Friedman v. Southern California T. Co.

SLOSS, J.

Action to recover possession of a parcel of land in the city of Los Angeles, with damages for its withholding. The plaintiffs had judgment for restitution of the premises, without damages. The defendants appeal from the judgment. They also attempt to present an appeal from the order denying their motion for a new trial, but, when their notice was filed, the law no longer permitted appeals from such orders. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 963, amd. 1915.)

The plaintiffs are husband and wife. The wife (Libby) is the sole party in interest, and we shall refer to her as “the plaintiff” or “the respondent.” ‘So, too, Southern California Trust Company may be designated as “the defendant” or “the appellant,” since all other defendants and appellants claim merely as its tenants.

The plaintiff and the defendant are owners of adjacent parcels of land. The location of their holdings and of the land in controversy may be illustrated by the following diagram, which reproduces in a rough way, but with sufficient accuracy for our purpose, a plat offered in evidence.

Plaintiff is the owner of tract 1, defendant of tract 2. The land in dispute < is tract 3, represented on the diagram by shading, and inclosed by lines connecting the points A, B, C, D, and D'. All of the land shown belonged at one time to I. I. Dehail, and passed from him by mesne conveyances to S. S. Federman. Federman conveyed parcel 2 to A. J. Brown, who subsequently conveyed it to the defendant. The plaintiff was the wife of Federman, and, upon his death, succeeded to his title to parcel 1, which was, in due course, distributed to her. The deed from Federman to Brown, and that from Brown to the defendant, described parcel 2 so as to

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make its northerly boundary the line A-E. The description in these deeds did not include any part of tract 3, all of which is embraced within the boundaries of tract 1, retained by Federman and passing from him to his widow, the plaintiff. The plaintiffs, accordingly, had a clear record title to the land here in controversy.

Conceding this, the defendant asserts ownership of the disputed premises by adverse possession, by estoppel, and by virtue of the doctrine of agreed boundary. These claims may be considered together, as all three rest upon the same state of facts, shown or claimed to have been shown by the defendant.