IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

THE ESTATE OF STEPHEN SULVAN 

### ) No. 79705-1-I SPRING, DECEASED; STEPHEN J. 

### ) SPRING, Personal Representative, 

### ) DIVISION ONE 

### ) Appellant, 

### ) UNPUBLISHED OPINION
v. OUR COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION, 

### ) and NORTHWEST TRUSTEE 

### ) SERVICES, as Trustee, 

### )

Respondent.

____________________________________ 

### ) FILED: June 10, 2019 HAZELRIGG-HERNANDEZ, J.

— In order to proceed with a nonjudicial foreclosure, the Deeds of Trust Act requires specific notice to unidentified
successors in interest. In 2017, the estate of Stephen Sulvan Spring filed this complaint for wrongful sale, claiming it had not received notice. Our Community Credit Union (OCCU) foreclosed on the deed of trust in 2015, before the estate existed as a legal entity. OCCU followed the notice requirements prior to the foreclosure. The trial court dismissed Spring’s claim on summary judgment. Affirmed. FACTS In 2008, Stephen S. Spring and ShirleyA. Spring granted OCCU a deed of trustagainsttheirpropertyat 11 SE Channel Point Rd, Shelton. Stephen S. SpringNo. 79705-1-1/2

died in November, 2011.1 Shirley Spring began to miss payments on the promissory note in July 2013. OCCU communicated with Shirley Spring many times. In May, 2015, the trustee mailed a notice ofdefaultto Shirley Spring, “The EstateofStephen S Spring”and “The Heirs and DeviseesofThe Estate ofStephen S Spring” at multiple addresses, including the 11 Southeast Channel Point Road address. In June, the trustee mailed a notice of trustee’s sale and notice of foreclosure to the same addressees. The notice oftrustee’s sale was recorded with the Mason CountyAuditor. In October 2015, Stephen S. Spring’s son, Stephen J. Spring, filed a complaint to restrain the trustee’s sale. That complaint was dismissed forfailure to state a claim upon which reliefcould be granted. OCCU purchased the property atthe trustee’s sale laterthat month. Almost a year afterthe sale in August 2016, Stephen J. Spring petitioned for letters ofadministration forthe estate ofStephen S. Spring. The estate filed a complaint for wrongful sale in February 2017. OCCU moved for summary judgment on the basis that itfulfilled the statutory notice requirements. The court dismissed the estate’s complaint.

1 The death certificate identifies the deceased as “Stephan Sulvan Spring” while the parties and deed oftrust consistently identify him as “Stephen Sulvan Spring.” The parties appear to acceptthatthe documents referto the same individual.
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DISCUSSION

Summaryjudgmentwas appropriate because Spring’s complaintfailed as a matterof law. Summaryjudgment orders are reviewed de novo, considering the evidence and reasonable inferences inthe lightmostfavorabletothe nonmoving party. Keck
v. Collins, 184 Wn.2d 358, 370, 357 P.3d 1080 (2015). Afterthe defendant has moved forsummaryjudgmenton the basisthatthere is an absence ofevidenceto support the plaintiff’s case, the plaintiff must demonstrate facts, which if believed bythefactfinder, would entitle them to relief. Young v. KeyPharmaceuticals, Inc., 112 Wn.2d 216, 225, 770 P.2d 182 (1989) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 5. Ct. 2548, 91 L. Ed. 2d 265 (1986)). Ifthe plaintiff fails to establish an essential element ofthe case, summaryjudgment is appropriate. ki. Spring alleged that the trustee’s sale failed to comply with the Deeds of TrustAct.2 Spring argues that because the estate did not exist atthe time ofthe sale, the trustee could not notify the estate as required in the act.3 This court disagrees. The notice requirements for a trustee’s sale when the trustee knows the borrower is deceased are contained in RCW 61.24.030(10) and RCW 61.24.040(b)(i)(B). The trustee must send notice to any successor in interest. RCW 61.24.040(1)(b)(i)(B). If no successor in interest has been established, the

2 Chapter61.24 RCW

~ Spring cites RCW61.24.031, butthat section only applies to deeds oftrust recorded against owner-occupied residential real property. ROW61.24.031 (7)(a). It is undisputed thatthe borrowers, Stephen S. Spring, the deceased, and ShirleyA. Spring, his spouse, did not reside at the 11 SE Channel Point Road property. Therefore, ROW61.24.031 does notapply.
3No. 79705-1 -114

trustee must send notice to any spouse, child, or parent ofthe borrower known to the trustee, orwhose name and address can be located in the public records of any obituary, will, death certificate, or probate case in the county where the property is located. ~; RCW61.24.030(10). There is no requirement to notify the deceased borrower’s estate of a trustee’s sale when the estate has not been established. The statute specifically provides foralternative notice in situations where the successorin interest has not been established. In such a situation, the trustee must notifyanyspouse, child, or parent the trustee can ascertain with reasonable diligence. Here, the trustee mailed noticeto Shirley Spring, decedent’s spouse, aswell as notice addressed to “The Estate of Stephen S Spring” and “The Heirs and Devisees ofThe Estate of Stephen S Spring”. Each notice was sent to three different addresses, including the 11 SE Channel Point Road address. Because the statute explicitly provides alternative notification methods when a successor in interest has not been established, 

### OCCU was not required to notify the estate, and Spring’s complaint fails as a matterof law. II. Even ifSpring’s interpretation ofthe Deeds ofTrustActwas correct, he has failed to designate a record sufficient for us to reverse a trial court’s decision. AfterOCCU filed a motionforsummaryjudgment, affidavits, and documents demonstrating compliance with the act, the burden on summaryjudgment shifted to Spring to demonstrate evidencethatwould support a verdict in Spring’s favor.

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Spring did not designate any evidence introduced in response to OCCU’s summaryjudgment motion in the record beforethis court. The appellant bearsthe burden ofperfecting the record on appeal sothe reviewing court hasthe evidence relevant to deciding the issues. Rhinevault v. Rhinevault, 91 Wn. App. 688, 692, 959 P.2d 687 (1998). The record before us contains only bare assertions supporting Spring’s complaint, and does not designate any materials that contain evidence supporting a claim that OCCU failed to comply with the Deeds ofTrust Act. Affirmed.

WE CONCUR:

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