Beeler v. West American Finance Co.

SALSMAN, J.

The plaintiff sued to recover damages, alleging fraud and conspiracy on the part of the defendants City Title Insurance Company, a corporation, West American Finance Company, a corporation, Fred A. Watkins, Joseph A. Maneini, Bruce Werlhof and Louie Samuels. The defendants City Title Insurance Company, a corporation, (hereinafter referred to as City Title) and Watkins and Maneini answered. The defendants Samuels and West American Finance Company, a corporation, (hereinafter referred to as West American) demurred; their demurrers were sustained, and judg

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ment entered in favor of Samuels and West American when the plaintiff declined to amend his complaint. Plaintiff appeals from the judgments.

The complaint is in two counts. The second cause of action is the only one directed towards the defendants Samuels and West American, but it will be helpful to an understanding of the controversy if some reference is made to the complaint as a whole.

In the first cause of action plaintiff alleged that he executed a note for $200,000 secured by a deed of trust on certain real property. City Title was trustee under the deed of trust. The note and deed of trust were assigned to West American. In December 1958 West American recorded a notice of default, and in February 1959 assigned the note and deed of trust to defendants Watkins and Maneini. In November 1959 City Title, as trustee, gave notice of sale, and in December 1959 sold plaintiff’s property at a trustee’s sale for $50,000. The defendants Watkins and Maneini were the purchasers. Plaintiff alleged that at the time of the trustee’s sale the true and reasonable value of plaintiff’s interest in said real property was the sum of $650,000. In paragraph XV of the first cause of action plaintiff alleged that the trustee’s sale was conducted in an arbitrary, fraudulent and unreasonable manner and that the defendant City Title, as trustee, fraudulently and in conspiracy with defendants Watkins and Mancini, and for the purpose of choking off all other bids, announced that immediate cash payment of the full amount of any bid would be required; that at least one bidder asked time to go to a bank to obtain cash, and this was refused by City Title. Plaintiff further alleged that because of the unfair and arbitrary manner in which the sale was conducted, his property was sold for a grossly inadequate price, to his damage in the sum of $600,000.