[WSBARP] Possible Real Party in Interest Problems...

[Eric Nelsen]

I'd throw it all at a title company at this point and maybe get a litigation guarantee, then amend the complaint to match the defendants named by the guarantee.

It sounds like, in sequential order, (1) H&W divorce and H quitclaims to W; (2) case is filed against H&W as owners, not realizing that title had changed to W only, (3) W quitclaims to bogus "corporation" that is really some guy X who takes deeds under fake corporate names, and (4) you sub into the case and discover the mess and now get to try to clean it up.

The problem with X and the bogus corp is, if I remember my case law correctly, a deed can still be effective to convey to a grantee even if the name of the grantee in the deed itself isn't accurate; a discrepancy in the name of the grantee on the deed doesn't invalidate the deed if it's still possible to identify who was intended to be grantee. So maybe X is now owner. Could be a problem if there was no lis pendens recorded. If lis pendens was recorded, then maybe the QCD from W to bogus corp is not a problem for your purposes, because the successor will be automatically bound by judgment in the case? If no lis pendens, probably need to amend the complaint to name new owners and get a lis pendens in place.

Also, if X gets around to properly registering the corporation, I think the ownership of the property latches to the newly formed corporation even though the deed came before the corporation existed.

All of which to me means, I'd prefer to have title insurance on the identity of the proper defendants.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen
SAYRE LAW OFFICES, PLLC
1320 University St
Seattle WA  98101-2837
phone 206-625-0092
fax 206-625-9040



From: wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com [mailto:wsbarp-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com] On Behalf Of David Faber
Sent: Monday, February 09, 2015 11:51 AM
To: wsbarp
Subject: [WSBARP] Possible Real Party in Interest Problems...

I am working a case for an easement against a former married couple who represent themselves pro se and they are driving me crazy, and I am now having trouble figuring out how to move forward. I want to file a summary judgment motion just to get this over with, but I'm struggling with whether I have my ducks in a row...

This case has been active since 2011. The original plaintiffs' attorney, whom I replaced a few months back, filed the case against the couple as their marital community, though I discovered that in 2008, the former husband quitclaimed his interest in the property to his ex wife, and that their divorce has been finalized. Now, come to find out, the ex wife deeded her interest in the property to a corporation at the end of 2011, but the WA Secretary of State has no record of the corporation. From chatting with the title company, it appears that the "corporation" is not a real company and is, in fact, just this local guy who is somewhat notorious around Jefferson County for doing questionable stuff with property ownership...

The knot is that the Assessor lists the owner as this fake corporation, but the address for sending tax statements is still the address of the ex wife. Do members of this list think I need to move to join the fake corporation as the real party in interest? At the end of the day, I almost guarantee that the real party in interest is still the ex wife. I don't know what these people think they are doing! Here I am, just trying to get an easement recorded... Any help figuring out how to move forward would be much appreciated.

Best,
David J. Faber
Faber Feinson PLLC
210 Polk Street, Suite 1
Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 379-4110

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