Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Washington

Re: CC&R's

For anyone to really be able to help you, we'd all have to know what city you are located in (in case there are municipal codes that have sound ordinances) and we would want to read the fine print of your CC&Rs to interpret that language ourselves.

Still, the situation you pose is a common one, and in my experience, more often than not, the alleged noisemaker (that's you in this case) is often found to be in the wrong. When I get folks in your position, I usually show them my hourly fee and ask them if they really want to spend thousands of dollars fighting to enforce their right to blast the stereo at allowable hours of the day, or if they would prefer to spend $100 and get a quality set of headphones. Heck, there are even quality headphones that are cordless these days, so that you are not tethered to the stereo by a 6 foot cable. That is much cheaper than fighting with a lawyer's bill.

As for your dogs, I'd say that depends. If they are really close members of the family, getting rid of them is probably not an option. Having said that, if they do bark, if even for only 5 minutes a day, if that occurs at the wrong time, then your neighbors have a case and a valid complaint. The facts of your case are what will really determine the outcome, so I would need more detail to help out.

What I suggest is that you invest a few hundred dollars and hire an attorney to get a full workup of your case and what that attorney recommends after reviewing the law and your factual situation. My guess is that most likely, you'll be off to buy a new set of headphones after that, and will at least know the limits that apply to your dogs.

By the way, if you know when your neighbor is going to be gone, perhaps you can let your dogs work out their barking when the neighbor is gone. Alternatively, you may want to consider obedience training for your dogs.

I am sorry that this is not the resounding defense of your position that you may have been looking for, but at least it's an honest assessment of where I see your position. Best of luck!