Rodriguez v. Rodriguez

STURTEVANT, J.

The trial court awarded á judgment against the defendant quieting the title, to a small farm located in Santa Cruz County and from that judgment the defendant has appealed under section 953a of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Alfred Rodriguez, the deceased, Frank 0. Rodriguez, the defendant, Melquicidec J. Rodriguez, A. B. Rodriguez, and Santa Arana were 'brothers and sisters, and Charles Warden, Lucille Warden, and Lizzie Warden Marini were nephews and nieces of the above-named persons, and the family relations existing among them seem to have been altogether friendly. The deceased had been the owner of the farm in question for twenty years or longer. The county of Santa Cruz instituted proceedings to condemn a right of way for a public road across the farm and the deceased became very much excited and worried over the condemnation proceedings. He employed Mr. Charles B. Younger to act as his attorney in the condemnation proceeding, hut continued, nevertheless, to worry and fret regarding the outcome of that litigation. Later he became obsessed with the opinion that if he should deed the farm to someone else that said act on his part would defeat the condemnation proceeding. So entertaining the opinion above stated, he called on his sister, Mrs. Arana, on December 19, 1915. She testified that he asked her for permission to deed the farm to her. She

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declined to allow him to do so, saying that she had too many responsibilities, and thereupon he ashed her to telephone to the defendant to come to Santa Cruz that he might lay the matter before him. She did so and the defendant stated that he would call the next day. Accordingly, on December 20th, the defendant went to Santa Cruz and at the railroad station he was met by the deceased. The appellant testified that the deceased stated that he wanted to transfer his property to him. He did not say why. The appellant asked no questions. Together the two went to Mr. Younger’s office and Mr. Younger wiote out a grant, bargain, and sale deed, by the terms of which the deceased conveyed to the defendant the title to the entire farm. At that time the deceased was in possession of the farm and remained in possession of the farm until his death. In the month of February, 1916, approximately three months after receiving title, the defendant settled the highway problem with Santa Cruz County and received three hundred dollars, which he immediately paid to the deceased. It is stipulated in the record that no consideration for the deed passed from the defendant to the deceased. So far as the record discloses, no one was present at the oral conversation had between the defendant and his deceased brother before they appeared in Mr. Younger’s office. When they were in his office Mr. Younger testified that the deceased made no statements as to why he was making the deed nor the terms on which he was making the same. The witness said he asked the deceased if, in his Spanish way, he thought by conveying the property to someone else he was doing away with the lawsuit, or would cause the county to bring another suit, and the deceased stated that such was not the reason that he was conveying the property. But he did not state what was his reason. The witness said that he assumed that the grantor asked him to make the deed, but the grantee had quite as much to say about it as the grantor. The witness further testified that he did not draw any other papers on that occasion. After the deed was executed the grantee and grantor took it to the recorder’s office. Later the two brothers went to the house of Mrs. Arana to abide the time of the departure of the train which would take the defendant back to his home. Mrs. Arana and her niece, Mrs. Marini, who was a member