Hockett v. Pacific States Auxiliary Corp.

PRESTON, J.

Plaintiff, by this action, sues in equity to cancel a promissory note, and deed of trust to secure same, on the ground that each of said documents was forcibly taken from her by her grandson and negotiated to the defendant Pacific States Savings and Loan Company, with

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out authority from or a consideration to her. Said defendant, the payee and beneficiary under said trust deed, cross-complained, alleging the validity of each of said instruments and praying for a decree to establish it. The cause was tried and the court made findings and gave judgment denying relief to plaintiff and sustaining

in toto

the cross-action of defendant. Plaintiff has appealed. The sole question for determination is the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conclusion of the court.

At the outset, it may be said that the promissory note is negotiable in form, plaintiff’s signature appears thereon and respondent has possession thereof. From these facts there arises a presumption that a valid and intentional delivery by the maker was made and this presumption obtains until the contrary is proved (sec. 3097, Civ. Code). This, of itself, would ordinarily be sufficient to support the court’s findings. However, here the court made, among others, the following findings:

“The Court finds that Willis E. Hockett is the grandson of plaintiff and that plaintiff signed and executed said note and Trust Deed and placed them in the hands of said Willis E. Hockett for the purpose of enabling said Willis E. Hockett to use the same for the purpose of raising the principal sum of . . . $1096. The court finds that plaintiff delivered said note and Trust Deeds to said Willis E. Hockett, and further finds that if said Willis E. Hockett later took said note and Trust Deeds from plaintiff, she allowed said note and Trust Deed to go into the possession of said Willis E. Hockett and to be used by him without using ordinary care in that she neglected and omitted to notify either the said payee of said note or the said Trustee under said Trust Deed that said note and Trust Deed were in the possession of said Willis E. Hockett without her consent. The Court finds that said note and Trust Deed and each of them when they went into tfie hands of said Willis E. Hockett were regular on their faces. The court finds that by reason of the fact that said note and Trust Deed are regular on their faces and were in the possession of said Willis E. Hockett, the grandson of plaintiff, that the defendants relied upon the apparent due execution, genuineness and delivery of said instruments by plaintiff and induced thereby, advanced the sum of . . . $1096.00 ... in consideration of the receipt of