Olympia --Thurston County Superior Court has vacated the earlier default judgment it issued against the National Education Association in a lawsuit brought by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (EFF). The previous order, which was the subject of a letter to all school districts from the attorney for the EFF, is no longer in effect. The lawsuit will now probably proceed in a more normal fashion, but the immediate issue for school districts seems to be resolved.

The EFF originally obtained a default judgment finding that the NEA had misused funds collected from non-NEA members through agency shop fees. A default judgment is issued when the defendant in a lawsuit fails to file an answer to the plaintiff’s complaint within the allotted time. It does not mean that the issues were fully litigated and decided by a judge.

The letter from EFF indicated that school districts could be subject "to civil damages and sanctions" if they did not comply with the default judgment by altering their payroll deduction practices. In successfully moving to vacate the default judgment, NEA argued that the lawsuit was served on it later than the date claimed by the EFF and therefore its answer, filed in early July, was timely.