Gammill v. Nunes

WILSON, J.

Acting to establish a resulting trust in, and to quiet title to, an undivided two-thirds interest in approximately 275 acres of land in Santa Barbara County. Judgment having been rendered in favor of plaintiff, defendants are appealing upon the sole ground that the evidence does not support the findings.

Plaintiff is the administrator of the estate of John Souza Mottos, deceased. The trial court found that during the year 1947 decedent orally negotiated with defendants concerning the purchase of a parcel of farming land near the town of Casmalia; during the month of June, 1947, these negotiations culminated in the making of an offer by decedent and defendants to the owner of the land for its purchase for the sum of $18,000; the offer was accepted and to consummate the sale an escrow was opened on June 28, 1947; the owner of the property having requested that the entire transaction be handled in the name of one person, it was orally agreed by the parties that their dealings, including the escrow and the deed to the property should all be in the name of defendants as a matter of convenience only; pursuant to an oral agreement between decedent and defendants, decedent paid $12,000 of the purchase price and defendants paid $6,000; it was further orally agreed that defendants would take title to the property in their names, holding decedent’s interest in trust, and at a future date they would convey to decedent title to his proportionate share; the deed to the property in defendants’ names was recorded on October 20, 1947; prior to the date of delivery of the deed decedent became seriously ill and was removed tó a hospital where he died on December 19, 1947; decedent’s interest in the property is in proportion to the amount paid on the purchase price; defendants hold decedent’s undivided two-thirds interest in the property in trust.

The court further found that it is not true that decedent agreed to give defendants the sum of $12,000; it is not true that while at the Santa Maria hospital decedent informed defendants the property belonged to them and they could keep it if he should die; decedent did not at any time prior to his death give or convey to defendants his undivided two-thirds interest; decedent had a survey made of a portion of

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the property but he did not agree with defendants to accept the portion which he had surveyed as his share of the property in exchange or in consideration for the sum of $12,000 which he had paid on the purchase price and he did not agree that defendants should have the remainder of the property, other than the portion decedent had surveyed, in exchange or consideration for the $6,000 which they had paid on the purchase price.