[WSBAPT] Bank Assessed Fees for Creditors Claim

[Melody Tucker Law]

That's the way I interpret RCW 11.40.080 as well, Laura!

Melody



Melody Claire Tucker
Attorney at Law
WSBA #42096
Melody Tucker Law
P.O. Box 2029
Lynnwood, WA 98036
206-228-4980      Fax: 425-743-5921
website:  MelodyTuckerLaw.com




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From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> on behalf of Laura Latta <laura at lauralatta.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2022 12:26 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: Re: [WSBAPT] Bank Assessed Fees for Creditors Claim

My understanding is that attorney fees are only permitted where the creditor brings an action on a rejected claim that is ultimately found to be a valid claim. There's no provision for attorney fees - that I am aware of - for filing an improper claim, but I would certainly want to know if I was incorrect.

On Mon, Aug 22, 2022 at 2:58 PM Natalie Kuehler <nk at kuehlerlaw.com<mailto:nk at kuehlerlaw.com>> wrote:

Hello all,



You may recall two months ago I had a loan servicer file a creditor’s claim in husband’s probate proceeding even though wife survived, is still living in the home, and continued to pay the mortgage. At the time, the loan servicer’s attorney told me that they filed the claim “because we’ve had issues in the past with remedies being waived when a secured creditor did not [file a claim]” even though they would consider the loan current if wife continued to pay. As suggested by this list, I filed a partial rejection of the creditor’s claim, essentially stating that to the extent the claim simply recognized the existence of the mortgage and wife’s ongoing obligations under it, the claim was allowed, but it was denied in all other respects. That was the end of it – until my client today received an invoice from the loan servicer claiming $684 in attorney’s fees relating to the filing of the creditor’s claim.



Has anybody ever encountered that before? How to respond? I don’t feel it was appropriate for the loan servicer to file a creditor’s claim in the first instance, and certainly not to now invoice my client for their attorney’s fees, but I also don’t want to end up running the bill up higher on both sides if that will ultimately prove useless.



Natalie







Natalie N. Kuehler

THE KUEHLER LAW FIRM PLLC

PO Box 3059 – 1112 State Route 20

Winthrop, WA 98862

o: (509) 996-2832 x1 – c (509) 557-5769

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--

Laura Latta
Law Office of Laura Latta PLLC

she/her

Phone (206) 841-2344

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