Keim v. Roether

WOOD, J.

Plaintiff, the owner of a lot in the city of Pasadena and certain acreage in Tulare County, charges in her complaint that the six defendants therein named “conspired and confederated together with intent to defraud the plaintiff . . . and to fraudulently obtain possession of and title to” her property. She asks for a judgment compelling defendants to reconvey the property to her free of liens and to pay a large sum as damages, both compensatory and punitive. The trial court rendered judgment in plaintiff’s favor as against defendants McCabe and Roether. The

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judgment is in favor of defendants Landstrom, and plaintiff appeals from this part of the judgment.

The appeal is on the judgment roll alone. From the findings and the admissions contained in the pleadings it appears that plaintiff, an elderly woman, was the aunt of Mrs. Velma Roether, one of the defendants. Defendant McCabe, who later was prosecuted and entered a plea of guilty to a criminal charge growing out of the transaction with which this litigation is concerned, interested defendants Roether in a certain fraudulent promotion referred to in the briefs as “the McCabe deal”. McCabe offered the Roethers $10 to be returned for each :$1 paid in by them and obtained $1800 from them. McCabe represented that he was the owner of a certain patent on a cotton gin and that the money to be raised was needed for the purpose of facilitating the activities of McCabe in disposing of the patent and to help defray McCabe’s expenses on a trip to Texas, where the sale of the patent would be consummated within three weeks. Defendants McCabe and Roethers outlined “the McCabe deal” to plaintiff and held out the inducement that McCabe would purchase her property. Thereafter certain of the defendants, first the Roethers and then McCabe, went to Bakersfield and talked to defendants Landstrom concerning “the McCabe deal”. They told defendants Landstrom that land owned by plaintiff would be conveyed to defendants William and Velma Roether so that the last-named defendants could borrow money thereon and invest it in the deal controlled by McCabe. They told them that McCabe was a reliable and experienced business man, that the deal was of great magnitude, that McCabe might arrange to purchase a" sixteen cylinder Cadillac automobile from the Landstroms and upon consummation of the sale of the patent might purchase several other automobiles. Plaintiff conveyed her real estate to defendants William and Velma Roether, knowing that it was to be used by them as security for the purpose of borrowing money thereon and that the money to be borrowed would be delivered to McCabe. Before making the conveyance plaintiff consulted an attorney and was advised by the attorney not to proceed in the matter. Defendants Landstrom loaned several thousand dollars to defendants Roether, which in turn was turned over to McCabe. Of this sum $1200 was represented by credit on the purchase of an automobile de