A procedural oversight has concluded an appeal concerning a recreational vehicle transaction, preserving a Yakima County Superior Court ruling in favor of the defendants.
On Thursday, the Washington State Court of Appeals Division III issued an unpublished opinion declining to revisit Judge Jared A. Boswell’s decision to vacate a default judgment.
The dispute originated on October 11, 2024, when Angela A. Garcia-Leija, proceeding without legal representation from Camas, initiated litigation against Francisco J. Valencia, Marta Valencia, and their business, Valencia Trucking. The lawsuit stemmed from Garcia-Leija’s acquisition of a motorhome from the Valencias.
Following service of the complaint, the Valencias’ attorney submitted a notice of appearance but did not file a formal response within the prescribed timeframe. As a result, Garcia-Leija obtained an Order of Default and Default Judgment in December 2024.
That initial win proved temporary. Attorney Russell Harold Gilbert of the Gilbert Law Group, PLLC, representing the Valencias, moved to vacate the default. After a January 10, 2025, hearing, Judge Boswell granted the motion, nullifying the default judgment entirely and allowing the case to proceed to resolution on substantive legal grounds.
Garcia-Leija later appealed Judge Boswell’s ruling to the appellate court. Her appeal, however, stalled when the official verbatim report of proceedings—the court transcript from the Yakima hearing—was not included in the record.
Acting Chief Judge John Cooney, authoring the appellate decision, emphasized that Washington courts generally disfavor default judgments, as they prioritize resolving disputes on their merits. Without the transcript, he explained, the appellate bench could not assess whether Judge Boswell’s decision to set aside the default was reasonable or grounded in sound legal principles.
“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 stated.
Judges Megan Murphy and Robert Lawrence-Berrey joined the opinion.
Though the Valencias retained the vacated default judgment, their request for attorney fees was rejected. The appellate court ruled that the defense had omitted a mandatory section in its opening brief devoted specifically to the fee request, constituting a clear breach of appellate procedure.
Earlier reporting had highlighted the parties’ efforts to resolve the matter before litigation escalated, but the procedural misstep ultimately determined the appeal’s outcome.