Bradley Co. v. Bradley

HENSHAW, J.

Plaintiff as the grantee of Richard Bradley sued to enforce a paroi trust in real property. A general demurrer was sustained to plaintiff’s complaint and, plaintiff declining to amend suffered judgment. From this judgment it appeals.

The complaint charges that in 1906 Richard Bradley was the owner in fee of the real estate described; that he desired to borrow money secured by a mortgage upon the real property to erect improvements thereon; that he was the cashier and manager of the Pioneer Bank at Porterville, California, and for reasons connected with his position did not wish to be known as the borrower of money; that at that time there existed between himself and Emma R. Buxton, whom subsequently he married, relations of great confidence; that relying on those relations and without any consideration, valuable or otherwise, moving from Emma Buxton to him he made a deed of grant, bargain, and sale purporting on the face of

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it to convey to her the fee simple title absolute. This conveyance, however, was made and was accepted upon a paroi trust, Emma Buxton promising and agreeing that she would take and hold the property in trust for Richard Bradley and to his use; would borrow the money on the property by way of mortgage for the purpose of improving it; would apply the money so borrowed for the indicated purpose and would account to Richard Bradley for all rents and profits which she might collect, and would on demand of Richard Bradley re-convey the property to him. Pursuant to the deed and to this trust defendant Emma Buxton, now by marriage with Richard Bradley, Emma Bradley, defendant herein, entered into the possession of the property, mortgaged it to the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society for the sum of five thousand five hundred dollars, employed this sum in the improvement of the real property by the erection of flats thereon, collected the rents from these flats, and at all times down to February 28, 1910, accounted for such rents to Richard Bradley and to his successor in interest, plaintiff herein, as the respective owners of the property. Before making the loan of five thousand five hundred dollars the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society required that the defendant should prosecute an action to establish and quiet her title under the provisions of the MeEnerney Act. This the defendant did, obtaining a decree establishing and quieting her title under the provisions of this act. In her affidavit filed in that action she did not name Richard Bradley as having an interest in the real property adverse to herself “but her omission so to do was with the consent of said Richard Bradley, and was not fraudulent or with a view of repudiating the trust in his favor upon which she held the legal title to said real property, as above set forth; that on the contrary, such omission was innocently made, and was made without any actual knowledge on defendant’s part of its possible legal effect, and was made in furtherance of the purposes of said trust in this, that had said defendant named said Richard Bradley in said affidavit as the true equitable owner of said property, said The Hibernia Savings and Loan Society would have required said Richard Bradley to have joined in said mortgage, and his connection with said loan would have been thereby disclosed, and the very object with which said trust was created, as herein-