Jacob Hamblen v. Gregory Hamblen

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 31, 2024
Docket39922-2
StatusUnpublished

This text of Jacob Hamblen v. Gregory Hamblen (Jacob Hamblen v. Gregory Hamblen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jacob Hamblen v. Gregory Hamblen, (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

FILED OCTOBER 31, 2024 In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

JACOB HAMBLEN, in his capacity as ) No. 39922-2-III Personal Representative of the ESTATE ) OF MICHAEL O. HAMBLEN, Deceased, ) and MIKE’S AUTO EXCHANGE, LLC, ) a Washington Limited Liability Company, ) ) Respondent, ) ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION v. ) ) GREGORY HAMBLEN, and GEOFF ) HAMBLEN, individually as beneficiaries ) of the ESTATE OF MICHAEL O. ) HAMBLEN, ) ) Appellants. )

LAWRENCE-BERREY, C.J. — Brothers Gregory Hamblen and Geoff Hamblen

appeal the trial court’s order denying their motion to vacate two orders entered almost

nine months prior to their motion. They argue (1) procedural irregularities caused the

orders to be void, warranting relief under CR 60(b)(5), and (2) their attorney’s failure to

appear at the hearing in which the orders were entered effectively deprived them of

counsel, warranting relief under CR 60(b)(11). No. 39922-2-III Hamblen v. Hamblen

With respect to CR 60(b)(5), we conclude that the procedures followed did not

violate the brothers’ due process rights, and that the various procedural irregularities

complained of are insufficient to cause the orders to be void.

With respect to CR 60(b)(11), where an attorney’s inactions effectively deprive a

diligent but unknowing client of representation, a trial court may vacate the underlying

order. Barr v. MacGugan, 119 Wn. App. 43, 48, 78 P.3d 660 (2003). We discuss and

distinguish Barr, and conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when

denying the motion to vacate.

We affirm and award Jacob Hamblen, in his capacity as personal representative,

his costs, including his reasonable attorney fees.

FACTS

In November 2020, Michael Hamblen, with the assistance of his estate planning

attorney, executed a written agreement transferring his business, Mike’s Auto Exchange,

LLC, to two of his sons, Jacob Hamblen and Jeramie Hamblen.

Michael1 died intestate on January 3, 2021, leaving real properties and personal

effects to be distributed. When Jacob sought to be appointed personal representative of

his father’s estate, his brothers Gregory and Geoff objected, accusing Jacob of stealing

1 Because the father and the brothers share the same last name, we refer to them by first name for clarity. We mean no disrespect.

2 No. 39922-2-III Hamblen v. Hamblen

estate property and other wrongful conduct. After a hearing, the trial court appointed

Megan Lewis—a local attorney favored by Gregory and Geoff—to serve with Jacob as

co-personal representatives.

Ms. Lewis met with Gregory and Geoff and asked them for documentation to

support their claim that Jacob had stolen estate assets. In April 2021, Ms. Lewis learned

that Gregory and Geoff had accessed the property where Mike’s Auto Exchange did

business. Ms. Lewis spoke to the brothers’ attorney, and advised him that the brothers

had no right to access the dealership’s property. Although Geoff had a written lease with

his father involving the dealership building and property, the agreement’s provisions

contained the following handwritten notation, “THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR RENT.”

Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 17-18. Ms. Lewis explained to the brothers’ attorney that the

lease agreement was invalid because it was not supported by consideration.

In an October 2021 letter, Ms. Lewis summarized the status of her pending

distribution of estate assets. She wrote that Mike’s Auto Exchange, LLC was not an

estate asset, as it had been gifted to Jacob and Jeramie prior to their father’s death.

However, the land on which the business operated was in their father’s name, and

accordingly remained estate property. Ms. Lewis reported that she had found no

evidence to support the brothers’ claim that Jacob had stolen estate assets, and explained

3 No. 39922-2-III Hamblen v. Hamblen

that the estate’s various real properties were undergoing appraisal. Ms. Lewis assured all

brothers that they would receive equal shares.

On July 31, 2022, Gregory and Geoff broke into Mike’s Auto Exchange. They

caused damage to dealership property, appropriated and later sold or disposed of

numerous valuable items of estate and dealership property, and told officers investigating

the break-in that Geoff had a valid lease. Days later, Ms. Lewis resigned as co-personal

representative.

On August 9, 2022, Jacob, in his capacity as personal representative, and Mike’s

Auto Exchange, LLC, filed a TEDRA2 petition against Gregory and Geoff. The petition

accused the brothers of interfering with the administration of the estate. Specifically,

Jacob’s petition accused Gregory and Geoff of absconding with estate and dealership

property. The petition also accused Gregory and Geoff of trespass and tortious

interference with the dealership. As relief, Jacob’s petition sought “a temporary and

preliminary injunction” prohibiting Gregory and Geoff from further interference with the

dealership’s and the estate’s assets, while noting that “permanent injunctive relief” was

warranted as well. CP at 9. The petition also sought replevin of estate and dealership

assets that Gregory and Geoff had stolen, along with damages flowing from Jacob’s

trespass and business interference claims. Concurrent with filing the petition, Jacob

2 Trust and Estate Dispute Resolution Act (TEDRA), chapter 11.96A RCW.

4 No. 39922-2-III Hamblen v. Hamblen

sought and obtained a temporary restraining order granting relief consistent with the

petition, and the court set a preliminary injunction hearing for August 23, 2022.

Preliminary injunction

After considering dueling declarations and argument from both sides’ counsel, the

trial court issued a preliminary injunction that renewed the requirements the temporary

restraining order had imposed on Gregory and Geoff. Additionally, the preliminary

injunction prohibited Jacob from accessing the property where he operated Mike’s Auto

Exchange. By its terms, the preliminary injunction “remain[ed] in effect until the initial

hearing on the merits of [Jacob’s] TEDRA Petition . . . unless otherwise ordered by the

Court.” CP at 46.

Note for TEDRA hearing, motion for reconsideration, and motion for contempt

Jacob noted his initial TEDRA hearing for September 23, 2022. In his note, Jacob

informed Gregory and Geoff that the hearing would address the TEDRA petition “along

with a Motion for Reconsideration” of the trial court’s preliminary injunction. CP at 790.

Two days later, Jacob filed that motion for reconsideration, arguing that the trial court’s

injunction had unfairly burdened his business activities and prevented him from fulfilling

his role as the estate’s co-personal representative. Jacob’s motion also sought a contempt

finding against Gregory and Geoff on the grounds that they had not complied with the

court’s order to return the stolen property.

5 No. 39922-2-III Hamblen v. Hamblen

Initial TEDRA hearing

Gregory and Geoff did not furnish this court with a transcript of the initial TEDRA

hearing. Nevertheless, we can glean what happened at the hearing from the record before

us.

Four days before the hearing, Gregory and Geoff’s attorney, W. Timothy Seibly,

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In Re the Marriage of Flannagan
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Barr v. MacGugan
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In re the Detention of Ward
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