Moulton v. Moulton

KERRIGAN, J.,

pro

tern.—This action was brought by plaintiff to impress a resulting trust in her favor upon certain real property.

Plaintiff is the surviving wife of Ernest S. Moulton, deceased, and the defendant is the administrator of his estate. The complaint alleges that decedent during his lifetime received from her a certain sum of money which was her separate property and which, with her consent, was invested by deceased in certain, business property situated in the city of Riverside, state of California, the title to which was taken in his own name, in trust, however, for plaintiff. The money so received, it is alleged, was part of the sum paid as consideration for such property, and plaintiff prays for a decree establishing her interest and requiring the executor to execute a deed for the same to her of the share claimed. By leave of court the First National Bank of Riverside, a corporation, filed its complaint in intervention, substantially denying all of plaintiff’s allegations and alleging that decedent, during his lifetime and subsequent to the acquisition

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by him of the property, became indebted to it on five promissory notes, upon which the sum of twenty-five thousand, five hundred dollars remained due and unpaid at the time of his death, and for which a claim was thereafter presented to and allowed by the executor of his estate. Intervener further alleges that at the time of the making of the notes and continuously up to the date of Ms death decedent held the legal title to the property in question, and by the records of the county appeared to be the sole owner thereof and had so appeared from the time of the acquisition by him of the property, and that at no time did intervener have nótice or knowledge that any other person claimed any right or title thereto other than lien claimants, and that decedent had caused the property to be assessed to himself; that he had paid the taxes thereon, rented and leased the same, and claimed to intervener to be the owner thereof. Further allegation was made that deceased was the president of the intervener bank, and had the management of its financial affairs. A similar complaint in intervention was filed by one Hugh A. Bain, based upon a note of five thousand dollars, which sum it is alleged was loaned to deceased with plaintiff’s knowledge, and that plaintiff had never informed intervener of her asserted interest in the property until after the death of her husband.