Williams v. Venneman

SPENCE, J.

Plaintiffs, as residents and taxpayers of the Topanga School District, brought this action against the defendants, as members of the board of trustees of said school district, seeking to have a certain bond election declared void. The trial court entered its findings and judgment in favor of plaintiffs and from said judgment, defendants appeal.

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The trial court’s findings of fact read in part as follows:

“That upon the day of the election referred to in said complaint the plaintiffs Oka Stewart and Odo B. Stade were struck and beaten at or near the polling place where the same was being held and conducted, and were thereby intimidated by force and violence, and by threats of additional violence, from bringing to the said polling place four qualified. voters of said district who desired and intended to and who would have voted against said proposed bond issue; . . .

“That at said election a total of 197 votes were cast, and the proponents of said bond issue polled 132 votes; that except for said force and violence and intimidation so committed as aforesaid the opponents of said bond issue would have polled four additional votes, and would have polled sufficient votes to prevent a two-thirds majority in favor of said bond issue, and would have polled sufficient votes to change the result of said election and to defeat said proposed bond issue. ’ ’

As conclusions of law from the foregoing facts, the trial court concluded that the election “was unfairly and irregularly held and conducted, and that said irregularity affected the substantial rights of the taxpayers of said Topanga School District, and of the electors voting at said election, and of the plaintiffs” and that plaintiffs were entitled to have said election declared void. Judgment was entered accordingly.

Defendants contend that the evidence was insufficient to support the findings of fact and that said findings were insufficient to support the judgment entered.

We do not believe that defendants are seriously urging the claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the above mentioned findings. The uneontradicted evidence showed a particularly flagrant case of the use of force and violence upon plaintiffs Stewart and Stade and that said plaintiffs were intimidated by said use of force and violence and by threats of the further use thereof from bringing to the polls four qualified voters who would have voted against said bond issue. It is a fair inference from the remarks made by the assailants of said plaintiffs that there previously had been another bond election which had failed; that there was considerable feeling on the part of some of the proponents toward the opponents of the bond issue at the time of the second election; and that there was a deliberate and pre