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IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF PIERCE ______________________________________________________________ ) ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) No. 12-2-14656-5 ) NORTHWEST TRUSTEE SERVICES, ) ) INC., et al. ) ) Defendants. ) ______________________________________________________________ DION R. HARGROVE, DEPOSITION UPON ORAL EXAMINATION OF CLAIRE SWAZEY ______________________________________________________________
9:03 a.m. June 5, 2013 787 Maynard Avenue South Seattle, Washington 98104
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By Ms. Dao -----------------------------------6
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By Mr. Katz ----------------------------------- 115
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1 No. --I N D E X Description ----------Notice of Default, 4-10-10, RCO 1095 - 1097 Deed of Trust, 7-14-08, RCO 1172 1182 Assignment of Deed of Trust, 4-4-12, RCO 1102 - 1103 Individual Message, 4-6-12, RCO 1049 - 1050 Individual Message, 4-6-12, RCO 1051 Beneficiary Declaration, 7-5-12, RCO 1105 Foreclosure Loss Mitigation Form, 3-29-12, RCO 1094 Appointment of Successor Trustee, 4-30-12, RCO 1104 O F E X H I B I T S Marked -----16 27 45 46 49 54 58 61 Identified ---------17 27 45 46 49 54 58 61 Re-Examination By Ms. Dao ------------------------------------ 117
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Notice of Foreclosure, Effective date 5-15-12, RCO 1106 - 1107 Notice of Trustee's Sale, 5-15-12, RCO 1124 - 1127 Washington Notary Bond, 1-12-10 Notice of Trustee's Sale, 3-29-10 Recording Cover Sheet, 1-12-12 Notice of Default and Election to Sell, 4-26-12 Notice of Default and Election to Sell, 4-26-12 Copy of Note, RCO 1183 - 1186 Note, RCO 1091 - 1093 Declaration of Mailing, 8-20-12, RCO 1148 Declaration of Mailing, 9-17-12, RCO 1149 Postponement of Trustee's Sale, 8-17-12, RCO 1362 Notice of Postponement, 8-17-12, RCO 1142 Notice RCO Notice RCO of Postponement, 9-14-12, 1143 of Postponement, 10-19-12, 1146
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Notice of Discontinuance of Trustee's Sale, 2-19-13, RCO 1152 Notice of Discontinuance of Trustee's Sale, 2-26-13, RCO 1153 Individual Message, 2-20-13, RCO 1076 Subpoena for Deposition, 6-5-13
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94 5 21 Page 14 Line 24 INDEX OF QUESTIONS NOT ANSWERED Question____________________________________________ "I'm asking you if you have either an increase or decrease in your salary." "Has Mr. Katz ever walked into your office and asked you for access to this particular file?" "And my question is, with regard to canceling the sale, what specific instruction do you get from Mr. Katz?"
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INDEX OF ADDITIONAL DISCOVERY REQUESTS Material Requested__________________________________ Hargrove electronic file and nonjudicial foreclosure checklist
Deposition of Claire Swazey, 6/5/2013 Page 5 1 2 3 For the Plaintiff: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Van Pelt, Corbett, Bellows, Court Reporters 206-682-9339 www.vanpeltdep.com 888-4WA-depo * * * * * * * * * * Court Reporter: JACQUELINE L. BELLOWS VAN PELT, CORBETT, BELLOWS 401 Second Avenue South 700 Seattle, WA 98104 For the Defendants: CHARLES E. KATZ ROUTH CRABTREE OLSEN, P.S. 13555 SE 36th Street 300 Bellevue, WA 98006 HA THU DAO LAW OFFICE OF HA THU DAO 787 Maynard Avenue South Seattle, Washington 98104 APPEARANCES
represent Dion Hargrove, the plaintiff in this case. just want to go through a few ground rules with you.
Have you ever gotten your -- well, first of all, please state your name and your address for the record. My name is Claire Swazey. And I don't divulge my address or
other personal information. You can give your work address if you want. Oh, okay. Certainly. It's 13555 Southeast 36th, Suite 100, I think the zip is 98006.
Bellevue, Washington.
And please give the court reporter the spelling of your last name. S-W-A-Z, like zebra, E-Y. Have you ever been deposed before? Yes. And how many times? I don't remember how many. More than three? Several.
have anything to do with your job at Northwest Trustee? Which depositions? The depositions that -Before? -- where you were testifying. Yeah, they did not. The ground rules are that the proceedings are recorded. so I need you to be audible: Yes, no. Don't nod. And
Don't
shake your head 'cause Jackie can't capture any of that. Got it, yeah. The questions that I'm asking you, I would like for you to think about them thoroughly before answering. Uh-huh. And no uh-huh. Okay.
know; but finish your answer before you get the break. I understand. All right. Did you take any actions before you came here
today to prepare for this deposition? Yes. Can you tell me what that was. I'm not going to ask you
anything about what you told Mr. Katz or your conversation with him but just the steps. I attended a class on giving depositions. testifying. When was that? Well, it's not testifying. When was this class? A couple months ago. You took a class in how to attend depositions; correct? Yeah. And who gave this class? My firm gave it. And where did you take it? I mean on
Your firm is Northwest Trustee? No. It was actually given at Routh Crabtree Olsen.
Was the class given to a number of people or just you? A number of people. And what else did you do beside taking this class? Nothing.
Avenue East in Puyallup -- did you look at any papers, any documents before you came here? No. Did you look at your computer screens or search your database for information relating to the case? No. Are you under any kind of medications or conditions that would influence the -- your ability to recall or answer questions today accurately and completely? No. Without reviewing any documents before you came, did you bring any documents with you? No. We -- I gave a subpoena to Mr. Katz. Did you have a chance
to look at the particular subpoena I sent? Yes. It asks for a number of documents. today? I did not bring any today. Was it at the directive of Mr. Katz, or did you on your own decide that you were not going to bring any? You did not bring any
that, or you decided not to provide any documents? They have been provided to Mr. Katz. Oh, they were? Yes. You provided them to him, and you allowed him to take care of that for you? Yes. Is Mr. Katz here as your attorney? Yes. Is he your personal attorney? He's representing me in this matter. You're not being sued. Yes. Without looking at the documents, are you comfortable answering the questions I'm going to ask, 'cause I'm going to go through a lot documents? Or are you telling me that You understand that?
you're going to go strictly by your recollection and you're not going to be able to do that? question I'm asking? Given the documents named, I would be comfortable discussing them. Do you understand the
And tell me about your history of employment, starting out when you were first hired until up to today. Okay. I will. I started April 15, 2009.
What was the position at that time? It is -- well, it was then called analyst. What's that? I'm sorry.
The position title was at the time called analyst. Tell me the scope of that job. I -- the job is to run a team of individuals who perform the statutory steps of the nonjudicial foreclosure process. How big was the team in 2009? 2009 I was in training. Then what happened next? In 2010 I got a team. How big is that team? Three people other than myself. And did your title remain analyst, or did it change in 2010? It did not change in 2010. What happened after 2010? Around 2011 that title for all teams was changed to foreclosure team manager. It was just me.
A change for the uptake, meaning an increase? asking you for numbers. or down.
I'm not comfortable discussing what I make with you. I'm not asking you what you make. You're asking me about increases. And I asked what direction. I'm not asking for a number. Understand. The ques --
Well, I don't want to discuss it. You don't have a choice. Now, if your lawyer instructs you
not to answer, then we'll stop and we'll table the question.
to say "I don't want to answer." MR. KATZ: I'm going to object to that. The
witness has answered the question the way she's going to answer the question. (By Ms. Dao) So you can answer. can answer. If you know the answer, you
If you refuse, I'm going to ask him to Again I'm only asking you
Did your salary change for the increase or the decrease? I'm not asking you how much.
