Adams v. Bell

CONREY, J.

The plaintiff, as judgment creditor of defendant Belle F. Bell, brought this action to set aside, annul and declare void a conveyance of real property made by said defendant to her son, the co-defendant L. L. Sidwell. Judgment having been entered in favor of plaintiff, the defendants appeal therefrom.

The said real property is in Los Angeles County. The deed of conveyance, Bell to Sidwell, was executed on April 11, 1930. At that time there was pending in the superior court an action of plaintiff Adams against defendant Bell, in which action, on July 21, 1930, the plaintiff obtained judgment against Mrs. Bell in the sum of $4,500. Execution was issued, whereupon defendant moved to quash that writ. From an order denying the motion to quash, the defendant appealed. On that appeal the order was reversed by judgment of this court, filed December 11, 1933.

(Adams

v.

Bell,

219 Cal. 503

[700]

[27 Pac. (2d) 757].) Thereafter another execution was issued, and the return

nulla Iona

was duly made thereon, on April 4, 1934. This present action was commenced by complaint filed on May 8, 1934.

The complaint alleged that on April 11, 1930, during pendency of the former suit, defendant Bell had conveyed to her son, defendant Sidwell, the said real property owned by her, which conveyance was made by said grantor and accepted by said grantee without consideration and for the purpose of defeating recovery by plaintiff on her claim. The prayer of the complaint was that the transfer be declared invalid and that the said real property be decreed subject to said $4,500 judgment.

The cause went to trial on issues joined by the answer of defendants. Thereafter the trial court rendered findings in favor of plaintiff to the effect that the $4,500 judgment was still due, owing and unpaid; that the property deeded to defendant Sidwell by defendant Bell was the latter’s sole property and the only property out of which said $4,500 judgment could be satisfied; that the conveyance was made without consideration from defendant Sidwell, with intent to defraud plaintiff as creditor, and that therefore defendant Sidwell did not become the owner of said property so far as plaintiff was concerned, and that plaintiff was at liberty to proceed upon the execution issued in her favor, or to issue another execution.