Opinion ID: 2828899
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: DTA Statutory Framework

Text: The first statute at issue here is RCW 61.24.030. It provides a mandatory prerequisite to notice of a trustee's sale: It shall be requisite to a trustee's sale: (7)(a) That, for residential real property, before the notice of trustee's sale is recorded, transmitted, or served, the trustee shall have proof that the beneficiary is the owner of any promissory note or other obligation secured by the deed of trust. A declaration by the beneficiary made under the penalty of perjury stating that the beneficiary is the actual holder of the promissory note or other obligation secured by the deed of trust shall be sufficient proof as required under this subsection. (b) Unless the trustee has violated his or her duty under RCW 61.24.01 0( 4), the trustee is entitled to rely on the 8 Trujillo v. Nw Tr. Servs., Inc., No. 90509-6 beneficiary's declaration as evidence of proof required under this subsection. RCW 61.24.030(7) (emphasis added). The DTA defines the key term beneficiary elsewhere. RCW 61.24.005(2) provides that a beneficiary is the holder of the instrument or document evidencing the obligations secured by the deed of trust, excluding persons holding the same as security for a different obligation. The DTA does not define the term holder. RCW 61.24.010(4) then requires a foreclosure trustee to act in good faith toward the borrower, beneficiary, and grantor. This duty requires the trustee to remain impartial and protect the interests of all the parties. Lyons, 181 Wn.2d at 787. We described this duty in Lyons: A foreclosure trustee must adequately inform itself regarding the purported beneficiary's right to foreclose, including, at a minimum, a cursory investigation to adhere to its duty of good faith. . . . [A] trustee must treat both sides equally and investigate possible issues using its independent judgment to adhere to its duty of good faith. !d. (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Walker v. Quality Loan Serv. Corp. ofWash., 176 Wn. App. 294, 309-10, 308 P.3d 716 (2013)).