Mr. Katz already stated that I've answered the question the way I've answered the question. No, you have not. MS. DAO: So let me clarify, Mr. Katz. Are you
instructing her not to answer? MR. KATZ: I haven't instructed her anything. All
I stated was she's answered the question the way she's going to answer it. I can't compel her to make any So you've asked her a personal If she doesn't
want to answer the question, I can't make her do that. MS. DAO: I'm not asking you to "make her." You have to And until
(By Ms. Dao) Let me say this again, Ms. Swazey: answer the question whether you like it or not.
You give the answer. Sorry. I'm not asking how much
Let me ask you the question again. you make, how much you gained.
There's nothing personal about that. MR. KATZ: MS. DAO: question. MR. KATZ: with her. MS. DAO: I'm not arguing.
(By Ms. Dao) I'm explaining to you. Isn't a gain an increase? I'm asking you -- no, I'm sorry. What was your answer? 2000 -No. I'm taking what you said. You said I'm not asking you You had a gain in salary in
about any gains. I'm asking you if you have either an increase or decrease in your salary.
to answer the question. (By Ms. Dao) In -- as a team manager, describe your duties for me. Okay. team. I oversee a number of files that are assigned to my I oversee all the steps of the nonjudicial
foreclosure process and supervise my team as they do those things. And I oversee it from the beginning, when we
receive a referral, to the very end when we take it to sale. Did you do some of the work yourself in addition to supervising other team members? Yes, I do. Then what do you -- when you say "oversee," what exactly do you do? Well, it's like a -- it's a supervisory position. ensure that their work is done. And this team of yours, do you focus on a particular loan type? Servicers? Or do you take assignments at random? So I
It's any file that is assigned to my team. Who does the assignment? The firm. And "the firm" being Northwest Trustee? Yes. How is the assignment process carried out?
all the Washington nonjudicial reverse-mortgage referrals for the company. In particular, your duties relating to foreclosure in this case, do you have recollection of this file? which file we're talking about? I have a very vague recollection. MR. KATZ: Hargrove file? MS. DAO: Correct. [Deposition Exhibit No. 1 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) The court reporter handed to you Exhibit 1 to your deposition. I want you to take a look at Exhibit 1, Just for the record, you mean the Do you know
Did this jog your memory about your work, your personal work on the case? No. At all?
Hargrove file, and that's just about it. All right. So let's talk about how Exhibit 1 came about.
Can you tell me what you know about Exhibit 1. Yes. This was issued because he was behind and in default
on his mortgage payments and I was asked to proceed to foreclosure. Who asked you? I was asked by my client, City Mortgage, Incorporated. How did you get asked by City Mortgage? I received a referral from them asking me to foreclose on the subject property. What is the method of that referral? to you? How was it transmitted
We receive electronic notifications. Tell me how you personally got it in this case. We receive it from the client. Once it's received by the
firm's automation division, the firm then notifies me that I have this file. And the notification is via email? The notification is in my system. They send me an alert;
and, when I click on the alert, it tells me which file and that it's, in this case Mr. Hargrove, this subject property.
Can you tell me when City Mortgage became a client of Northwest Trustee? No. I don't know.
How do you know that they are a client? Because I receive work from them. Beyond that, how do you know that they are -- that they have a client relationship with your company? Because my company told me: Claire, City Mortgage,
Incorporated, is your client. Who told you that and when? Jeff Stenman in 2010. Is it fair to say that City Mortgage is a long-term client? You're still doing work for City Mortgage? Yes; that's fair to say. When you received the alert, tell me about the alert itself. Was it -- did it come from Northwest Trustee? Yes. Did it come from an individual and who that person was? It came in our computer system. So it's not from a person.
electronic file on which I will work. Are we talking, still, about the File Tracking System? Yes. When you got to this link and you opened it up, what did you see? What information were you provided with?
The file, the subject property address, the borrower name, the default information, the client, the date it was referred, that's -- and the arrearage. And all of this information were provided to you via the hyperlink. So is it fair to say that there was no papers?
That's correct. And do you know who input the data into the system for you
"They" as in Northwest Trustee -Northwest Trustee's automation has some sort of interface with which, forgive me, I'm not familiar; and it interfaces with the origin point of the referral, from City Mortgage in this case. And then the information is then populated to a I'm not party to any of that.
Do you have any idea -- so first of all, is it fair to say that you don't know where the data came from, other than the interfacing in general? I'm sorry. I'm not understanding.
Do you know where the data came from? Oh, data. Yes. The origin point would have been City Mortgage. You're guessing? No. the origin point would have been, will be City Mortgage on its referral. And how do you know that? Because it comes from City Mortgage to us. Okay. And explain that for me. Where the data came from?
Well, when I go into my file, I can see their referral. There's a referral sheet that is imaged for me that is from
Because you just told me that you have no idea about the origin as where the data came from the interfacing; correct? Right. The IT, from the IT standpoint, you know, I don't.
But when I look at a client referral that has my name and their name on it, their letterhead, then I know that they have truly referred the file to me and when. And the hyperlink gives you all the information regarding the default and need for foreclosure. Is that fair to say?
The hyperlink itself is the means to take me to my file. It's my file that has that data in it. Okay. And when you went to the hyperlink, what did you do?
Did you download the file and save it onto your computer, or is it stored in the cloud somewhere that you can just sign on and go to it whenever you want? When I'm in that system to get -- to look at the hyperlink and click upon it, I'm in File Tracking. So when I click
upon it and I'm immediately taken to my file, I'm still in File Tracking in a file already created. So that file's They have
already there and does not have to be created. basically told me:
So tell me a little bit about how -- or not a little bit. But tell me to the best of your ability how this notice of default, Exhibit 1, got put together. Okay. The team member, whoever's working it, will review
of trust; and then they will review the information that is in File Tracking, FTS for short. FTS? Yeah, it's the abbreviation. It might be easier to say.
They ensure accuracy and that all the information matches up and that the addresses in the mailing matrix are correct and complete. And then they, then, electronically
prepare the notice of default. So electronically preparing it means what? Well, we're paperless. So when you draft a -- when we draft It is drafted and
then imaged to the file and then subsequently sent out. By looking at Exhibit 1, you're not sure whether you're the one that actually did the preparation? Correct. And since you don't know for sure if you or someone else, is it the case that team members would perform the duties that you just described and put your name on it as a contact? My name would go on any notice. Any and all? Correct. Any foreclosure notice that goes out to the
borrower from my team, as opposed to anyone else's team, will have my name on it as the contact. So who are the members of your team? What are their names?
members of the team? (By Ms. Dao) In 2012 when this notice of default was prepared. Okay. In 2012 I had Benjamin Lynch; Diana Curd, C-U-R-D;
and Kristin Mayne, M-A-Y-N, like Nancy, E. Just so I can be absolutely sure, were you involved in April of 2012 in the preparation of notices of default at all? Occasionally, when I pitch in to help, I will run notices. Would that be fair to say that that's a seldom occurrence as opposed to a daily occurrence? I would say more occasionally than seldom. basis. It's as needed
Yeah, "occasionally" would be a better word than I think "seldom" makes it sound like it almost
"seldom."
never happens, and that's just not true. And you pitch in when what? You're short handed? The volume is getting too high?
