Appeals Court Rejects Appeal in RV Lawsuit, Backing Yakima Judge’s Ruling
A procedural misstep has abruptly ended an appeal over a recreational vehicle dispute, leaving a Yakima County Superior Court judge’s ruling intact.
In an unpublished opinion filed Thursday, the Washington State Court of Appeals Division III, declined to review a decision by Yakima County Superior Court Judge Jared A. Boswell.
Judge Boswell had previously vacated a default judgment against a local company, Valencia Trucking, and its owners.
The legal battle began on October 11, 2024, when Angela A. Garcia-Leija, representing herself from Camas, Washington, filed a lawsuit against Francisco J. Valencia, Marta Valencia, and Valencia Trucking.
The suit centered on Garcia-Leija’s purchase of a recreational vehicle from the Valencias.
After the Valencias were served with the complaint, their attorney filed a notice of appearance but failed to formally answer the complaint in time.
Following this delay, Garcia-Leija secured an “Order of Default and Default Judgment” against the Yakima-based business owners in December 2024.
However, the victory was short-lived. Yakima attorney Russell Harold Gilbert of the Gilbert Law Group, PLLC, representing the Valencias, successfully petitioned the court to set aside the default judgment.
Following a hearing on January 10, 2025, Judge Boswell agreed with the defense, tossing the default judgment in its entirety and paving the way for the case to be decided on its legal merits.
Garcia-Leija appealed Judge Boswell’s decision to the appellate court. But her appeal ran aground due to a critical missing document: the official court transcript, known legally as the verbatim report of proceedings.
Writing for the appellate panel, Acting Chief Judge John Cooney noted that default judgments are heavily disfavored under Washington law because “parties should be given their day in court with controversies determined on their merits.”
Because Garcia-Leija failed to provide the transcript of the Yakima hearing, the appellate judges had no way to evaluate if Judge Boswell abused his discretion.
“Without it, we are unable to determine whether the trial court’s exercise of discretion in setting aside the order of default and default judgment was manifestly unreasonable or based on untenable grounds,” Judge Cooney wrote.
Judges Megan Murphy and Robert Lawrence-Berrey concurred with the decision.
While the Valencias prevailed in keeping the default judgment vacated, their request to have Garcia-Leija pay their attorney fees was denied by the appellate court.
The court noted that the defense failed to dedicate a required section of their opening brief to the fee request, a strict violation of appellate rules.