Patterson v. John P. Mills Organization Inc.

LANGDON, J.

Defendant appeals from a judgment against it for $393, the amount, together with interest, paid by plaintiff upon a contract involving the purchase of real property, which contract plaintiff sought to have rescinded in the present action. Plaintiff alleged that in April, 1924, defendant represented to plaintiff that a certain piece of ground belonging to defendant in Riverside County, California, contained two and one-half acres, and plaintiff was thereby induced to purchase the same at a price of $750 per acre, or $1,875 for the parcel; that plaintiff signed an agreement, a copy of which was annexed to the complaint, and no deed for the land had been executed to him; that he paid $256.25 upon the purchase price of said land to the defendant; that in pursuance of said contract defendant thereafter requested plaintiff to sign an agreement to purchase land in Riverside County, which was not the same land which plaintiff had agreed to purchase, and, in fact, contained only 1.92 acres; that plaintiff refused to execute said agreement and notified defendant that he rescinded his former contract and demanded the return of the money paid thereunder and that defendant refused to return said amount.

The answer of defendant denied that the piece of ground described in the second contract which defendant requested plaintiff to sign was not the same piece of ground that plaintiff had theretofore agreed to purchase and denied that said piece of ground described in said second contract did not contain two and one-half acres.

The trial court found that-the defendant had represented to plaintiff that the property which he was contracting to purchase contained two and one-half acres and that by said representation plaintiff was induced to purchase said property at a price of $1,875 and that plaintiff paid on account of the purchase price thereof the sum of $256.25; that thereafter defendant requested plaintiff to sign an agreement to purchase land therein described, stating that such

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land was the same land described in the former agreement, which plaintiff had already agreed to purchase; that the said land was not the same land that plaintiff had agreed to purchase and that the said piece of ground contained only 1.92 acres, while plaintiff had contracted to purchase a piece of land containing two and one-half acres; that plaintiff thereupon rescinded the agreement to purchase said land and demanded the return of his money and tendered to defendant any benefits which he had received under said first agreement.