Citibank (South Dakota), NA v. Ryan

247 P.3d 778, 160 Wash. App. 286
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided January 31, 2011·No. 64159-0-I·Published·Cited by 12 cases

Opinion

247 P.3d 778 (2011)

CITIBANK SOUTH DAKOTA N.A., Respondent,
v.
Tim P. RYAN, Appellant.

No. 64159-0-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

January 31, 2011.

*779 Tim P. Ryan (Appearing Pro Se), Burlington, WA, for Appellant.

William George Suttell, Patrick James Layman, Karen L. Hammer, Isaac L. Hammer, Nicholas R. Filer, Malisa Lenora Gurule, Bellevue, WA, for Respondent.

UNPUBLISHED OPINION

SPEARMAN, J.

¶ 1 Tim Ryan appeals a superior court order granting Citibank South Dakota's motion for summary judgment based on alleged credit card debt. Because Citibank failed to provide adequate proof of Ryan's assent to the terms of an unsigned credit card agreement, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

FACTS

¶ 2 According to Citibank, Ryan applied for and was issued a Citibank credit card on a specific account. Citibank records indicated that debt was incurred on the card in the amount of $9,477.71. Citibank filed a collection action on June 29, 2009. Ryan filed a pro se answer to the complaint, denying Citibank's allegations.

¶ 3 Citibank filed a motion for summary judgment on July 17, 2009. Citibank's motion was supported by an affidavit from Citibank employee Delores Wageman. Wageman's affidavit set forth the total sum Citibank claimed was owing and provided copies of thirteen monthly account statements, along with a six-page unsigned credit card agreement. The account statements indicated that payments were made on the account of more than $100 each on March 3, 2008, March 27, 2008, and May 9, 2008. The statements make no indication of how the payments were supposedly made. Nor do they cover the period in which the card was first issued or the majority of the debt was accumulated.

¶ 4 Ryan filed a pleading entitled "Opposition to Summary Judgment" in which he advanced several arguments relating to the sufficiency of Citibank's proof and further attempted to state counterclaims. He also filed an "Affidavit of Fact" advancing similar arguments that Citibank had failed to prove he entered into any credit card agreement.

¶ 5 During oral argument on the motion for summary judgment, Ryan represented himself and attempted to treat the proceedings as a trial. After substantial questioning about the basis for Ryan's arguments, the trial court granted Citibank's motion, and awarded Citibank attorney fees under the terms of the card agreement.

¶ 6 Ryan appeals.

ANALYSIS

¶ 7 A motion for summary judgment may be granted when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. CR 56(c). "A material fact is one that affects the outcome of the litigation." Owen v. Burlington N. & Santa Fe R.R. Co., 153 Wash.2d 780, 789, 108 P.3d 1220 (2005) (quoting Barrie v. Hosts of Am., Inc., 94 Wash.2d 640, 642, 618 P.2d 96 (1980)). When considering a summary judgment motion, the court must construe all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Lybbert v. Grant County, 141 Wash.2d 29, 34, 1 P.3d 1124 (2000). "[T]he moving party bears the burden of showing the absence of a material issue of fact." Swinehart v. City of Spokane, 145 Wash.App. 836, 844, 187 P.3d 345 (2008) (citing Redding v. Virginia Mason Med. Ctr., 75 Wash.App. 424, 426, 878 P.2d 483 (1994)). After the moving party submits adequate affidavits, the nonmoving party must set forth specific *780 facts rebutting the moving party's contentions and disclose that a genuine issue of material fact exists. Seven Gables Corp. v. MGM/UA Ent. Co., 106 Wash.2d 1, 13, 721 P.2d 1 (1986).

¶ 8 This court reviews a summary judgment order de novo, engaging in the same inquiry as the trial court. Khung Thi Lam v. Global Med. Sys. Inc., P.S., 127 Wash.App. 657, 661 n. 4, 111 P.3d 1258 (2005).

¶ 9 Ryan first makes several arguments regarding the trial court's treatment of his case. Ryan contends that the superior court failed to make an informed decision based on the evidence provided by both sides and took an improper role in the proceedings. The record, however, shows that the trial court considered all of the affidavits and materials provided by the parties, and that the court's questioning of Ryan was entirely pertinent to the relevant legal issues. Contrary to Ryan's contentions, the trial court did not ignore any evidence, but rather, appropriately ensured that Ryan had every opportunity to point out the existence of any relevant evidence in the record.[1]

¶ 10 Ryan also repeats his argument from the trial court that summary judgment should not have been granted because Citibank did not provide the court with sufficient proof that he had assented to the terms of the unsigned credit card agreement. Based on the recent case of Discover Bank v. Bridges, 154 Wash.App. 722, 226 P.3d 191 (2010), we agree.[2]

¶ 11 In its opening brief, in arguing that it proved Ryan's assent to the credit card agreement, Citibank relied on Discover Bank v. Ray, 139 Wash.App. 723, 162 P.3d 1131 (2007) for the proposition that proof of a cardholder's assent may be established by sufficient proof of use of the card even without a signed agreement. Whether there is mutual assent is normally a question of fact that is reviewed under a substantial evidence standard. Keystone Land & Dev. Co. v. Xerox Corp., 152 Wash.2d 171, 178, n. 10, 94 P.3d 945 (2004). This determination of fact may be decided as a matter of law where reasonable minds could not differ. Bridges, 154 Wash.App. at 727-28, 226 P.3d 191.

¶ 12 In Bridges, however, a panel from Division II of this court distinguished Ray and reversed a grant of summary judgment to a bank under circumstances very similar to this case. 154 Wash.App. at 727-28, 226 P.3d 191. The Bridges court noted that in Ray, along with monthly account statements, the bank had provided the trial court with several cancelled checks the defendant had personally written in payment of the obligations on the credit card. The Bridges court concluded that the cancelled check evidence was critical to the conclusion that the bank had provided sufficient proof of assent to the unsigned cardholder agreement. Bridges, 154 Wash.App. at 727-28, 226 P.3d 191. Because, as here, the bank in Bridges

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Citibank (South Dakota), NA v. Ryan, 247 P.3d 778, 160 Wash. App. 286 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

247 P.3d 778 (Citibank (South Dakota), NA v. Ryan) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Joseph A. Loiga, V. King County
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023
Erin Bayne, V. Carleton Farm Inc.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2023
Robert Herbruger, V. Bellevue College
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022
First National Bank Of Omaha v. David T. Gilchrist
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2016
Unifund Ccr, Llc v. Amy Elyse
382 P.3d 1090 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2016)
American Express Centurion Bank v. Heinz Hengstler
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2015
Dean Curry v. Viking Homes
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2013
Capital One Bank v. Heather Lukashin
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2013
Citibank, N.a., Resp. v. Mehmet Kaymaz, App.
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2013
American Express Centurion Bank v. Stratman
292 P.3d 128 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2012)