Both of those, when I feel the volume is high, when I'm shorthanded, which one often goes with the other. But
either way, either or both of those occurrences are an occasion for me to pitch in and help and do whatever needs to be done including but not limited to running notices. If Exhibit 1 doesn't jog your memory about whether you actually prepared it, what would you do if a member of your team had prepared it and put your name on it?
reviewed all that specific data against the information provided to us by the client and by our title company. You mentioned that you were given access to a copy of the deed of trust in the case. Correct. And the access -- the deed of trust that you had access to in the Hargrove case, what kind of format did you have access to? What I do recall for sure about this file is that, because on every single file I received a copy, a recorded copy,
Does Exhibit 2 appear to be a copy from the title company that you just referred to? I don't know the origin point, whether this particular copy came from the client or whether it came from the title company. I'm going to ask you to look at the footers on the bottom of each of these pages. Okay. And I will represent to you that it has "RCO" stamped next to a numerical designation. Yes. And I will represent to you that these documents were provided to me by Mr. Katz from RCO legal. I also want you Do you see that?
to look at other footers, especially the one that says "printed on 4-10-2012 at 1:45:15 a.m." Yes. Do you know anything about that footer? Do you see that?
(By Ms. Dao) Ms. Swazey, the date of Exhibit 1, on the last page -- I'm sorry -- is 4-10-2012; correct? Yes. Now I'm asking you to look at that footer on Exhibit 2 that has the same stamped date. I see that. And do you know if there's any significance or connection between the printing date there and Exhibit 1? I'm not familiar with this footer. The deed of trust itself is familiar to you? I don't know that I recall this specific one, but I see it now. Do you have any -- do you have doubt that that is a true and correct copy of the deed of trust? No. No doubt? No. I want you to take a look at page two of Exhibit 2. And I'm
speaks for itself. (By Ms. Dao) I'm just going to have you read it and tell me. MERS is nominee for lender Pierce Commercial Bank. Is Pierce Commercial Bank a client of Northwest Trustee? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object. Are you asking
her about corporate clients that a corporate representative would need to testify to or just her knowledge? MS. DAO: Please, no speaking objections.
I really don't know. (By Ms. Dao) Your testimony is that City Mortgage is the client who informed you, Claire Swazey, that Mr. Hargrove, was in default; correct? That's correct. What is the connection between City Bank and Mr. Hargrove, other than what they told you? City Bank is the holder of the note and servicer of the debt to which Mr. Hargrove is obligated. And please tell me where you got that information from. From City Mortgage. In what form?
and they asked me to foreclose upon it. When you said they were the "holder," of the promissory note? Is that what you testified?
Correct. How did you know that? On this one, I do not know if I've seen the declaration or not indicating such. At this point all I know, all I recall
in this particular file, is that they indicated to me that they had this -- that they were servicing this loan, the loan was in default, it was this deed of trust with this information provided that you see in this notice of default. I'm going to ask you to look at Exhibit 2 again. where City Mortgage is on this document. It's not on there. So what conclusions did you draw if any looking at this deed of trust and comparing it to what City Mortgage told you? I concluded that they were servicing this -- the debt evidenced by this deed of trust. What is the evidence on the deed of trust that said they have any rights to the loan? It is not on the deed of trust. That's what I'm trying to make clear; right? Tell me
what City Mortgage told you? Correct. And were you concerned all, in reviewing the deed of trust, Exhibit 2, and seeing nothing relating to City Mortgage? No, I was not. And why not? Because, because services and assignees and assignors change
foreclosure file. (By Ms. Dao) And I asked for it in discovery and I -You never asked me. Well, I asked your attorney. we talking about? Let me ask you: What file are
records to ask you questions. Okay. What is the file of Dion Hargrove that you know of at Northwest Trustee? Well, the file that I know of is that the one in File
And you're talking about an electronic form. Yes. Is there a -- which is downloadable and being printed; correct? That's correct. If I asked, if I asked you to go back today, tomorrow, do you have the capability of downloading the entire file? Sure. So that's what I'm going to ask you to do, because if you're talking about a missing -- you're not looking at the file, it's going to be very difficult and unfair for you to answer questions, would you say? It depends on the questions. I just asked you the question what other sources. What I do know is that I did not take this to sale and I did not get very far with this file. So how illuminating that
would prove to be, I can't tell because this is not a file that I took to sale or got very far on. Sure. Let's just focus on your testimony that City Mortgage
is the holder of the promissory note that my client signed at closing. Do you agree with that statement?
I can't recall if I was furnished with a declaration as to that because I do not know if I got to that stage where I would have asked for one.
furnished to us. What I'm asking you is you said that Exhibit 2, the deed of trust, doesn't give you that, does it? That's correct. What other documents possibly that would give you the comfort of putting City Mortgage and the information in Exhibit 1? The fact that they had copies of the note and deed of trust, the fact that they had the loan terms would have, would have done it for me. All right. All right. That's a fair answer.
What in your mind is the holder status? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object to the extent it
(By Ms. Dao) You can answer. MR. KATZ: Answer if you can. I don't have the answer to that.
(By Ms. Dao) So why did you say that? I misspoke because I do not know if I got as far as asking for a declaration on this file.
be helpful for you look at Exhibit 1 again, please. Okay. I am going to ask you to look at -- there's no page number. But it will be the second page under paragraph K of Exhibit 1. Do you see the sentence that says, "The owner of
the note is City Mortgage, Inc."? Yes. Tell me where you got that information from. I was proceeding based on the referral documents sent to me. And nothing else? Correct. And the next paragraph indicates that the loan servicer for this loan is City Mortgage. Yes. Did you get that information also from City Mortgage? Yes. Then also on page 2 were all the amounts. Do you see in Do you see that?
paragraph D, "itemized account of the arrears"? Yes. And paragraph E, there's more amounts. Yes. Did all of these numbers come from the same referral that you had spoken about? Yes. Do you see that?
come from the servicer. Let me just be very specific. paragraph D still? Yes. What costs item are we referring to? Anything that says "costs" are amounts that we, that we provide. Let's start out with one. From top to bottom, tell me which Are you talking about
amount specifically that would be Northwest Trustee's cost. Any of the costs, actually all of them. our costs, not their costs. So let's go to the first item of costs that says "lender's fees and costs." Yes. Do you see that? I was talking about where it just If it's costs, it's
And "Trustee's fee," okay, that's Northwest Trustee Services' fees and costs. by the lender. The cost total of 1,416.95, you're saying that those costs were incurred by Northwest Trustee? Yeah. That's one cost. That's the one for the title So those weren't provided to me
Northwest Trustee at all? Correct. That would be -- who is the lender? City Mortgage. And that would be their fees and costs. But you don't have
any idea what the makeup for that amount of $967.42? Not off the top my head on this file. Okay. Where would that figure come from?
It would have come from the referral financials sent to us. And the term "lender fees and costs," is that -- you said that the lender is City Mortgage? Correct. So let's go to trustee's fees of $435. Is that what
Northwest Trustee charges City Mortgage? Yes. And then the items follow the heading of "costs." Those are
either paid for by Northwest Trustee or incurred by Northwest Trustee? Incurred by Northwest Trustee. Not necessarily paid for? What's the difference?
They are paid for and then forwarded to the client for reimbursement.
other title documents pertaining to that property and that ownership of Mr. Hargrove. So I show you Exhibit 2, dated -- or not dated, Exhibit 2. And you agree that the name of City Mortgage is nowhere in Exhibit 2; correct? Correct. So that document didn't help you to confirm who owns the note? That is correct. You refer to other documents. Can you even think of what
they always provide me with vesting deeds, copies of subject deed of trust, copies of our recordings. What are the documents that would confirm for you that City Mortgage is the owner of the note? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object. You've asked this
I would rely on such information that was provided to me by the lender. (By Ms. Dao) So now it's a little bit different. "lender," who's the "lender"? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object. This is the third By the
time you've asked that question. (By Ms. Dao) You can answer that question if you know. City Mortgage. What makes you conclude that City Mortgage is the lender? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object. That's the fourth
If you continue to do
this, we're going to end this deposition. MS. DAO: MR. KATZ: You can object. She's answered your questions. And if
question 'cause I think you just said -- you answer it differently each time. So can I have the last question and her answer, please. [Requested material read.] (By Ms. Dao) Who is the lender? I tend to use the terms interchangeably. a colloquialism. "client." Is that a matter of habit, or is it a matter of official business when you deal with foreclosure cases? It is the way I speak. I'm not concerned with the way you speak. precise. Okay. All right? So I need you to -- you sent out Exhibit 1 to my I need to be You may view it as
client which contained certain information. Right. And my client had a right to rely on it. So I'm just trying
to get to the accuracy of the information contained in Exhibit 1. I understand. So when I ask you a question pertaining to Exhibit 1, I'd
best of my ability. You are handling foreclosures where you sell people's homes. Am I correct? Correct. Do you think that it's important for them to know that you understand the differences and make the distinction or not? Yes. But they are not here.
