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KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

TODD and THERESA BAKER, TIMOTHY and ANDREA RICE and CONNIE KORTH, Plaintiffs, vs. NORTHWEST TRUSTEE SERVICES, a Washington Corporation, Defendant.

No. CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs, by their undersigned attorneys, and bring the following complaint for damages, declaratory judgment and injunctive relief. I. 1.1 NATURE OF ACTION

Plaintiffs bring this action as a Class Action pursuant to CR 23 on behalf of all

persons in the state of Washington who received defective Notices of Default (as specified below) from Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. (NWTS). 1.2 NWTS is a full-service trustee company providing default services to mortgage

lenders in Washington.

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1.3

NWTS issued Notices of Default to plaintiffs and similarly situated persons in the

state of Washington. The Notices of Default failed to comply with RCW 61.24.030(8)(l) because they did not accurately state (1) the name and address of the owner of any promissory notes or other obligations secured by the deed of trust and/or (2) the name, address and telephone number of a party acting as a servicer of the obligations secured by the deed of trust. 1.4 As a result of NTWS actions the plaintiffs and other Class members have

suffered economic damage and are entitled to declaratory and other relief. II. 2.1 PARTIES

Plaintiffs are residents of the state of Washington. Plaintiffs received Notices of

Default from NWTS that did not contain accurate information required by RCW 61.24.030(8)(l). 2.2 NWTS is a Washington Corporation doing business in King County, Washington. III. 3.1 JURISDICTION AND VENUE

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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

Subject matter jurisdiction is proper under the Washington Consumer Protection,

RCW Ch. 19.86 and the Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act, RCW Ch. 7.24. 3.2 This Court has personal jurisdiction over the NWTS because it conducts business

in King County, Washington. 3.3 Venue is proper in this Court because NWTS is domiciled in King County. IV. 4.1 CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS

Plaintiffs bring this suit as a class action pursuant to CR 23 on behalf of

themselves and a Plaintiff Class (the Class) composed of all persons who received Notices of Default from Defendant that lacked the information required by RCW 61.24.030(8)(l). Plaintiffs reserve the right to modify this class definition prior to moving for class certification.

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4.2

This action has been brought and may be properly maintained as a class action

pursuant to CR 23 for the following reasons: a. The Class is ascertainable and there is a well-defined community of

interest among the members of the Class; b. Membership in the Class is so numerous as to make it impractical to bring

all Class members before the Court. The identity and exact number of Class members is unknown but is estimated to be at least in the hundreds, if not thousands considering the fact that NWTS sends tens of thousands of Notices of Default per year. c. Plaintiffs claims are typical of those of other Class members, all of whom

have suffered harm due to NWTS failure to provide accurate information required by RCW 61.24.030(8)(l).

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d. e.

Plaintiffs are members of the Class. There are numerous and substantial questions of law and fact common to

all of the members of the Class which control this litigation and predominate over any individual issues pursuant to CR 23(b)(3). The common issues include, but are not limited to, the following: i. ii. Did the NWTS send Notices of Default? Did the Notices of Default fail to include accurate information

required by RCW 61.24.030(8)(l)? iii. Did the absence of accurate information in the Notices of Default

cause Plaintiffs and other Class members to suffer damages? iv. v. Has NWTS violated the Consumer Protection Act? Should an injunction issue to prevent future violations?

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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

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f.

These and other questions of law or fact which are common to the

members of the Class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members of the Class; g. Plaintiffs will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Class in that

they have no interests that are antagonistic to other members of the Class and has retained counsel competent in the prosecution of class actions to represent themselves and the Class; h. Without a class action, the Class will continue to suffer damage,

Defendants violations of the law or laws will continue without remedy, and NWTS will continue to push the expense and consequences of its unlawful misconduct onto homeowners in this state; i. Given (i) the substantive complexity of this litigation; (ii) the size of

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individual Class members claims; and (iii) the limited resources of the Class members, few, if any, Class members could afford to seek legal redress individually for the wrongs Defendants have committed against them; j. This action will foster an orderly and expeditious administration of Class

claims, economies of time, effort and expense, and uniformity of decision; k. Inferences and presumptions of materiality and reliance (to the extent

establishing reliance is necessary) are available to obtain class-wide determinations of those elements within the Class claims, as are accepted methodologies for class-wide proof of damages; alternatively, upon adjudication of NWTS common liability, the Court can efficiently determine the claims of the individual Class members; l. This action presents no difficulty that would impede the Courts

management of it as a class action, and a class action is the best (and practically the only)
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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

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available means by which members of the Class can seek legal redress for the harm caused them by Defendants. m. In the absence of a class action, NWTS would be unlikely to correct its

conduct and the Class members would be left uncompensated for the damages they have suffered. 4.3 The Claims in this case are also properly certifiable under applicable law. V. 5.1 STATEMENT OF FACTS

