Crozier v. Soquel

FINCH, P. J.

The complaint alleges that, for a valuable consideration, the defendant agreed to purchase for the plaintiffs the land described in the complaint and to pay the purchase price thereof “for and on behalf of said plaintiffs” ; that, thereafter, “without the knowledge or consent of said plaintiffs, the said defendant did procure and purchase said property and . . . obtained, without the knowledge or consent of said plaintiffs, or without at any time informing said plaintiffs of said procurance, a deed, . . . granting and conveying all right, title and interest in and to said property to herself, said defendant”; and “that said property is now of the value of $3,000.” The prayer is for a judgment compelling the defendant to convey the property to the plaintiffs, “or in lieu thereof give plaintiffs judgment for the reasonable value of said property.”

The defendant did not demur to the complaint, but answered, denying that she agreed to purchase the property for the plaintiffs, alleging that she purchased it for herself, and admitting that it is of the reasonable value of $1200.

The court found the foregoing allegations of the complaint, except as to value, to be true; that the plaintiffs agreed to pay and the defendant to accept $50 for her services in the transaction; that the defendant had sold the

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land “to innocent third parties for "the sum of $1,000, and thereby placed it out of her power to convey to plaintiffs said lands”; that the reasonable value of the land is $1200; and “that said defendant in said transactions was acting as the agent for plaintiffs, and that defendant became and was a resulting trustee or trustee by operation of law, holding said lands in trust for plaintiffs.” Judgment was entered in favor of the plaintiffs for the difference between the reasonable value of the land, as found by the court, and the amount which the defendant had expended in the purchase thereof. The defendant has appealed from the judgment.

The findings of the court are amply supported by evidence. Both of the plaintiffs testified that the defendant had agreed to purchase the property for them and their testimony was corroborated by that of several other witnesses. The defendant’s testimony to the contrary is not corroborated. The testimony in support of the findings is too long to be given in detail, but the parts thereof hereinafter quoted show the nature of the transactions between the parties. Mrs. Crozier testified: “My husband came home and he said, ‘I see the lot back of us is for sale.’ Mrs. Soquel was at my house at the time, and we walked down and talked about it. I says, ‘Mrs. Soquel, do you want this lot?’ She says, ‘No, you couldn’t give me any more.’ . . . I says, ‘I think I will buy this lot. ... I will go to Mr. Jones and borrow the money.’ She says, ‘No, Mrs. Crozier, let me let you have the money, and I will let you have it for $50.’ I says, ‘All right, Mrs. Soquel’ . . . (The next day) I talked to Mr. Reynolds (an agent authorized to sell the lot) and told him she was coming down with the money and I would take the lot, and as I came out the door I met Mrs. Ballinger. . . . Mrs. Ballinger and I went up to Mrs. Sequel's house. . . . Mrs. Ballinger said, ‘Mrs. Soquel, Mrs. Crozier can have that lot for $450 and why should you pay Mr. Reynolds $500?’ . . . Mrs. Soquel said, ‘I will go down and see Mr. Reynolds, and see if he will agree to take the $450, the same as the other agent, ’ and she went down. . . . After she came out of Mr. Reynolds’ office, . . . Mrs. Soquel stated that Mr. Reynolds wanted $500. . . . Mrs. Ballinger said, ‘Well, we will go in and see Mr. Phelps’ (another agent), and they went in to see Phelps. He wanted so