Crouse-Prouty v. Rogers

SHAW, J.

Action to quiet title. Judgment went for defendants ; plaintiffs moved for a new trial, which motion was granted, and defendants prosecute this appeal from the order granting the same.

[562]

The judgment was based upon certain findings of the court - to the effect that the purchase price of the lot in controversy was not paid to Glassell pursuant to the contract; that the deed to plaintiff Carol Crouse-Prouty did not describe the land set out in the complaint; that at the time defendant Julia Nolan Rogers received the deed to the lot she had no notice, either actual or constructive, of the deed from the corporation to plaintiff, and that plaintiff had no claim of right, title, or interest in and to the lot in question, as to all of which findings the evidence was conflicting.

The grounds of the motion for a new trial were insufficiency of the evidence to justify the decision, newly discovered evidence embodied in affidavits used upon the hearing of the motion, and errors of law occurring at the trial. In such cases, where the order, as here, is general, this court will not disturb the ruling of the trial court unless the mating of the order constitutes an abuse of discretion.

(Brooks

v.

San Francisco etc. Ry. Co.,

110 Cal. 178, [72 Pac. 570];

Cole

v.

Wilcox,

99 Cal. 552, [34 Pac. 114];

Von Schroeder

v.

Spreckels,

147 Cal. 186, [81 Pac. 515].)

On December 26, 1885, Andrew Glassell, who w;as the common source of title, entered into a contract with Ralph and W. E. Rogers, whereby he agreed to sell and convey to them a large tract of land, which included the lot in controversy. On March 24, 1886, Ralph and W. E. Rogers transferred this agreement for purchase to a corporation known as the Garvanzk Land Company, which, under the terms of the agreement, caused a portion of the land to be subdivided into lots and blocks and designated it as “Garvanza Addition No. 1,” map of which was duly recorded. On June 19, 1886, the corporation, for a valuable consideration, executed a deed, which was "duly recorded, to plaintiff Carol Crouse-Prouty, whereby it conveyed to her the lot in question. After the execution of this deed by-the corporation, and on December 15, 1886, the corporation transferred the Glassell contract to W.