Soares v. Steidtmann

PETERS, P. J.

The parties to this quiet title action claim title to a parcel of real property through deeds from the same grantor. The defendant, C. E. Steidtmann, claims through a prior quitclaim deed. The plaintiff, D. Soares, claims through a subsequent grant deed. The trial court quieted the title of the plaintiff. Defendant appeals.

The facts are not in dispute. Sometime prior to June 5, 1946, one C. P. MacKenzie owned certain real property in Contra Costa County. He died prior to the date mentioned, leaving his widow, Henrietta MacKenzie, surviving him as his heir. On June 5, 1946, the title to the real property still standing of record in the name of the deceased husband, the widow and heir quitclaimed all her right, title and interest in the property to one C. H. Collier. Thereafter, Collier quitclaimed his interest to Steidtmann, the appellant. Some six years later, on July 1, 1952, the widow, by grant deed, conveyed her interest in the same property to D. Soares, the respondent, who recorded his grant deed on July 18, 1952. It is admitted that Soares, when he accepted the grant deed, had actual notice of the earlier quitclaim deed.

After the grant deed had been executed and delivered to Soares, the probate court in Los Angeles, on petition of the widow, pursuant to section 645 of the Probate Code, made its order setting aside the entire estate of C. P. MacKenzie to the widow on the ground that said estate, including the property here involved, was of the value of less than $2,500.

[403]

To remove the cloud on the title created by the two outstanding deeds to the same property, Soares, the holder of the grant deed, brought this action. The trial court held that, as between appellant, the transferee of the prior quitclaim deed, and respondent, the grantee in the subsequent grant deed, the latter should prevail. The theory of the trial court was that the title received by the widow under section 645 of the Probate Code was a new title which passed, as an after-acquired title, to the holder of the grant deed. An after-acquired title, of course, does not pass under a quitclaim deed, as it does under a grant deed. (See cases collected 15 Cal.Jur.2d p. 620, § 214.)

Appellant contends that, as the one claiming through the prior quitclaim deed, he should prevail over the grantee of the subsequent grant deed. With this contention we agree.