What do you mean "they are not here"? All those people are not here. I happen to use the word
"lender" interchangeably with you. Okay. Let's stop there. When you use that interchangeably,
does it mean they mean the same thing? No. They don't mean the same thing. Let's clarify. Who is the lender in this case
All right.
that you believe to be? I only know who the servicer is. Okay. Right. And you know that from them telling you that they are the servicer? Correct. So when you say "lender," did you mean the servicer? And that is City Mortgage?
All right.
[A brief recess was taken.] Back on the record. Would you read back
where we left off. [Requested material read.] (By Ms. Dao) All right. Ms. Swazey. I'm going to ask you the notice of
to look at the last page of Exhibit 1, default. Yes. And can you read that to me.
"The creditor to whom the debt is owed is City Mortgage, Inc.," slash, "City Mortgage, Inc.," dash, "MD." How did you know or how did Northwest Trustee know that the creditor to whom the debt the owed is City Mortgage in that sentence? From the referral and any other documentation the lender --
last page, No. 1, do you see that it contains an amount that my client allegedly owed? Yes. $477,588? Yes. Where did you get that figure from? From the referral financials. Okay. That would be the only source that the figures could Do you see that?
have come from? Yes. [Deposition Exhibit No. 4 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) The court reporter has handed you Exhibit 4. Take a look, please [Complies.] Okay.
Is that exhibit familiar to you? Not specifically. It looks like a classic City Mortgage
payoff quote, though. Do you agree that Exhibit 4 pertains to my client's loan? Yes. And property? Yes. Now, the exhibit is entitled "Individual Message." explain where Exhibit 4 comes from. A message sent to us by City Mortgage. Can you
When you go to the bottom of Exhibit 5, do you see comments there, that -- do you see the comments in bold lettering there? Yes. And what -- and it reads that: "You should take all actions
to preserve our rights to a deficiency if permitted by law." Do you see that? MR. KATZ: Which exhibit are you on? [Indicating.]
THE WITNESS: MS. DAO: MR. KATZ: MS. DAO: that one. MR. KATZ:
Did I hand you the wrong one? Yeah. That's not the exhibit I have. I don't have another copy of
Oh, okay.
That's okay.
To the best of your knowledge, is there a deficiency in a nonjudicial foreclosure in Washington on a primary? No, there's not. Exhibit 5 has various amounts, "principal and interest on next scheduled payment," "escrow portion." Do these numbers
come into play in your preparation of the nonjudicial foreclosure on the Hargrove case? Yes. Exhibit 5, is if you read from top to bottom, it has right underneath the "FHA/VA/PMI" -- do you see that? Yeah. There's a sentence there or there's a statement there that reads: "CMI." Yeah. What is your understanding of that particular reference? City Mortgage, Inc., is the seller, slash, servicer as designated on this message. What is your understanding of that reference if you have any? That they're telling you the seller/servicer is CMI. "Seller," slash, "servicer," the number sign, colon, Do you see that?
really couldn't remember all of it -- I mean to list all of it. I've had a lot of training over the years.
Can you name one of the more recent ones? Oh, are you talking classes? Any kind of training. Concerning? Nonjudicial foreclosures in Washington. I attend two meetings every other week with other managers and with the senior managers to whom we report. as additional training. What are the likely contents of these meetings? They all vary. It's whatever comes up, you know. A meeting I view that
that you have in January isn't going to be the same thing as a meeting you have in March. Right. But is it all pertaining to your job in doing
three times now. Go ahead ask answer if you can. I don't recall. (By Ms. Dao) I don't have one to show you is why I'm asking you. So you don't recall whether you got one or not?
Correct. Okay. [Deposition Exhibit No. 6 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) Does No. 6 jog your memory as far as the beneficiary declaration? That is one of our beneficiary declarations; and it does describe this loan, this debt.
Incorporated, beneficiary." Tell me about the mechanics. then what? Right. In looking at Exhibit 6, can you tell me how it was sent out and how you got it back? It was sent to City Mortgage, and then they would have -they actually overnight mail these to us. And to the best of your knowledge, did you contact the person whose name appears on Exhibit 6? No. Is there any possibility for any of your team members to have contacted that person? No. Is it routine for Northwest Trustee to verify who signs the beneficiary declaration? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object because that's a Your firm prepared it, and
that Northwest Trustee prepared the declaration. blank; correct? What do you mean by "in blank"? There's no specification of who's to sign. filled in. Right, I mean.
There's no date
Inc., I mean that's in there. Northwest Trustee, your company, your team, doesn't determine who's going to sign the declaration? Right. We send it to City Mortgage.
And did you follow-up in this case to see who was going to sign it and when you're going to get it back? Not this one. We got it back pretty quickly. I mean here
we ran our NOD April 10th, and then less than a month later, we have this. follow-up. On April 10, 2012, or in April, City Mortgage was a client of Northwest Trustee? Yes. When did Northwest Trustee become the trustee to foreclose on this property? I'm sure this would have taken very little
You use the referral to prepare the notice of default; correct? Yes. And at that juncture, you did not have basically the beneficiary declaration. Right, we did not. Is that routine or not necessarily? That is routine. In April of 2012, there is a relationship between Northwest Trustee and City Mortgage? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object. That's a question
for Northwest Trustee to answer. But answer if you can, Claire. Can I get the question again? (By Ms. Dao) Do you remember your testimony that City Mortgage is the client of Northwest Trustee? Right. And they were a client in April 2012? Yes. And so at that juncture, did Northwest Trustee become the trustee? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent it calls for a
if I got that far with this file off the top of my head. (By Ms. Dao) I guess I just want to understand. When you
get the referral from City Mortgage in April, they were a client? Yes. Was Northwest Trustee, your company, acting as a successor trustee at that time? No. The notice of default says as its agent.
So what changed from City Mortgage being a client and Northwest Trustee becomes a trustee for the purpose of the sale? I don't know that we became trustee. set sale. I don't remember if we So far I've
looked at the beneficiary declaration and the notice of default. [Deposition Exhibit No. 7 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) I'm asking you to look at No. 7, which is the foreclosure loss mitigation form. Yes. And does it look familiar to you at all? Yes. Do you see that?
But in your -- well, let me just ask you some foundational questions. Do you as the team supervisor of your team and
in your capacity as an employee for Northwest Trustee, are you aware of the existence of a manual or procedure book on how to process these files? What kind of procedure book? On what to do once a referral is made. I go through the statutory steps. really. Do you have a checklist? Yes, I do. And where is this checklist? It's electronic. tracking system. What does this checklist contain? It contains the needed events for the statutory steps to foreclosure and documents needed to be able to perform that. Do you share this checklist with your team members? Yeah. Anyone pulling up that file can see that checklist. It's in each file in the electronic file I don't have a book,
And this says the declaration or the statement by someone from City Mortgage that they have complied with RCW 61.240.0319(5)? Right. Are you familiar with that provision of the statute? Not offhand. So fair to say that, when you received Exhibit 7, you took it at face value?
have known. So the designation for City Mortgage is there because Northwest Trustee put it there? Right. Do you see the signature on Exhibit 8 of "Jacqueline M. Wagner"? Right. Yes.
