Hatch v. Penzner

THOMPSON, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the plaintiff rescinding conveyances by the deceased, Irma Clark Ryan, of real and personal property to the defendants, on the ground that they were procured by fraud, and awarding plaintiff the reasonable value thereof. An accounting was had to determine the market value of the property. Findings were adopted and filed December 16, 1938. The judgment was entered December 24, 1938. A subsequent decree determining the value of the property was rendered September 5, 1939. A separate notice of appeal was given from each judgment.

The appellants contend that the findings and judgments are not supported by the evidence and that the subsequent decree determining the market value of properties which were converted by them is ineffectual and void.

Irma Clark Ryan was formerly the wife of Charles N. Hatch, by whom she had two daughters, the plaintiff Lucile

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Hatch, and Galen Hatch. Mr. and Mrs. Hatch were divorced about 1909. Mrs. Hatch subsequently married Albert J. Clark, who died in July, 1930. Mr. Hatch died in July, 1929. The defendant, Barbara Clark Penzner was born as the issue of the second marriage. Barbara is the wife of the defendant, William L. Penzner. Mrs. Clark later married William Ryan, from whom she was divorced in December, 1935. She thereafter resided by herself in Los Angeles. She was possessed of real and personal property of the aggregate value of about $135,000, most of which was in the form of stocks and bonds. She possessed little business experience or ability. In 1929 she executed a declaration of trust to the Citizens National Bank of Los Angeles of all of her property, which trust was revocable at will. Mrs. Ryan was afflicted with disease and chronic alcoholism which greatly impaired her mental and physical condition and rendered her unfit to transact business affairs much of the time. She lost a large part of her property. At the time of her death she was possessed of property of the aggregate value of only about $50,000. She had great confidence in her daughter Barbara and her husband, William L. Penzner, who also resided in Los Angeles.

In May, 1937, the defendants persuaded Mrs. Ryan to live with them in their home at Los Angeles by promising her they would take care of her and her affairs during her lifetime. About a month after she became a resident in their home, they selected an attorney who conferred with her and persuaded her to revoke the declaration of trust with the Los Angeles bank. About that time she was induced to and did make a bad investment in a certain beer garden enterprise. She also withdrew funds and paid numerous bills in behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Penzner aggregating the sum of about $34,000. Some time in 1935 or 1936, the defendants visited Mrs. Ryan at the Las Eneinas Sanitarium where she was then a patient, and induced her to sign a note payable to them in the sum of $7,500, which they claimed was to be used for financing an investment. The note was not returned to the maker. Mrs. Ryan was sent for treatment to sanitariums on several occasions. Her daughter, Barbara Penzner, once filed a petition to have her mother declared incompetent. While Mrs. Ryan lived with the defendants she was often under the influence of liquor. The respondent testified