Hill v. Schumacher

BEASLY, P. J.,

pro

tem.

This is an appeal by plaintiff from a judgment against him in an action to quiet title to a certain narrow strip of land in block 53 of the Huber tract, in Los Angeles. The only question involved is that of the existing law arising out of the following facts:

On September 24, 1905, plaintiff purchased lot No. 7, in said block, the lot being described in his deed by its number with that of the block and tract.

The defendant, Caroline Schumacher, is the owner of lot 8 of said tract, and both the plaintiff and the defendant deraigned title from a common source.

The original map of the tract shows block 53 to be divided into ton lots of a uniform shape and size, each having a frontage of sixty feet on Hill Street by a depth of 165 feet. Resurveys made a short time prior to the commencement of this action show block 53 to have an actual frontage of 604.2 feet, instead of six hundred feet, as shown by the original map and survey, or an excess frontage of 4.2 feet over and above the six hundred feet shown by the original survey and plat for the ten lots into which the block was divided.

In about the year 1885, a fence was constructed at or near the common boundary line of lots 7 and 8, where it has ever since remained. This fence was in part a picket fence

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and in part what is commonly called a hoard fence, the pickets and boards being fastened on the north side of the posts. Lot 8 lies northerly from lot 7. The contention of plaintiff is that the boundary line is on the north side of the posts to which the pickets and boards are attached, and that this constitutes the true boundary between lots 7 and 8. There is no proof as to who erected the fence, nor of any dispute between the owners -of the two lots at any time as to the boundary before this dispute arose, nor of any agreement ■ under which the fence was erected between any owners of the respective lots.

The problem arising in the case is thus stated by plaintiff and appellant: “There are three methods of acquiring title in cases similar to case at bar, wherein a boundary fence is relied upon as the true line, to wit: 1 and 2 with which we are not concerned here, and, 3. Where there is either (a) in fact, an uncertainty as to the location of the true line, or (b) it is believed between parties that such an uncertainty exists, and then a fence is erected and acquiesced in for more than five years, such erection of such fence estops either party from thereafter questioning the true location of such line; this is the method of establishing the line relied upon by plaintiff.”