Campbell v. Realty Title Co.

CURTIS, J.

The plaintiff is the owner of a parcel of real property situated in the city of Los Angeles on which there was a deed of trust given to secure the payment of a promissory note. He defaulted in the payment of said note and his property was being advertised for sale in pursuance of the terms of said deed of trust. The day before the date of sale he met an associate of the defendant Weisbrod and offered to pay him $1,500 if he could “save the property and arrange a new loan.” The matter was taken up with defendant Weisbrod the next morning and Weisbrod agreed to advance the money and did so before the sale of the property. The proceedings under the deed of trust were stopped and the property was discharged from the lien of said deed of trust. Sub

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sequently a loan was obtained and a deed of trust given on said real property to secure the loan. The loan was sufficient, after deducting certain expenses incurred in securing it, to pay Weisbrod in full for the amount of money he had advanced to plaintiff to discharge the deed of trust under which the property was to be sold, except the sum of $145.24. This amount, together with the sum of $1,500 which plaintiff agreed to pay for saving the property from the sale under the earlier deed of trust, was included in a new note which was executed by plaintiff in favor of defendant Weisbrod and secured by a second deed of trust upon said real property.

Claiming that plaintiff was in default in the payment of said last mentioned promissory note, the defendant Realty Title Company, Ltd., the trustee named therein, gave notice of default and was proceeding to sell said real property pursuant to the terms of said last mentioned deed of trust. Plaintiff instituted this action to enjoin said sale, contending that the transaction of which said last mentioned note and deed of trust were a part and the said note and deed of trust were usurious and therefore unenforceable against the plaintiff. The action came up for trial before the court upon a stipulation of facts and without further evidence.

We are satisfied from a study of the stipulation of facts that the implied finding of the trial court, that there was due and unpaid to defendant Weisbrod from plaintiff the sum of $145.24 as hereinbefore set forth, was correct. Conceding that the agreement of plaintiff to pay defendant Weisbrod the sum of $1,500 for the services rendered as above stated was usurious, the inclusion in one promissory note of that amount with the item of $145.24 did not render the whole note usurious.