Do you know who she is? It says here she's a document control officer. But beyond what it says there, do you have any personal knowledge who she is? No. Do you have any personal knowledge as to what her position entails? No. Do you know what a document control officer does? I have only a rough guess, which is that they prepare and/or execute documents.
department, a lot; and I may have heard from her. recall this particular individual. What department are we talking about? The document control department.
To the best of your knowledge, there's a document control department for City Mortgage? Yes. Is there any reason why Northwest Trustee would prepare the appointment and not City Mortgage? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object to the extent that
calls for the corporate response. Answer it if you know. I don't know. (By Ms. Dao) Does Northwest Trustee prepare all appointments of successor trustee? MR. KATZ: The same objection.
Answer it if you can. I can't speak for Northwest Trustee. what I do on my team. (By Ms. Dao) What do you and your team do? Any file where we are not already appointed as trustee, we do prepare an appointment of successor trustee and give it to the lender -- sorry, the servicer to execute and return I can only speak as to
when it was recorded; correct? Yes. And the recording of Exhibit 8 was not was done by your -by you or members of your team? We don't record documents. case First American Title. When you said "your title company," what do you mean by that? The title company that has provided the foreclosure title insurance. You don't mean that Northwest Trustee owns that title company? Northwest Trustee does not own First American Title. Or not?
the trustee.
and provides us with power of sale. When you send it out to City Mortgage -- I just want to be clear on your last bit of testimony. City Mortgage. you? Yes. From there, how did it get recorded? We then take the physical, original document, attach a cover sheet, note our file that we have it. We attach a cover You send it out to
sheet instructing, in this case First American Title, to record this document and then let us know. And then we send
and I also will receive emails with recording information. So now that you have Exhibit 8 and it shows that the document was recorded May 11, 2012 -- do you see that? Yes. Is it your testimony that Northwest Trustee did not become the successor trustee until the recording of this document? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object to the extent it
calls for a legal conclusion. Answer if you know. This document appointed us as trustee; and it recorded May 11, 2012. That's all I know.
(By Ms. Dao) Before this date, before the recording date, Northwest Trustee and City Mortgage had a client, agent-principal relationship? MR. KATZ: (By Ms. Dao) Yes. MR. KATZ: I'm going object to the extent it calls Is that your question?
for a legal conclusion. Answer if you know. They're our client. (By Ms. Dao) Client for what kind of services?
Yeah, it's a notice of foreclosure for this Dion Hargrove file with that same file number. It has your name on it as a contact. Is that consistent
with what you testified earlier, that you may or may not have been the one that prepared it? Correct. My team would have prepared this. I just did not
recall earlier today if we had gotten this far. Does it jog your memory now? Yes, we got that far. Okay. So in looking at Deposition Exhibit 9, I see that it
vestees in the property along with the notice of trustee sale. So this notice is not recorded, and this goes with And it gives him -- gives the borrower
an explanation of the financials pertaining to that foreclosure. Is it fair to say that Exhibit 9 informs the borrower the amount needed to reinstate? The approximate amount. It does say "approximate." They
have to call for figures if they want to reinstate. Whom do they call? They contact our firm. through to me. And what would you do to give them the precise amount to reinstate? I would obtain a -- I'd get a good-through date. want it good through two weeks out? I would provide that to the lender. A month out? Do you And then But, if it's my file, they're put
for their reinstatement or payoff as the case might be -people ask me for either or both -- good through that date. They provide me with those figures. And then I give that to
Not off the top of my head. If I could refer you back to Exhibit 2 which I believe to be the deed of trust, do you have it? Yes. I'm looking at it. Sorry.
Does it tell you whether it's an FHA case or not? Actually it does, yeah. There's a case number.
Your team handles FHA loans? We do some, yes. Are you knowledgeable with regards to FHA HUD guidelines pertaining to foreclosures? Yes. And to the best of your knowledge, did Northwest Trustee, your company, follow the HUD guidelines for the loan in foreclosing? MR. KATZ: I am going to object --
I'm not sure which guidelines you're referring to. I don't recall. (By Ms. Dao) Do you know of a set of guidelines by HUD that pertains to pre foreclosure options, for example? No. You're not? What are you familiar with in terms of FHA or
HUD guidelines for their loans? I know that we're required, if we get to a certain stage of the foreclosure, to send a HUD occupancy letter. that a title package is done after sale. And I know
have standards for when the first legal can be filed, and sometimes they may grant an extension if asked for. Other than that, that's pretty much it. Other than
that it would be go by the statute and the information provided by the client. As you sit here, do you know if the procedures that you just describe, whether they were followed in this case? I don't recall. But you agree that they would apply in the case of an FHA loan such as this one? MR. KATZ: I'm going to object to the extent it
Which one?
Well, I thought you were asking me about And then it sounds like you were
asking me about this file. Right. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. now. Okay. Well, I don't recall. So let me clarify. I asked you about this file
You don't recall whether the guidelines were followed in the case? Right, I don't recall. Do you recall whether the guidelines applied in this case? I don't know. repurchase. For all I know, this could have been a I really can't attest to it
I don't know.
without speculating which I don't want to do. I get it. What is a repurchase?
If they decide it's not in an FHA loan anymore, it's going to be only with that particular mortgage company or servicer. I don't know if this file is like that. I just
don't know. When you say -- okay. When you referred to the repurchase
just now and you said "they," help me understand what you
Sometimes a loan may start out with a government investor and later on not be with that. I do not know about Mr. I
Hargrove's loan, whether it continued to be an FHA loan. see it started out that way.
By that, you're referring to the deed of trust with the FHA number? Correct. And obviously you're talking about some other scenarios where the loan does not remain with the FHA forever. Right. You know, I don't know if that is or is not the case So I don't want to make a definitive
-- that it's FHA forever and ever. I appreciate that. Let's say it's not. Regardless of your lack of
knowledge, what do you know about when the loan stops being an FHA loan? What do you know, personally? My understanding is that sometimes
some lender will inform us that a repurchase may have occurred and that they are now responsible and that the
it is not unheard of. What is the significance of this loan being an FHA loan, to the best of your knowledge? The significance would have been to try to proceed to first legal, which is the notice of sale, as soon as possible within, of course, such confines as the statute dictates. The deed of trust statute? Right. Meaning I have to follow the law. But the FHA does
want the first legal to be filed as soon as possible. What is the role of HUD in this loan, then, to the best of your knowledge? They do monitor it. They are guarantor. And if this were
to have gone to a sale, which it did not, and if it did not go to a third-party bidder, it would have been deeded to the mortgage company but ultimately, again, deeded over to HUD. What is your understanding about that? That would have been all post sale. that point with this file. still owns house. Do you know why it goes ultimately to HUD if it went to sale? Because they are the guarantor. [Deposition Exhibit No. 10 marked.] We didn't even get to
Which date are you referring to? MS. DAO: Yes, I do agree. (By Ms. Dao) In looking at Exhibit 10, do you have any recollection whether you prepared it or a member of your team prepared it? That I don't remember. Now, Exhibit 10 is the notice of trustee sale; correct? Yes, ma'am. Informing my client when the house would be sold at auction? True. And, again, on page 2 of the Exhibit 10 contains various amounts. I want to make sure that these amounts also came The effective date on the last page.
from City Mortgage and then the costs were furnished by Northwest Trustee. That is correct. Everything south of "Trustee's Expenses"
And do you use your notary seal on your -- on the job for Northwest Trustee? Very rarely, yes. What would be the occasion where you notarize? Someone needs a document notarized, and there's nobody else around. And you have a bond on the notary seal that you got, then, I
done a little bit in Idaho, Montana, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Alaska. This document is dated January 11, 2012. Okay. Would you agree?