Todd and Theresa Baker received a Notice of Default issued by NWTS. The

Baker Notice of Default was dated September 27, 2010. 5.2 5.3 The Baker Notice of Default did not identify the owner of the Bakers note. The Baker Notice of Default provided the following information regarding/for the

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beneficiary of the deed of trust: PennyMac Loan Services, LLC 27001 Agoura Road, Suit 350 Richmond, VA 23261 (800) 224-7142 5.4 loan servicer: PennyMac Loan Services, LLC 27001 Agoura Road, Suit 350 Calabasas, CA 91301 (800) 224-7142 5.5 The information provided by NWTS in the Baker Notice of Default did not satisfy The Baker Notice of default provided the following information regarding/for the

the requirements of RCW 61.24.030(8)(l). 5.6 As a result of receiving information that did not comply with RCW

61.24.030(8)(l) the Bakers suffered economic damages.

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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

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5.7

Timothy and Andrea Rice received a Notice of Default issued by NWTS. The

Rice Notice of Default was dated May 24, 2011. 5.8 The Rice Notice of Default provided the following information regarding/for the

Note Owner: US Bank National Association, as Successor Trustee to Bank of America National Associaiton successor by merger to LaSalle Bank National Association, as Trustee for Morgan Stanley Mortgage Loan Trust 2007-3XS, c/o Americas Servicing Company 3476 Stateview Blvd MAC# X7801-02T Fort Mill, SC 29715 (866) 248-5719 5.9 loan servicer: Americas Servicing Company MAC# X7801-02T 3476 Stateview Blvd Fort Mill, SC 29715 (866) 248-5719 5.10 The information provided by NWTS in the Rice Notice of Default did not satisfy The Rice Notice of default provided the following information regarding/for the

the requirements of RCW 61.24.030(8)(l). 5.11 As a result of receiving information that did not comply with RCW

61.24.030(8)(l) the Rices suffered economic damages. 5.12 Connie Korth received a Notice of Default issued by NWTS. The Korth Notice

of Default was dated June 27, 2012. 5.13 The Korth Notice of Default provided the following information regarding/for the

Note Owner: Deutsche Bank National Trust company Americas, as Trustee for Mortgage AssetBacked Pass Through Certificates, Series 2007-QO1 c/o Aurora Bank FSB
CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT - 6

MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.

1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

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2617 College Park Drive Scottsbluff, NE 69361 5.14 loan servicer: Aurora Bank FSB 2617 College Park Drive Scottsbluff, NE 69361 (866) 521-3828 5.15 The information provided by NWTS in the Baker Notice of Default did not satisfy The Korth Notice of default provided the following information regarding/for the

the requirements of RCW 61.24.030(8)(l). 5.16 As a result of receiving information that did not comply with RCW

61.24.030(8)(l) Ms. Korth suffered economic damages. VI. CAUSES OF ACTION

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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188

A. 6.1 6.2

Violation of Washingtons Consumer Protection Act Violation RCW Ch. 19.86 Plaintiffs reallege all prior allegations as though fully stated herein. At all times relevant to this action Washington had in effect RCW Ch. 19.86

prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of business. 6.3 NWTS failure to provide accurate information in Notices of Default as required

by RCW 61.24.030(8)(l) constituted unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce. 6.4 NWTS acts or practices have the capacity to deceive a substantial portion of

the public and to affect the public interest. 6.5 As a result of NWTS unfair or deceptive acts or practices, Plaintiffs and the

Class suffered economic damages in an amount to be proven at trial.

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B. 6.6 6.7

Declaratory Judgment Plaintiffs reallege all prior allegations as though fully stated herein. There is a justiciable controversy relating to the adequacy of the information

provided by NWTS in Notices of Default. 6.8 6.9 controversy. 6.10 The issues between Plaintiffs and the Class and NWTS are ripe for judicial The interests of Plaintiffs and the Class and NWTS are adverse. Plaintiffs and the Class have one or more legally protected interest in the

determination. 6.11 Plaintiffs seek declaratory judgment as specified in the Prayer for Relief. VII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

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WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs and Class members request that the Court enter an order of judgment against NWTS including the following: A. Certification of the action as a class action pursuant to CR 23 with respect to the

claims for damages, and appointment of Plaintiffs as Class Representatives and their counsel of record as Class Counsel; B. Actual damages (including all general, special, incidental, and consequential

damages), statutory damages (including treble damages), and such other relief as provided by the statutes cited herein; C. D. E. F. A declaration that NWTS has violated RCW 61.24.030(8)(l). Prejudgment and post-judgment interest; Appropriate injunctive relief; and The costs of bringing this suit, including reasonable attorneys fees; and

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MYERS & COMPANY, P.L.L.C.
1530 EASTLAKE AVENUE EAST SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98102 TELEPHONE (206) 398-1188