Douglass v. Dahm

WILSON, J.

At the opening of the trial of this action and before counsel had made any statement or offered any evidence, the court said/‘I will entertain a motion by the defend

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ant for a judgment on the pleadings without taking any testimony.” Whereupon defendants’ counsel made such motion. After a colloquy between court and counsel the court said, “You had better state in your motion that the complaint on file herein shows the adjudication on the face of the complaint ...” Counsel for defendant accepted the court’s invitation and included the latter as a ground for the motion. The court granted the motion, judgment was entered accordingly and plaintiffs have appealed.

The action is for reformation of a deed to real property and of a judgment for specific performance, and to quiet title. The amended complaint alleges that plaintiffs were the owners of certain real property in Los Angeles County and that in November, 1945, defendant Alfred H. Dahm, as plaintiff, commenced an action, in which plaintiffs herein were named as defendants, to quiet title and for specific performance of an alleged option to purchase a portion of the Douglass’ property. An answer was filed, the cause was tried, and judgment was entered in favor of Dahm, from which Mr. and Mrs. Douglass appealed. Thereafter an agreement was entered into between the parties whereby Dahm, in order to obtain the abandonment of the appeal, paid to the Douglasses a sum in addition to that which he had previously agreed to pay for the property. The appeal was dismissed and an escrow was entered into wherein plaintiffs Douglass placed a deed which was eventually recorded. The property was incorrectly described in the complaint filed by Dahm against Mr. and Mrs. Douglass, also in the judgment entered in the action, and in the deed from the Douglasses to Dahm which was placed in escrow and recorded.

The amended complaint herein alleges that the error in the description was unknown to plaintiffs until, in November, 1947, Dahm advised them that he had discovered the mistake, at which time he expressed his desire that the error be corrected and agreed to exchange necessary deeds with plaintiffs in order to correct the mutual mistake. Plaintiffs offered and at all times after the discovery of the mistake were willing and able to prepare and execute a deed conveying to defendants Dahm the intended property by proper and accurate description in exchange for a deed from the Dahms conveying to plaintiffs that portion of the land previously conveyed by mistake. Defendants Dahm refused to execute such a deed. By the second cause of action plaintiffs seek to quiet title to that portion of the property included in the judgment and conveyed by the deed which was not intended to be conveyed.