job, I did foreclosures in the Southwest states and in Alaska. But in looking at 13, it jogs your memory for being involved in Oregon foreclosures? Certainly, yeah. You are still involved in Oregon foreclosures? Yeah, a little bit, just a little. So let me understand this. I'd like to know what kind of
times when I've had as many 1,000 files my team was responsible for. sure. It goes up and down. Right now, I'm not
In terms of -- in terms of documents that you have to sign personally, do you have any idea how many you would be looking at on the average per day? No, because every day is different. I have some days where
I'm not signing one blessed thing, although I'm doing many other things. And then I have days where I might be signing
and having my team send out 15 or 20. Is that highest, or is that the average? There's no average. varies. Is it fair to say that you would be engaging in signing foreclosure documents on a weekly basis? Certainly. And every month on the job, you would be signing documents? Right. I don't think there's any week that passes that I It's all over the map. It really
don't have documents, but there's certainly days that pass where I don't have documents to sign. Now, given the volume that you deal with, would you ever allow anybody else to sign your name? No.
In your capacity as an employee for Northwest Trustee, have you ever signed for MERS? Yes. I don't recall. You know who MERS is?
Have you ever signed for any other corporation beside Northwest Trustee? In previous jobs. No. No. To the best of your knowledge? To the best of my knowledge. [Deposition Exhibit No. 14 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) Can I ask you to look at 14, particularly in terms of your signature, Ms. Swazey. [Complies.] Yeah. That is my signature. In addition to being employed by Northwest Trustee.
In this instance, on Exhibit 14, how did Mr. Lynch notarize your signature? I appeared before him with the notice. When you look at the notary declaration, it says here that he witnessed you as Claire M. Swazey. Right. And that you have acknowledged to him that you are authorized to sign as assistant vice president of Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. Do you see that? Do you see that?
Officially the people who own shares in the company. No. I don't even know if we are a company in which you
could have shares. Northwest Trustee is a corporation? Right. You're on their list to be assistant vice president. Right. All right. [Complies.] You can put that exhibit away.
Is that your signature? Yes. And your signature was also notarized by Mr. Lynch; is that correct? Yes. And if you turn to the previous exhibit, the exhibit right before that . . . 14? 14. Yeah. Will you tell me if they were signed on the same date, because it appears that they were. Yes. And Mr. Lynch was also notarizing your signature -Yes. -- on the 15th; correct? The 25th. It says April 25th.
Are you comparing them? Yeah, I'm looking at both of them. same date which is April 25th. You don't have any doubt that that is your signature? Then they both have the
seen it but not? I don't recall if I saw this particular note on Mr. Hargrove's file off the top of my head. And I'm talking about the original. Oh, the original note? Yes. Not a copy? Not a copy. Oh, I would never see the originals. Why is that? I do not receive original documents. You would have no access to original documents? I would not have access nor would I seek it. So when you testified earlier that you believe City Mortgage is the holder of the note . . . Yes. I don't recall.
Do you understand?
In the circumstances that you just described when you asked them to research, tell me how that -I submit the document to them. But I happen to know, from
dealing with them, that they have a department that researches anything that they execute. So what is this department called? I don't know. So your experience is based on what? They often contact me with questions. They'll say, You've
asked us to execute this; do you have the assignment; do you have -- do you have the recorded deed of trust; do you have this; do you have that; or hey, We're working on it; we're researching it. So this is something that someone else tells you? Yes. Now, there was a -- you testified that there might be a copy
see that it has all this loan information pertaining to Mr. Hargrove's debt. It does have a cover sheet that says: "Attached is a true Do you see that?
Where would you -- and I will represent to you that this exhibit was furnished to me by Mr. Katz in connection with this case. Would you have any knowledge of how your
company -- or whether or not Northwest Trustee obtained a copy of this exhibit? Well, without looking at the file, I don't know. But I
usually get copies of notes, and they provide them to us. But you don't have any independent recollection or knowledge of the exhibit as you're looking at it? Not this particular one, no. Again, the exhibit has a cover sheet that specifies "a true and correct copy of the original note." knowing whether it is or not? You have no way of
That's what I will represent to you, that it doesn't come from me. In any event, take a look at the exhibit and tell
me if it looks familiar to you at all. Well, it's the same as this other copy. sideways and small. Okay. You can put that away. It just isn't all
[Complies.] MS. DAO: If we could, just go off the record. [Brief off-record discussion.] [Lunch recess.] Back on the record. [Deposition Exhibit No. 18 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) Ms. Swazey, if you could, just take a moment to look at 18. Okay. Does that jog your memory as to what the document is all about? It's a notice of postponement we email. Whenever we
that is a declaration of mail on another notice of postponement? Yes. It doesn't inform us as to when the sale was postponed to. That's because it's a declaration of mailing. And by looking at that exhibit, can you tell why the sale was postponed? No. Because it's a declaration of mailing.
When was that notice mailed according to 19? September 17th. What would be the occasion where a sale would be postponed? There are dozens if not hundreds of reasons a sale could be postponed. But by looking at that, you have no idea why? No, because this is a declaration of mailing. Now, if you were to go back to your file, the one that you referred to earlier, would you be able to tell why the sale was postponed? Yes.
I sent out
a notice of postponement that says when the sale date is going to be set to. mailing form. And then there's the declaration of
probably the sale cry. You don't know who Chris Gann is, personally? No. It says that -- I believe he's probably from the area
that handles those sales. That's fine. Okay. Thank you. [Deposition Exhibit No. 21 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) You're looking at Exhibit 21? Yes. Does that -- do you recognize 21? Yes. That's one of our notices of postponement, the one for I don't want to you guess. Thank you.
this file.
So you have no idea? Not from looking at this. [Deposition Exhibit No. 22 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) What is 22? It's another notice of postponement. September 14. 21 and 22 are notices of postponement of the sales date in my client's case; is that correct? Yes. And again, in looking at 22, you have no idea why the sale was postponed? Right. At all? We don't put that information in the notice of postponement. We're not required to. So we don't. This one's dated
How would you go about finding out the reasons why you postponed the sale? I do document it in my file. those reasons were. But I do not remember what
if worded properly would yield such notes. So the notes, the explanations for the postponements, would be contained in your file? Yes. [Deposition Exhibit No. 23 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) 23, Ms. Swazey, is that, again, another notice of postponement? Yes, it is. What is -- when is it dated, and what is it dated for? October 19th is the date of this notice. This is very similar to the previous two exhibits as far as the notices of postponement; correct? Right. In fact, they would be basically identical except for the dates where the sale is moved to? Yeah, the dates of the notice and the dates when the sale's moved to, so two dates. Again, this exhibit doesn't call it out of your memory as to the reasons why there was another postponement? No. We're are not required to put such information in our
notice of postponement.
mailed. [Deposition Exhibit No. 24 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) I'm handing you or the court reporter handed you 24. And is that another notice of postponement?
Right, it is. What is it dated for? November 19th -- 16th, sorry. November 16th, 2012.
