Facts:  Following respondent Kenneth Treiger’s separation from his wife J’Amy Owens and pending the dissolution of their marriage, Owens purchased a home.  When Treiger and Owens both subsequently filed for bankruptcy, the Superior Court for King County entered a decree dissolving the marriage but staying distribution of community property until the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings.  After the bankruptcy court determined that the home that Owens purchased is community property, the superior court ordered the sale of the home and ruled that Treiger is entitled to half of the proceeds.  The superior court also issued supplemental documents awarding Treiger attorney’s fees and an additional share of the proceeds of the home, fining Owens for failing to sign an agreement listing the home for sale, and giving Treiger the authority to close the sale of the home   In the interim, the Retail Group, a business of which Owens is a part owner, had defaulted on a promissory note and borrowing agreement with petitioner Bank of America, which obtained a judgment against Owens.  Bank of America subsequently petitioned the Superior Court for King County for a declaratory judgment determining the priority of its interest in the proceeds of the sale of the home.  The superior court ruled that the earlier order awarding Treiger half of the proceeds of the sale of the home did not grant Treiger a lien or any other interest in the property and that Bank of America’s lien therefore has first priority.  Upon appeal, the Washington Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that while the order awarding Treiger half of the proceeds of the sale of the home gave Treiger a first priority lien, the supplemental document giving Treiger the authority to close the sale of the home (but not the other supplemental orders) is a valid judgment.  Bank of America appealed this decision to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Question(s):   Does Treiger have a lien on the home that Owens purchased?

Are the supplemental documents valid judgments?

Conclusion:  Justice Owens’ opinion for the Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the Washington Court of Appeals, concluding that the order awarding Treiger half of the proceeds of the sale of the home gave Treiger a first priority lien.  The Court also held that while the Washington Court of Appeals correctly found that supplemental document giving Treiger the authority to close the sale of the home is a valid judgment, the supplemental document fining Owens for failing to sign an agreement listing the home for sale is also a valid judgment.

Docket No. 84044-0 (from Court of Appeals Division I Case No. 61671-4)

Petitioner: Bank of America

(Counsel: Thomas Scott Linde and Katie A. Axtell)

Respondent: Kenneth Treiger

(Counsel: Edmund John Wood)

Briefs:

Argument: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 10:00am

[Source: TVW, http://tvw.org]

Decided: Thursday, October 27th, 2011

Prevailing Party: Kenneth Treiger (Respondent)

Vote: 8-1

Citation: Pending

Court: Madsen2 Court (2011-)

Madsen

Johnson

Alexander

Chambers

Owens
(Majority)

Fairhurst

Johnson
(Dissent)

Stephens

Wiggins