhouse opposition

Pahlisch Homes is the current developer of the Horn Rapids community. The Bend-based company acquired it from North Stone Richland LLC in 2021. North Stone’s owner, Stew Stone, is now a partner with Pahlisch on other projects.

The 18-hole Horn Rapids Golf Course is separate from the community and is owned by Tri-City builder Brad Rew and his wife Thera Rew. They bought it from Bob Souchek in 2019. Stone had also pursued the property when it was last on the market.

Rew’s purchase of the golf course ushered in a period of improved care for the course, said Harper, who has been a member of the golf club since 1994, a resident since 2008 and a past board member of the HOA.

The Rews also held a town hall meeting for golf club members where he shared his plan to build 72 townhomes on a vacant lot adjacent to the course and use the proceeds to renovate the clubhouse and make further improvements, Harper said.

But the townhomes have faced opposition since day one.

A challenge to the project from a neighboring development built by Stone led Rew to reduce the number of units to 54 townhomes. Then the initial construction committee, or ICC, of the Horn Rapids HOA declared it had to approve the project as well. That committee has only two members, Pahlisch officials Cory Bittner and Jason Spence.

Stone was also a member but has since resigned. None of them live in Washington state.

What followed was two years of proposals, rejections and resubmittals between Rew’s HJBT Properties and the ICC regarding the project. Court documents show an ongoing back-and-forth discourse over everything from fence color to the appearance of building elevations.

“I hope you understand we have been very patient and we have compromised in many areas,” Thera Rew wrote in November 2023 to the ICC. “We feel what we are proposing is a huge value to not only the HOA but to you as a developer in Horn Rapids, as the nicer Horn Rapids gets, the more people want to live here and buy your homes.”

Lawsuit filed

Eventually, HJBT filed a lawsuit against the company, Spence, Bittner and Stone in January 2025, alleging Pahlisch and its agents on the ICC were intentionally conspiring to halt the project “for illegitimate reasons.”

Pahlisch has denied the allegations and argued HJBT has failed to state a claim, that the Rews or others are responsible for any damages they’ve suffered and that the court may lack jurisdiction over the case or the defendants, among other defenses.

Pahlisch has twice attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed, first in whole and then in part by petitioning to remove Spence and Bittner from the case.

“Apart from conclusory allegations brought against all defendants under its claim for declaratory judgment and against Spence and Bittner under its claim for breach of fiduciary duty, there are no factual allegations levied specifically against Pahlisch to which a claim could attach,” Pahlisch argued in court documents.

Both dismissal efforts were rejected by Benton County Superior Court judges.

As of late June 2026, Pahlisch and HJBT reportedly agreed to seek mediation to resolve the dispute, according to Brad Rew, Stone and Horn Rapids residents following the latest hearing on the litigation. Stone declined to give further comment.

Brad Rew said he could not comment on the case given its ongoing nature and desire to not disrupt mediation. However, he said he’s been pleased the court has rejected the dismissal motions.

“The court also found that we presented sufficient evidence to create genuine disputes of material fact, meaning those issues should be decided by a jury rather than dismissed before trial,” he said in an email to the Journal.

Pahlisch Homes is the current developer of the Horn Rapids community. The Bend-based company acquired it from North Stone Richland LLC in 2021. North Stone’s owner, Stew Stone, is now a partner with Pahlisch on other projects and the current president of the Horn Rapids Homeowners Association.

| Photo by Nathan Finke

HOA’s role

While the legal battle between HJBT and Pahlisch has waged for about two years, most residents only learned about it in early 2026, when the HOA shared a litigation update during its annual meeting in January, Harper said.

“HJBT is seeking to force the approval of their development plan,” the update read, later adding, “We continue to reach out to HJBT in an effort to resolve the matter.”

The update also noted that the HOA is being represented by John Versnel of national law firm Wilson Elser. Legal fees and costs are being covered by the HOA’s insurance carrier.

But Harper, who was an HOA leader prior to the dispute with HJBT, said the HOA has otherwise remained mum on the case, including what the association’s attorney’s fees are, what maximum amount will be covered by the HOA’s insurance and how much of the case’s direction is being determined by the lawyers representing Pahlisch and its out-of-state agents.

“I’ve asked and you know what I’ve been told? Nothing,” Harper said.

Harper and a group of homeowners aware of the lawsuit came together to spread word to other residents and ensure the litigation was disclosed in sale documents for homes in the HOA. Washington state law requires any pending legal actions tied to a property, including through an HOA, be disclosed to potential buyers.

However, more than 40 homes have changed hands in the community since the lawsuit was filed but before those disclosures were part of sales documents. As a result, those sellers and their real estate agents could be in legal jeopardy themselves.

HJBT and Pahlisch pursuing mediation is what Harper and other concerned homeowners have pushed for as it will limit the financial fallout. However, after coming on two years of court hearings, briefs and motions, Harper said he knows there will likely still be a bill.

“You don’t have a huge win-win here,” he said.