CourtListener 10811316

Gesamter Gesetzestext

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
19-MAR-2026
07:48 AM
Dkt. 78 SO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

UMB BANK, N.A., NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY,
BUT SOLELY AS LEGAL TITLE TRUSTEE FOR LVS TITLE TRUST XIII,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
SA TUPULUA; GLADYS ULU TUPULUA, Defendants-Appellants,
and CITI BANK (SOUTH DAKOTA), N.A.; NOHOKAI AT SEA COUNTRY,
Defendants-Appellees,
and DOES 1-20, inclusive, Defendants

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
(CASE NO. 1CC151000083)

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Hiraoka and McCullen, JJ.)

This mortgage foreclosure case went to trial. The
Circuit Court of the First Circuit entered findings of fact,
conclusions of law, a foreclosure decree, and the Judgment for
UMB Bank, N.A., on March 28, 2024.1 Sa Tupulua and Gladys Ulu
Tupulua appeal. We affirm.
UMB's predecessor in interest, Wells Fargo Bank, sued
the Tupuluas and others to foreclose a Mortgage on Property in

1
The Honorable James H. Ashford presided.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Wai#anae, O#ahu. UMB unsuccessfully moved for summary judgment
five times. Its "Fourth Renewed" motion was denied after the
Circuit Court ruled there was a genuine issue about whether the
Tupuluas were provided with notice of, and an opportunity to
cure, their default.
After a jury-waived trial on partially stipulated
facts, the Circuit Court found that Wells Fargo notified the
Tupuluas of their default and opportunity to cure by letter, and
the Tupuluas received the letter, before the foreclosure action
was filed.
The Tupuluas do not claim trial error; they argue only
that UMB failed to show Wells Fargo had possession of the Note
when the foreclosure complaint was filed. "[A] foreclosing
plaintiff must establish its standing to bring a lawsuit at the
commencement of the proceeding[.]" Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co.
v. Yata, 152 Hawai#i 322, 335, 526 P.3d 299, 312 (2023) (quoting
U.S. Bank Tr., N.A. v. Verhagen, 149 Hawai#i 315, 327, 489 P.3d
419, 431 (2021)).
The day before trial, the parties signed and submitted
a Joint Stipulation as to Facts for Trial. The Circuit Court
accepted "the same as if the Court had made express findings of
fact as to the same." The stipulation stated:

6. Prior to the commencement of this foreclosure
action, the Note was indorsed "in blank" and the original of
the Note (with the indorsement "in blank") was delivered to
and held by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which was the Plaintiff
at the time this foreclosure action was commenced. [UMB] is
the current holder of the Note, which is secured by the
Mortgage.

Six days after the trial, the parties signed and
submitted an Amended Joint Stipulation as to Facts for Trial.
Paragraph no. 6 of the amended stipulation was the same as the

2
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

original. The Circuit Court accepted the amended stipulated
facts "as if the Court had made express findings of fact as to
the same."
"In an equitable foreclosure proceeding, a trial court
should enforce the terms of a stipulation unless doing so would
be inequitable." Provident Funding Assocs. v. Gardner, 149
Hawai#i 288, 300, 488 P.3d 1267, 1279 (2021). Without the
stipulation, UMB would have to call a qualified witness to
testify that Wells Fargo had possession of the original indorsed-
in-blank note when its complaint was filed. It would be
inequitable to not enforce the stipulation.
The March 28, 2024 Judgment is affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, March 19, 2026.

On the briefs:
/s/ Karen T. Nakasone
Keith M. Kiuchi, Chief Judge
for Defendants-Appellants
Sa Tupulua and /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Gladys Ulu Tupulua. Associate Judge

Matthew P. Holm, /s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen
for Plaintiff-Appellee Associate Judge
UMB Bank, N.A., not in
its individual capacity,
but solely as legal title
trustee for LVS TITLE
TRUST XIII.