Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc. v. Superior Court

McCOY, J. pro tem.

*

The proceeding before us arises out of an action in the Superior Court for Los Angeles County entitled Green Tree Enterprises, Inc. v. Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc., et al., number 816567, for damages for fraud and misrepresentation with respect to a contract for the sale of certain real property to the plaintiff in that action, herein referred to as Green Trees, by the defendant Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc., herein referred to as Alpine Estates, subject to the lien of two trust deeds given to secure two notes. The petitioner, Palm Springs Alpine Sales, Inc., herein referred to as Alpine Sales, is also a defendant in the action.

On May 17, 1963, a preliminary injunction was issued including the following provisions:

“II. The defendants Alpine Palm Springs Sales, Inc., Palm Springs Alpine Estates, Inc., Samuel Pierce Sparks and Dorothy Sparks, their agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons having notice hereof and acting in concert with them, or any of them, are hereby, during the pendency of this action, or until further order of the Court, the Court reserving jurisdiction to amend, modify, supplement, or terminate this Preliminary Injunction, from directly or indirectly:

“II.l Selling, or transferring, or assigning, or hypothecating, or otherwise disposing of, or creating a lien upon, those certain Promissory Notes executed by Plaintiff on or about May 28, 1962, in the sum of $775,000, and in the sum of $490,000, respectively; said Promissory Notes being more particularly described in and secured by those certain deeds

[881]

of trust recorded on or about the 1st day of June, 1962, in Book 3152, pages 129 and 131 of Official Records in the Office of the County Recorder of Riverside County, State of California ; ...”

Following the trial a judgment was entered May 5, 1964, (1) continuing in force for 90 days the provisions of the preliminary injunction quoted above; (2) substantially reducing the amount due Alpine Estates on one of the notes; (3) awarding punitive damages at $100,000 against Alpine Estates; and (4) awarding costs to Green Trees against Alpine Estates. Alpine Estates appealed from those portions of the judgment reducing the amount due on one of the notes and awarding punitive damages. None of the defendants appealed from that part of the judgment prohibiting defendants from foreclosing the deeds of trust. After the notice of appeal was filed in July 1964 the court made several other orders continuing the injunctive provisions of the judgment in force pending determination of the appeal. Alpine Estates appealed from two of those orders dated August 3 and November 4,1964.