Shoppers stroll through the north end of the Centralia Factory Outlet Stores.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A judge signed an order today to put the Centralia Factory Outlet Stores into the hands of a receiver as the bank holding a $30.7 million note has commenced foreclosure.
Spokane-based Sterling Savings Bank filed a petition two weeks ago in Lewis County Superior Court alleging the Centralia Outlets are in default on a loan made in early 2007 for extensive renovations at the mall.
Centralia Outlets have some 30 tenants in the mall which covers areas on both sides of Interstate 5 near the Harrison Avenue interchange.
Centralia Outlets LLC argued it is not in default and has complied with requirements to extend the date of a balloon payment until next March. Attorneys wrote in a response filed Wednesday the Centralia Outlets are profitably operated.
The principals of Centralia Outlets LLC are listed s Richard K. Getty and Jerry R. Barnett in Tacoma.
The asset manager for the two men wrote in opposition to the petition, “It’s not a secret the bank was in danger of being shut down.”
“It’s clear that their decision to call this loan in default by stretching and distorting the meaning of the two sections of the loan document was based solely on their need for cash,” Sandra Smith wrote.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge James Lawler today sided with the bank signing an order saying the note and deed of trust are in default, and the property and the rents it generates are in danger of being lost or materially injured or impaired.
John P. Rader was appointed a general receiver at the request of Sterling Savings. A receiver is a person appointed as the court’s agent to take possession of, manage or dispose of property.
As of Nov. 2, according to the bank’s filing, more than $24 million was owed on the note.
Part of the default occurred, according to lawyers for Sterling Savings, when the principals transferred their membership interest in violation of restrictions on the loan. Attorneys for Centralia Outlets LLC wrote in response they assigned their member units to family LLCs for estate planning purposes, something they did two years ago.
They had asked Lawler for a 30-day continuance but it was not granted.
Centralia Outlets opened in 1988, becoming the first outlet shopping center in the Pacific Northwest, according to their property manager Renate Johnson.
In the past three years, they have added tenants such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Aeropostale, Billabong, Coach and just this autumn, Toys R Us Express.
Negotiations are underway with several more for spring and summer openings, according to Centralia Outlets LLC.
Centralia Outlets was ordered to deliver all its property to the receiver when he posts a $250,000 bond, which is to be done within seven court days.
A judge signed an order to put the Centralia Factory Outlet Stores into the hands of a receiver on Friday as the bank holding a $30.7 million note has commenced foreclosure.
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Commentary: Judge Brosey said that?
December 3rd, 2010By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
Lewis County’s own Judge Richard Brosey is a featured guest columnist in the current issue of the Olimpian.
The occasionally published look at the “seamy underbelly of the local legal community, delivering all the news that is fit or unfit to print …” is produced by the Morgan Hill law firm in Olympia.
The brilliant writer Rob Hill is a lawyer, but he is also a one-time journalism major and a standup comedian.
So when you click to read Brosey’s editorial, “Who the hell do I have to sleep with in Olympia to get Tracy Mitchell a job in Thurston County?” you can figure out pretty quickly it’s make-believe.
Unlike the angry reader Hill said he got a call from yesterday calling him a racist and demanding a retraction of a clearly made up story.
You’ll find a small item on Paris Hilton and Olympia attorney Jim Dixon who is currently representing an aggravated first-degree murder defendant in Lewis County.
The two-page edition also lists nominees for the Morgan Hill 2010 Rock Star Award: among them, a senior deputy prosecutor in Grays Harbor County who earned his 15 minutes of fame by getting “doinked on the bean” by a murder defendant and Lewis County Prosecutor-elect Jonathan Meyer who … well, you can read it yourself.
Lewis County doesn’t get quite as much play as it did in the Dec. 2007 edition when the top of the fold, front page story highlighted an expected “misconduct contest” between Thurston County Prosecutor Ed Holm and Lewis County Prosecutor Michael Golden.
The contestants were to be awarded one point for each slap in the face from a female, three points for closed-fist punches from angry husbands, and so on.
Read the current issue of The Olimpian
Read The Olimpian from Dec. 2007
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