Plein v. Lackey

67 P.3d 1061 (2003)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
P
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Plein v. Lackey

Supreme Court of Washington
67 P.3d 1061 (2003)

JL

Facts

Alpen Group, Inc. (Alpen) purchased real estate from Sunset Investments (Sunset) by a promissory note for $75,000. Lee Cameron (defendant) was one of three owners of Alpen, and he signed the promissory note individually, along with the other owners. The promissory note was secured by a deed of trust. Paul Plein (plaintiff) was one of the other owners of Alpen. Plien also signed the note individually. Alpen began constructing a log home on the property, but did not have enough money to complete the project. Several trade creditors sued Alpen. That lawsuit involved several claims and cross-claims, and one result of the suit was a judgment against Alpen for $45,000 in favor of Plein. Cameron then, individually, paid off the promissory note due to Sunset. Sunset endorsed the promissory note over to Cameron and assigned its interest in the deed of trust to Cameron. Cameron initiated nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings against Alpen based on Alpen’s default on the promissory note through attorney Chester Lackey (defendant). Plein and the trade creditors sued Lackey and Cameron, seeking a declaration that the deed of trust was void, because the debt underlying the promissory note had been paid. The trial court granted summary judgment to Cameron. Plein appealed, and the court of appeals reversed. Cameron then appealed to the Supreme Court of Washington.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Madsen, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 804,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 804,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Commercial Law

Key Terms