Wasco Creamery & Construction Co. v. Coffee

JAMISON, J.,

pro

tern.

Plaintiff brought this action to foreclose a mechanic’s lien growing out of a contract for the remodeling of a four-room cottage by adding thereto three rooms and thereby making it a seven-room cottage. Defendants Samuel W. Coffee and Audrey B. Coffee defaulted and judgment was rendered against them for the debt alone and judgment went for the other defendants to the effect that plaintiff had no lien against the property. Plaintiff moved for a new trial and same being denied, prosecuted this appeal.

It is not denied that appellant furnished labor and material upon the building in question under said contract with said defendant Coffee, said contract having been entered into on June 13, 1927, and that work under said contract was commenced on July 6, 1927, and completed about July 25, 1927. The property which is the subject of litigation was formerly owned by respondents Dauser and wife and some time prior to the contract between Coffee and appellant, they had sold it to W. H. Jones under a contract of sale. Some time in the early part of June, 1927, Coffee and Jones entered into negotiations for the exchange by Jones of his interest under said contract of sale for certain property belonging to Coffee at San Luis Obispo. Pursuant to these negotiations there were executed on June 17, 1927, a quitclaim deed from Jones to Dauser and wife and a grant deed from Dauser and wife to Coffee, also a deed of trust for $8,000 from Coffee to Dauser and wife, respondent, First National Bank of Anaheim being named

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as trustee therein. All of these instruments were placed in escrow to be recorded when a search of the records showed the title to the property to be in Coffee. Thereafter search of the records having been made and the title found to be in Coffee, all of said instruments were released from escrow and filed for record on July 13, 1927.

Respondents contend that Coffee was not the owner of the building upon which appellant claims a lien, nor of the land upon which the building is situated, either at the time the contract was entered into between Coffee and appellant or at the commencement of the work under said contract. On the other hand, appellant claims that Jones’ equity in the property had been transferred to Coffee by Jones in exchange for property owned by Coffee in San Luis Obispo prior to said contract. It does not appear that Jones ever assigned to Coffee the said contract of purchase which he had received from Dauser and wife. The fact that Jones executed a quitclaim deed to Dauser and wife, which was one of the instruments that was placed in escrow, would indicate that Jones did not assign the said contract of purchase to Coffee. From these circumstances the inference would arise that Jones and Coffee merely had a verbal agreement for the transfer to Coffee of Jones’ interest under the contract of purchase. An oral agreement is not sufficient to transfer title to real property. (See. 1091, Civ. Code;