Cross v. Bouck

SLOSS, J.

This action was brought to recover damages for deceit.

The amended complaint alleges that on or about the twenty-eighth day of September, 1912, the plaintiffs were the owners of certain real property in the county of Los Angeles, of the value of five thousand dollars. On that day the defendants represented to the plaintiffs that they, defendants, were the owners of an unexpired lease for seven years of an apartment house known as the Navarro Apartment Hotel, in the city of

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Los Angeles, together with a lease for the same period of the furniture and equipment in said house. On said day, for the purpose of inducing plaintiffs to transfer and trade their real property described in the amended complaint to the defendants, in consideration for said leases, the defendants knowingly made certain false and fraudulent representations to plaintiffs, with intent to deceive and defraud plaintiffs, and to procure their property above described. The pleading then goes on to describe the alleged fraudulent representations. Two of these related to the ownership by the defendants of the lease of the apartment house and the furniture therein, and their ability to assign such lease. The others, briefly stated, were that the apartment house was then paying in rentals more than the expenses of operation; that no apartment in the house was rented for less than forty-five dollars per

month;

that but seven apartments were then vacant; that the house, at all times theretofore, paid expenses for the entire year, with the exception of one summer month; that when all the apartments were rented, the apartment house would produce a profit of seven hundred dollars per month; and that, in each preceding year, it had produced a net profit of over two thousand dollars per year. All of these representations are alleged to have been false, and known by the defendants to be so. Plaintiffs, relying upon the truth of said statements, were induced thereby to enter into an agreement for the transfer by them to defendants of all of the real property described in the complaint, in consideration of the transfer by defendants to them of the unexpired lease on the apartment house and the furniture and equipment therein. Plaintiffs did, pursuant to such agreement, transfer and assign to the defendants their said real property. Plaintiffs entered into “tentative possession” of the apartment house, and upon discovering the falsity of the representations, relinquished the possession. It is further alleged that the defendants failed and refused to give the plaintiffs a good and valid lease to said apartment house and furniture. Damages were asked in the sum of ten thousand dollars, consisting of five thousand dollars, the value of the property transferred to the defendants, and other items. Except with respect to the value of the property transferred to the defendants by plaintiffs, the court made findings in substantial accord with the averments of the complaint. The