Peterson v. Larquier

CRAIG, Acting P. J.

It appears that prior to November 8, 1922, the appellant authorized and requested one James D. Seely to lease for her certain real property situated in the city of Los Angeles, of which she was the owner, and upon which she proposed to construct an apartment house; that in compliance with such authorization and request Seely personally presented to appellant a written communication in the nature of a proposal; signed by the respondents, and reciting, “I hand you herewith $500 as a deposit for the lease of an apartment house to be erected” (upon appellant’s property), construction to commence within thirty days, and that when said lease should be ready for execution, “I will hand you the sum of $700 which with the above deposit is to be placed in escrow,

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together with the lease”; that upon the filing of a notice of completion “I will hand you an additional sum of $1,200, which is to be also placed in escrow,” and that the escrow instructions should require that upon notice of completion the foregoing amounts, together with the lease, would be delivered, and that the total of $2,400 should be applied as rent for the first two months and the last two months of a ten-year lease. It was also proposed that the house should consist of forty rooms, and that the rate of rental would be $15 per room; that upon the failure of the respondents to pay either of said sums as provided for in the document mentioned, they would forfeit all moneys theretofore deposited, and that thé first, or $500 payment, should be returned if within five days appellant was unable to produce a lease ready for execution. Beneath the signatures of the respondents appears the following: “Accepted and agree to pay Boyce-Seely Construction Co. the sum of One thousand dollars ($1000) commission for securing above lease. 11/11/22. (Signed) Mrs. Anna T, Larquier.” Appellant having thereafter refused to lease to the respondents the premises in question, this action was commenced, praying specific performance or damages. Upon the rendition of judgment in the sum of $4,800 damages, together with interest and costs, for the plaintiffs, Mrs. Larquier appealed.

From the testimony of Seely and the respondent Peterson it appears that the prospective lessees were at all times ready, able, and willing to lease the premises in controversy, and that they signed the foregoing instrument, deposited in escrow all the above amounts of money, and demanded that appellant execute a lease which Seely had prepared in conformity with the specifications of the first instrument; that Seely wrote to appellant, and visited her upon several occasions, both alone and with Mr. Peterson, requesting that appellant sign the lease, but that upon each such occasion she declined to do so, stating that she had not yet received from the Bank of Italy her papers, or her building contract; that on or about November 23', 1922, appellant wrote a letter to Seely stating that the $500 had not been