The Lodges in West Yakima, LLC v. David Perez Ortiz, 40087-5

David Perez Ortiz and Mary Jane Frassinetti leased an apartment from The Lodges in West Yakima, LLC and fell behind on rent in August and September 2023.
The Lodges issued a 14-day notice to pay or vacate, including late fees and other expenses, which was personally delivered to Frassinetti.
After failed attempts at personal service for an unlawful detainer action, the court permitted service by posting and mailing documents to the apartment.
Ortiz appeared at the show cause hearing pro se, advancing “sovereign citizen” arguments that he was outside the court’s jurisdiction.
The superior court granted The Lodges a writ of restitution to recover possession of the apartment.
On appeal, Ortiz (now represented by counsel) claimed defects in service and notice, and challenged inclusion of late fees in the notice.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of Service & Notice	Service and notice defective	Proper service and notice provided	Waived—First raised on appeal, not jurisdictional
Jurisdiction over Defendant	Court lacked jurisdiction	Court has jurisdiction over tenants	Court had subject matter & personal jurisdiction
Defective Notice (late fees)	Notice invalid for including fees	Notice was properly calculated	Waived—Issue not raised at trial court
Right to Challenge Issues on Appeal	Can challenge defects on appeal	Issues must be raised in trial court	Not reviewable per RAP 2.5(a)

United States v. Hart, 701 F.2d 749 (8th Cir. 1983) (sovereign citizen arguments universally rejected by courts)
United States v. Schneider, 910 F.2d 1569 (7th Cir. 1990) (sovereign arguments do not immunize from legal obligations)
In re Estate of Fitzgerald, 172 Wn. App. 437 (2012) (personal jurisdictional defenses waived if not timely raised)
Pellino v. Brink’s, Inc., 164 Wn. App. 668 (2011) (issues not raised in trial court are not reviewable on appeal)