Washington Mutual Bank v. Freitag

Plaintiff Washington Mutual Bank 1 filed these consolidated actions to foreclose on trust deeds to two coastal properties owned by defendants. In response, defendants asserted affirmative defenses and counterclaims based on the bank’s alleged breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of various federal statutes. The trial court granted the bank’s motion for summary judgment as to all but one issue — a factual dispute concerning credits for hazard insurance charges that were applied to the balance on the loans; after a bench trial, the court ruled in the bank’s favor on that…