Us Bank National Assoc., V Tarmo Roosild & Samantha Castronovo

CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedMay 18, 2021
Docket53772-9
StatusPublished

This text of Us Bank National Assoc., V Tarmo Roosild & Samantha Castronovo (Us Bank National Assoc., V Tarmo Roosild & Samantha Castronovo) 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
Us Bank National Assoc., V Tarmo Roosild & Samantha Castronovo, (Wash. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

May 18, 2021 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS No. 53772-9-II LEGAL TITLE TRUSTEE FOR TRUMAN 2016 SC6 TITLE TRUST, its successors in interest and/or assigns,

Respondents,

v.

TARMO PAUL ROOSILD; SAMANTHA PUBLISHED OPINION CASTRONOVO; OCCUPANTS OF THE PREMISES,

Appellants.

GLASGOW, J.—Samantha Castronovo and Tarmo Paul Roosild borrowed $227,000, signed

a promissory note payable to Bank of America, N.A., and secured the note with a deed of trust

encumbering their house and property in Poulsbo, Washington. The deed of trust required the

lender to provide notice of default, notice of intent to accelerate the loan, and an opportunity to

cure prior to starting foreclosure.

Castronovo and Roosild stopped making payments. In 2015, they received a notice of

default and intent to accelerate from a loan servicer stating it was acting on behalf of a new lender,

Christiana Trust. Castronovo and Roosild failed to cure their default. In 2017, U.S. Bank National

Association, which then held the note and the deed of trust, started judicial foreclosure. No. 53772-9-II

Castronovo1 appeals the trial court’s order granting summary judgment to U.S. Bank,

contending that the preforeclosure notice requirements in the deed of trust were conditions

precedent to foreclosure and notice could only be sent by the then-current lender. Castronovo

asserts that an issue of material fact exists about whether Christiana Trust was the lender in 2015

when the notice was sent. Castronovo alleges no other defect in the preforeclosure notice.

We conclude that the notice requirements in the deed of trust were conditions precedent to

foreclosure, but we decline to apply the strict compliance that Castronovo’s argument demands.

The notice of default and intent to accelerate contained the required substantive notices and

identified the party with authority to work out the loan. The notice sufficiently satisfied the deed

of trust requirements, regardless of whether Christiana Trust was the lender in 2015 when the

notice was sent.

We affirm the summary judgment order. We also award attorney fees on appeal to U.S.

Bank with the amount to be determined by a commissioner of this court.

FACTS

Castronovo and Roosild purchased a home in Poulsbo in 1993. In 2006, they borrowed

$227,000 from Bank of America and signed a promissory note for that amount payable to Bank of

America, which was designated the “lender” and “note holder.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 13.

Castronovo and Roosild were required to make monthly payments. The note provided that anyone

who took the note by transfer and was entitled to receive payments under it would be the note

holder.

1 Roosild died in 2019 but remains a named appellant. Unless noted otherwise, we refer to the appellants collectively as Castronovo. 2 No. 53772-9-II

The promissory note was secured by a deed of trust executed and recorded the same day.

The deed of trust encumbered the Poulsbo property. The deed of trust defined the “lender” as “the

beneficiary under this Security Instrument” and named Bank of America as the lender. CP at 17.

Section 20 of the deed of trust described the conditions under which the borrower or lender

could initiate judicial action:

Neither Borrower nor Lender may commence, join, or be joined to any judicial action . . . pursuant to this Security Instrument . . . until such Borrower or Lender has notified the other party . . . of such alleged breach and afforded the other party hereto a reasonable period after the giving of such notice to take corrective action.

CP at 27. Section 20 also provided that “[t]he notice of acceleration and opportunity to cure given

to Borrower pursuant to Section 22 . . . shall . . . satisfy the notice and opportunity to take corrective

action provisions of this Section 20.” CP at 27.2

Section 22 addressed the procedure for notice and acceleration if the borrower defaulted.

The notice was to specify:

(a) [T]he default; (b) the action required to cure the default; (c) a date . . . by which the default must be cured; and (d) that failure to cure the default on or before the date specified in the notice may result in acceleration . . . and sale of the Property . . . . The notice shall further inform Borrower of the right to reinstate after acceleration, the right to bring a court action to assert the non-existence of a default or any other defense of Borrower to acceleration and sale, and any other matters required to be included in the notice by Applicable Law.

CP at 28. Both the note and the deed of trust contained provisions authorizing the lender to recover

attorney fees.

2 Acceleration of a loan makes the entire amount due immediately. 3 No. 53772-9-II

In December 2006, Bank of America determined that the original note had been lost or

destroyed and it executed a lost note affidavit and provided a copy of the note.3

Castronovo and Roosild moved away from their Poulsbo home and began renting it. They

encountered financial hardships and attempted unsuccessfully to apply for loan modification from

Bank of America’s loan servicer. They stopped making loan payments in January 2012.

U.S. Bank states in its brief that Bank of America transferred its interest in the note to a

different lender, Christiana Trust, at some point before May 2015. In May 2015, Castronovo

received a letter from BSI Financial Services, a loan servicer. BSI stated that it was acting “on

behalf of Christiana Trust.” CP at 94. The letter referenced the loan number and stated that the

loan was in default because Castronovo had missed 40 monthly payments and owed $75,420.69.

The default letter provided that Castronovo had five weeks to cure the default by paying

the amount owed. Absent a cure, Christiana Trust would accelerate the loan to collect the full

amount due and start foreclosure. The letter instructed Castronovo to contact BSI’s loss mitigation

department with any questions and provided a phone number. The letter stated that if the borrowers

sent a written request to BSI within 30 days of receiving the default notice, BSI would “provide .

. . the name and address of the original creditor, if . . . different from the current creditor.” CP at

95.

Castronovo sent a timely written request to BSI’s loss mitigation department requesting an

in-person meeting with a representative and “verification of any financial obligation to BSI and/or

3 The parties relied on the lost note affidavit and copy of the note in the proceedings below. Castronovo does not challenge reliance on these documents. 4 No. 53772-9-II

Christiana [T]rust.” CP at 121. Castronovo then hired a lawyer, who sent another letter to BSI

requesting documentation of the alleged debt.

In September 2015, BSI responded that the “owner or assignee” of the loan was Christiana

Trust and said it would provide additional information after further research. CP at 125.

Castronovo did not cure the default.

In 2016, Bank of America assigned the deed of trust to Christiana Trust and the assignment

was recorded. In November 2016, Christiana Trust then assigned the deed of trust to U.S. Bank

and that assignment was recorded.

In 2017, U.S. Bank filed a summons and complaint in Kitsap County Superior Court

initiating judicial foreclosure. U.S. Bank attached the lost note affidavit and a copy of the note to

the complaint.

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