Similarly you do not recall why this notice of postponement was mailed or issued? Yeah, I do not recall. [Deposition Exhibit No. 25 marked.] (By Ms. Dao) What is Exhibit 25, Ms. Swazey? It is a notice of discontinuance of trustee's sale. Can you look at it for a moment and tell me if you recall any basis for the reasons for discontinuation. I actually do but not from reviewing this. doing it. Go ahead and tell me. I did it because the file was at some point placed on litigation hold and I had taken my sale off calendar already and, on reviewing the file, I found that a notice of discontinuance should therefore be recorded. I just remember
So my question is is this your signature in fact? Yes, it sure is. That was Mr. Lynch who notarized your signature? Yes. You have some specific memory about that? I actually remember this one, yeah. [Deposition Exhibit No. 26 marked.] Exhibit 26 is what, Ms. Swazey? A notice of discontinuance that our accounting team did not realize that I had already done one. What do you mean your "accounting team"? When we close a file, our accounting team often sends out a notice of discontinuance. already done one. Do you know -- so what is the date of the exhibit? February 26. They did not realize I had
division ran this notice of discontinuance because we had closed the file and they did not know -- it kind of crossed with the other one. manually. They didn't know I had already done one
I usually don't do them manually, but I wanted to And they did not see that. So
they duplicated my work, but this is not a duplicate notice. As you can see, it's not the same notice. Let me ask you to elaborate on why you recorded or you prepared 25. Because I took my sale off calendar and I knew I wasn't going to be proceeding. Who directed to you do that? discontinue the sale? Mr. Katz. And that was based on the litigation status? Yes. Do you recall getting the request or comment from him Who directed you to cancel or
revealing attorney-client privilege. (By Ms. Dao) You can answer. MR. KATZ: You can't answer the question. I'm
instructing you not to answer the question. Anything that has been discussed between the witness and myself is subject to attorney-client privilege. (By Ms. Dao) Let me ask you this: You said that your file Are
is kept separate and apart from RCO files; correct? they? They did not say that. files.
That's what you asked me. Does RCO have access to your file?
And my question is, with regard to canceling the sale, what specific instruction do you get from Mr. Katz? MR. KATZ: I'll object again to the extent it
calls for revealing attorney-client privilege matter in litigation. Any communications I had with the witness
Would that have come before or after Mr. Katz's request to you? That I don't remember. [Deposition Exhibit No. 27 marked.]
(By Ms. Dao) You're looking at Exhibit 27, Ms. Swazey; correct? Yes, I am. This is -- can you describe what Exhibit 27 is. It is a message from City Mortgage to close and bill this file. What is the message -- to whom is the message addressed? To me. And does the exhibit describe pretty much what you have just mentioned about City Mortgage's request? Yes. To close the file? Yes. Now, this message has two parts. topic "close and bill." Do you see that? It's got
another paragraph with "Topic, Judicial foreclosure and who is handling." Right. Is that, like, a reply to the message? She's top posted as a reply. So the topic "Close and bill"
is a reply to an earlier message. So the second part of the exhibit, is that the reply by
Can you tell who's replying? She replied, Joyce Drier. to me. So the email started out from her to you; correct? No. I contacted her, and then she replied to me. This exhibit doesn't have your communication? This is a reply from Joyce Dreier
Okay.
Yes, it does. Can you read it to me? "Topic, judicial foreclosure and who is handling." That's you? Yeah. Okay. I wrote it. So you informed Ms. Dreier that your firm is no
longer representing City? Correct. And that another firm, Jordan Ramis, is? Correct. So this -- let me understand this: She sent it to you first
and you replied, or you replied -- or you sent her -She replied, and this is her reply which is top posted and appended to my text. So in the portion where you identify as your message to her, starting out with "Topic, judicial foreclosure and who is handling" . . .
That is your notes? Yes. And the request to remove the loan from your list of foreclosures is your statement? Yes. Then the signature, it says "thank you" and "sent by Routh Crabtree Olsen PS." Yes. Did you put it there? The system did. type that. So the system defaults the message as being sent by Routh Crabtree Olsen PS? As mentioned earlier in the deposition, I do have email addresses -- we all do -- that are both Northwest and Routh Crabtree. But you're not being paid by both companies, are you? No. So in terms of your employment status, who employs you? Northwest Trustee. What would be the occasion for you to use the law firm's email address? This is something that the electronic system put in, because they were referred to us under Routh Crabtree Olsen. So any The system filled it in for me. I did not Do you see that?
"Northwest Trustee Services" on them. Is this a -- I guess I'm a little bit confused about this. The system defaults the address as you being associated with Routh Crabtree? If they referred it to us using the Routh Crabtree Olsen name, then, if I reply back, it will say that Routh Crabtree Olsen wrote them back. You have worked for Northwest Trustee since 2009? True. Yes.
Before that you worked for some other firms? Yes, ma'am. Can you tell who these people were. Yes, ma'am. to 2009. And in what capacity did you work for them? I was a lead trustee's sale officer. What did that entail? It entailed -- I had two kinds of duties. I handled But I I was with Regional Trustee Services from 2003
nonjudicial foreclosures for Washington and Oregon. also did a lot of title review and title clearing.
Have your -- has your career been concentrated on real estate foreclosures? Is that fair to say?
that, I was at B of A for 14 years and then kind of went through different position and promotions, like you do. And the collection position, that involved what kind of debts? Well, when I first started out, it was car loans, you know, very first. Then after a while, I handled all creditor Then they started having me
concentrate more on real estate. That would be mortgage foreclosure? For a while it was just handling real estate loans that had been charged off and What are we going to do with them. was also the foreclosure person. was there, I did foreclosures. I
all Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and home equity products. And I oversaw and hired out firms like this one,
like Regional and Northwest Trustee, to do either nonjudicial or a law firm to do judicial foreclosure. So from 2003, when you started with Regional, and now, you have pretty much concentrated on foreclosures, real estate foreclosures? Yes, I sure have. So that's about 10 years. Yes, it is. And is it fair for me to assume that you're knowledgeable in
The schedule that you have at Northwest, is it 40 hours a week or more? I'm salary. So it's whatever it takes to get the job done.
Last week I was over 50 hours. Is that typical? It ebbs and flows. It's as needed, you know. So it's a
minimum of 40 hours, and I put in more time if I find that it is needed to pitch in and help. When you said "title clearing," the work that you did for Bank of America? No, that was actually at Regional. Explain to me what that entailed. If there were matters on the -- on title that needed to be addressed. And there could be a lot of different matters.
But there could be a prior lien that's really paid and should have been reconveyed and/or there could be a superpriority lien to let the clients know about. And you
could find that you had -- the property was landlocked or that there's a problem with the legal description. be anything. Were you -There's . . . It could
trust in that period time when you were doing title clearing? As title clearing, no. Do you have a working knowledge and understanding of how assignments of deed of trust work? Oh, working, yeah. All right. I'm going to ask you to indulge me because you
have testified here as to your understanding of City Mortgage being the entity that is -- that was lawful as far as asking Northwest Trustee to foreclose. statement? Yes. You took it from them that they have a legal right to ask services from Northwest Trustee? I did. Let's start out with the term "beneficiary." understanding of what the beneficiary is? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent that it calls for What is your Is that a fair
a legal conclusion. But go ahead and answer if you know. As I understand it, it is the company that benefits from the loan borrowed as stated on the deed of trust and they are one of three parties on the deed of trust.
a legal conclusion. If you know, answer. (By Ms. Dao) What is the owner of the note in your mind? I don't get into owners of notes in my job at all. You testified earlier that in the notice of default that was prepared by your team or you, City Mortgage was identified as the owner of the note. I recall that. And that must have -- well, tell me how that came about. Did you come to that definition? Did somebody tell you? Do you recall?
Why did it go onto the notice of default? At initial referral stage, I would have only known that they were servicing the debt; they were in charge of the debt; they were making the decisions on the debt; and that they needed us to foreclose. And then very soon after, you know,
one of these exhibits shows the recorded assignment, which we would ensure there was one as needed for every file. Assignment of? Of the deed of trust. Let's go back to the term "the owner of the note" that you've just described the basis for me that's how you concluded that City Mortgage is the owner of the note. That they -- I relied on information provided to me in the
they may or may not always be the owner. In this case, in the Hargrove case, when you look at the notice of default that you -- that Northwest Trustee prepared, do you agree that it says that City Mortgage is also the servicer? MR. KATZ: for itself. (By Ms. Dao) You can answer. It does say that. And in your mind, what is the holder of the note? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent it calls for a Object to the extent the document speak
legal conclusion. If you know, answer. I'm not conversant enough to answer that question. (By Ms. Dao) So in this situation, when you received a declaration from City Mortgage that says it is the holder of the note . . . Yes. That's where the inquiry ended; right?
