Steven Schroeder formerly owned a 200-acre ranch in Stevens County. When he defaulted on the loan, Excelsior Mortgage filed an action to judicially foreclose its deed of trust and, eventually, negotiated to foreclose nonjudicially. The nonjudicial foreclosure process culminated in a trustee’s sale at which Excelsior purchased the property. Following the purchase, Schroeder did not
Appellate Update: Annechino v. Worthy, et al. [Wash. No. 86220-6 (en banc)]
Michael and Theresa Annechino had a long-standing banking relationship with the Bank of Clark County. Before the events at issue, the Annechino had an approximately $1,150,000 balance at the Bank. Additionally, Mr. Annechino was an investor with the Bank. Shortly after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) increased its coverage for deposit accounts, the Annechinos’
Appellate Update: Ralph v. Dep’t of Natural Resources [Wash. App. Nos. 67515-0-I, 67704-7-I]
Pursuant to RCW 4.12.010(1), an action for injuries to real property “shall be commenced in the county in which the subject of the action or some part thereof, is situated.” William Ralph and William Forth instituted actions in King County Superior Court against the Department of Natural Resources and other defendants for injuries to real
Appellate Update: Dex Media West, Inc. v. City of Seattle [9th Cir. No. 11-35399, 11-35787]
The City of Seattle, by ordinance adopted in 2010, requires publishers of yellow pages directories to obtain permits and pay a fee for each directory distributed in the city. It also maintains an opt-out registry through which residents can decline to receive directories. Distributors are required by the same ordinance to advertise the availability of
Appellate Update: Department of Revenue v. Bi-Mor, Inc. [Wash. App. No.42050-3-II]
Bi-Mor operates various business entities that advertise their prices as including all applicable sales taxes and claims that it is absorbing the tax. For accounting purposes, Bi-Mor manually calculates the applicable sales tax based on the tender paid by the buyer and remits that amount to the Department of Revenue – commonly called “backing out”
Appellate Update: Raum v. City of Bellevue [Wash. App. No. 67213-4-I]
The City of Bellevue employed Raum as a firefighter for more than 19 years. Over the course of his career, Raum was evaluated several times for smoke inhalation at the scene of a fire. Sometime in 2008, Raum began experiencing chest pain. He experienced such pain three different times while at work. After the third
Appellate Update: Landis and Landis Construction, LLC v. Nation [Wash. App. No. 67216-9-I]
Landis & Landis Construction, LLC entered into a residential lease agreement with Nation to house a construction crew. Upon moving into the leased house, crew members smelled a “strong ‘dead animal’ odor in the house” and found rodent feces, poison, and torn food wrappers in the house and on the leased premises. Concerned about a
Appellate Update: Austin v. Ettl, et al. [Wash. App. No. 42256-5-II]
Austin executed a real estate purchase and sale agreement for the purchase of the Ettls’ property. On the day of closing, the Ettls provided Austin with a real property transfer disclosure statement (Form 17), which disclosed two proposed local improvement districts. The Ettls’ statement did not disclose these districts’ potential costs. Austin did not seek
Appellate Update: Erdman v. Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church [Wash. No. 84998-6]
Erdman was an elder of Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church. She became Chapel Hill’s executive for stewardship and reported to the church’s senior pastor, Dr. Mark Toone. Toone taught classes at the church and led tours of sites that were religiously and historically significant. Erdman questioned whether the tours would adversely affect Chapel Hill’s tax-exempt status.
Appellate Update: Automotive United Traders Org. v. State [Wash. No. 85971-0]
In 1988, voters approved Initiative 97, which enacted the Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), RCW70.105D, and created the hazardous substances tax (HST), RCW 82.21. The HST is imposed on the first in-state possession of any toxic substance, including motor vehicle fuel, and revenue collected is used to fund hazardous substances cleanup under the MTCA. HST