Jamison v. Cotton

WARMER, J., pro tem.

The plaintiff, defendant and one Ole Hanson were the owners of a certain tract of land in Los Angeles County. Jamison, the plaintiff, owned a one-half interest, Cotton, the defendant, one-fourth and Ole Hanson one-fourth thereof. There was a mortgage against said real property in the sum of $65,000, dated March 1, 192'8, with interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum payable quarterly. It was understood and agreed between the owners thereof that they and each of them would individually be responsible for their proportionate shares of the taxes on said property and the interest accruing under and by virtue of the terms of said mortgage. On the sixteenth day of April, 1931, plaintiff, A. C. Jamison, paid to the tax collector of the county of Los Angeles the sum of $776.17. One hundred and ninety-four dollars and four cents of such sum so paid was the share of said taxes due and payable by the defendant H. H. Cotton and such sum was paid by the plaintiff for and on behalf of defendant Cotton. On the first day of June, 1931, plaintiff paid the holder of said mortgage the sum of $1,056.25, representing the interest due on account of said mortgage. Two hundred and sixty-four dollars and six cents of said sum of $1,056.25 was the share of interest due and payable by the defendant Cotton and was paid by plaintiff for and on behalf of said defendant. The payments and each of them were made by

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the plaintiff Jamison without the consent of the defendant, and over his objection. The trial court gave judgment for the plaintiff for the amount so paid and defendant appeals.

The sole question presented on this appeal is whether or not a cotenant can escape or avoid the liability for interest and taxes due from him and constituting a lien against the entire property by objecting to the payment thereof by another cotenant.

In the case of

Willmon

v.

Koyer,

168 Cal. 369 [143 Pac. 694, L. R. A. 1915B, 961], the court said:

“The rule is that when one tenant in common has paid a debt or obligation for the benefit of the joint property, or has discharged a lien or assessment imposed upon it as a common burden, he is entitled as a matter of right to have his cotenant, who has received the benefit of it, refund to him his proportionate share of the amount paid. As a matter of fact this property was joint property when these taxes and other charges against it were paid by plaintiff. In proportion to their interests all tenants in common are in duty bound to pay taxes, which in this state are a lien upon real property and their nonpayment subjects the land to sale in satisfaction of them. Either of the cotenants may pay the taxes assessed against the whole estate, and such payment discharges the lien imposed upon the common interest, and no matter whether one tenant paying it intended the payment to be for his own benefit or not, such payment in fact and in law essentially inures to the benefit of the other co-tenants; it discharges the lien against the common estate for the common benefit, independent of any intention of the cotenant paying it, and as all other cotenants are entitled to the benefit of such payment, it is only right that they should refund to the one making it their proportion of the amount he has paid.