Would it be fair to say you relied on it exclusively? Mostly. I mean I also look at all the referral documents
and every other -- and I look at the assignment of deed of trust. But I rely on it heavily.
How is it -- what is the relevant -- what is the relevance of the assignment of deed of trust to the holder status? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent it calls for a
legal conclusion. Answer if you know. I don't know. I'm not qualified to. I'm not an attorney.
I can't answer that. (By Ms. Dao) You just testified. You just told me that you
looked at things like the assignment of deed of trust. I do. I do look at it.
So what is the significance of that as to the holder status? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent it calls for a
legal conclusion. Answer if you know. I don't know. (By Ms. Dao) When you said that, there was no meaning attached to that statement?
MR. KATZ:
a legal conclusion. Answer if you know. I don't have a legal conclusion on this. (By Ms. Dao) Not a legal conclusion. Do you, as -- in your
position as team supervisor and assistant vice president for Northwest Trustee, have a definition, a working definition for holder of the note? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent it calls for a
legal conclusion. Answer if you can. I believe it's a self-explanatory term: the note, or do they not? Do they the hold
to tell me if they are the holder of the note or not. (By Ms. Dao) What does that mean in plain language? does that mean to you? That they hold the note. It's explanatory. What
Holding it in a physical sense? MR. KATZ: Again, object to the extent it calls
a legal conclusion. Answer if you know. (By Ms. Dao) I'm not asking for a legal conclusion. According to the beneficiary declaration, it agrees. The declaration in this case you're talking about? The beneficiary declaration says that they are the holder of the note, and the referral says that they are the lender and servicer. Okay. Now we're mixing terms. It's
Well, and that's what appears on my notice of default. the same every place. Okay.
Well, let me ask you again, 'cause I don't think I Is the creditor to whom the debt is
now four to five times. MS. DAO: MR. KATZ: answer anymore. MS. DAO: No, no. You go ahead. You can do No, no. And one more time, and she will not
whatever you want. (By Ms. Dao) I'm going to ask again 'cause I haven't asked you about the term "lender." case? Original lender or current lender? You tell me. The original lender was Pierce Commercial Bank. City Who is the lender in this
Mortgage now has the obligation and is enforcing it. What is the basis for that statement, Ms. Swazey? The referral document and the beneficiary declaration. Who is the guarantor in this case? MR. KATZ: Object to the extent it calls for a
legal conclusion. You can answer. I don't know how it works. (By Ms. Dao) Who is a nominee? MR. KATZ: What is a nominee?
legal conclusion. Answer if you know. I'm not 100 percent conversant with that term and exactly what it means legally. (By Ms. Dao) So you can't say? Right. Do you know who the nominee is in this case? MR. KATZ: Again same objection.
Answer if you know. I only know what it says in the deed of trust, the original nominee.
is that a fair statement of how it is? They were. I would say I would use past tense for that.
So MERS was the nominee for Pierce Commercial? They were, yes. And what is -- from your understanding of this case, what is the role of MERS in the case? MERS is an entity that monitors and tracks loans to a certain degree. I don't know everything that they do.
What was their involvement in this case that you know? Just the holding and tracking of certain loan information pertaining to this deed of trust. than that. You indicated earlier, in the beginning of your deposition, is that my client was in default. Yes. And who can declare my client to be in default in this case? The servicer who is not receiving payments. And where do you get that information from? From the servicer who is not receiving payments. That would be? City Mortgage. Do you recall that? I really don't know more
Well, I sent -It's more or less the same. I sent one in March. was sent to Mr. Katz. I will represent to you that this one So I just want you to focus on the This
items that I asked you bring today to your deposition. is starting on page 2. Okay. Now, I asked for a copy of your resume or CV. it? Mr. Katz has it. I gave it to him. Okay?
And I asked for your W-2 forms for the year 2012. MR. KATZ: For the record, there was an objection
stated to that request. (By Ms. Dao) And let me just make sure: objected. I did not. No. 3, all payroll checks you have received in 2012 from any employer. MR. KATZ: For the record, there was an objection Your attorney
(By Ms. Dao) No. 7, any corporate resolution or other documents showing your position and authority for any other corporation including Rough Crabtree. There isn't any other one. You're not acting -- or have you ever acted in any official capacity on behalf of Routh Crabtree Olsen PS? No. No. 8, any and all documents showing your job description, including letters, evaluations, offers from any employer for the year 2012 and up to now. MR. KATZ: For the record, there was an objection
to all of eight except for the job description. And this is the one you use; right? THE WITNESS: Let's see. Yeah.
[Handing.]
(By Ms. Dao) No. 9, any log or list you keep regarding notices of trustee's sales, assignments, appointments of successor trustee, or any other foreclosure-related documents that were prepared or signed by you including documents where your name is stated for purpose of nonjudicial sale within the state of Washington. There isn't any. (By Ms. Dao) No log or list? documents generated by you? It's in the electronic file. And does the system give you a tally of how many documents for each of the categories? It does. But that and the imaging system show all the There's no accounting for the
work list of events, which I think I referred to earlier as a checklist -- that was what I meant -- it shows each task we carried out and if there is a document associated with that task. Because you testified to and referred to the checklist and the file, the Hargrove file . . .
So I'm going to ask for a copy of that file as well as the checklist that you referred to. your counsel. I'm going to ask it through
that's what I'm going to be asking. MR. KATZ: Counsel, you were provided a copy of
the file in discovery. MS. DAO: referring to. MR. KATZ: MS. DAO: MR. KATZ: Okay. We'll give you a duplicate. That's all I have. That's not the same file that she's
All right.
Deposition of Claire Swazey, 6/5/2013 Page 118 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Van Pelt, Corbett, Bellows, Court Reporters 206-682-9339 www.vanpeltdep.com 888-4WA-depo
A Q A Q Q A Q A Q A A Q Yes. If some other entity out there is trying to collect or foreclose on my client's home and they're not making the inquiry through Northwest Trustee, you would not know? Would that be fair to say? No, it isn't fair to say because, if they were trying to foreclose, they'd record something and I would see it. That's not my question. My question is, if there's an
entity out there sending some other trustee's company a referral, you would not know about that? I might know about it if that trustee company got so far as to record something. That's not what I'm asking. Yeah, it is. No. Please listen to me. My question is, if there is a
company out there, an entity -- we don't know who it is. But if that entity initiated some kind of a referral, that's it, just the initiation of a referral, you would know? Not in the beginning, no. That's my question. Okay. That's it. [Signature reserved.] [Deposition concluded at 1:27 p.m.] Certainly not.
I, Jacqueline L. Bellows, Washington Certified Court Reporter, pursuant to RCW 5.28.010 authorized to administer oaths and affirmations in and for the State of Washington, do hereby certify: That the foregoing deposition was taken before me at the time and place therein set forth and thereafter transcribed under my direction, the transcript prepared pursuant to the guidelines set out in Washington Administrative Code 308-14-135. That the witness was by me first duly sworn to testify to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That the deposition as transcribed is a full, true, and correct record to the best of my ability of the testimony of the witness and of all questions, objections, motions, stipulations, and exceptions of counsel made at the time of examination. That I am in no way related to any party to this matter nor to any of counsel nor do I have any interest in the matter. Witness my hand and CCR seal this 21st day of June