Jones v. Luckel

[533]

LORIGAN, J.

Plaintiff brought this action to quiet her title to a tract of land in Los Angeles County. On the trial, and preliminary to the introduction of any evidence, it was stipulated between the parties “that said plaintiff is the owner of the property described in the complaint . . . unless the title to said property has become vested in said defendant (Luckel) by virtue of the tax deed to be introduced in evidence by him and the deed to him by William P. Young which is to be introduced in evidence by him. ’ ’

Plaintiff rested her ease upon this stipulation, and defendant then offered in evidence a tax deed from the state of California to himself and his codefendant Young made June 30, 1903, which recited a delinquency in the payment of state and county taxes on land in Los Angeles County (describing it) for the year 1895, a sale to the state thereof, and subsequently a deed to the state made July 3, 1901, and a purchase by the defendants from the state of the same for the sum of $40.64, being the amount of accrued taxes, penalties, and costs up to the date of sale. Further proof was made by defendant Luckel of a deed to him from his codefendant Young of his interest in the property described in the deed from the state to them, and in addition, proved, as alleged in his answer, the payment by him of $26.14 as an aggregate amount of taxes imposed on the property described in the tax deed for the different years from the date of said tax deed" to the commencement of the action. No further evidence at all was offered on the part of defendant. Plaintiff in rebuttal introduced in evidence certain official tax records and proceedings for the purpose of'showing that the property described in the tax deed from the state to the defendant was not the same property described in the complaint; nor was it the same property on which a delinquency in the payment of taxes accrued and upon which the deed from the state relied on by defendant Luckel was based. Other evidence was also introduced by plaintiff under which it was claimed that the tax deed to defendant was invalid.

The court made general findings in favor of plaintiff—that she was the owner of the property described in the complaint, and that the defendant Luckel had no title or interest therein. It made no finding on the issue tendered of the purchase price paid by Luckel to the state at the sale, or of the taxes subsequently paid by him.