Ramboz v. Stowell
Before: Vanclief
Synopsis
Deed of Married Woman—Acknowledgment as Single—False Representations—Estoppel of Subsequent Donee.—Where a married woman, who was living apart from her husband, before and at the time of the execution of a deed by her of her separate property, falsely represented to the agent of the grantee that she was a widow, and acknowledged the deed as a single woman, intending thereby to deceive the grantee, who acted upon such representations, believing them to be true, not only in paying the purchase money, but in paying all the taxes and street assessments during the period of thirteen years, without notice of the falsity of the representations, or that the grantor intended to lay any claim to the land prior to the commencement of an action to quiet title by her daughter, to whom she subsequently conveyed the property without a valuable consideration, and who took the deed with knowledge of the prior deed, the plaintiff in such action is estopped from denying that her mother was a widow at the time she acknowledged her deed to the prior grantee.
Trial—Reservation of Ruling Upon Objections to Evidence—Harmless Failure to Rule.—The failure of the court to decide whether or not evidence, which was temporarily admitted under objection to be passed upon prior to judgment, was admissible, is not prejudicial error where all the evidence was either properly admissible or harmless.
Vanclief, C. Action to quiet title to a lot of land in the city of Los Angeles. It is admitted that Margaret J. Starkey was the owner of the lot in question on June 13, 1878, as her separate property, and both parties claim title from her. On that day Mrs. Starkey, for a valuable and sufficient consideration, signed, sealed, and delivered to Helen L. Grinnell a deed of the lot, the acknowledgment of the execution of which was certified by a notary public (A. C. Holmes) in the form required for an unmarried woman, and not otherwise, and the deed was recorded on the same day. On September 19, 1887, Helen L. Grinnell, in consideration of eleven thousand dollars, conveyed the lot to defendant by deed recorded October 4, 1887. On May 13, 1891, Mrs. Starkey, for the nominal consideration of one hundred dollars, but without any valuable consideration, conveyed the lot to plaintiff, who is her daughter, and who, on the following day (May 14, 1891), com[590]menced this action. At the date of the deed to plaintiff she had actual notice of the prior deed of her mother to Helen L. Grinnell.
The trial court gave judgment for defendant upon the finding that the plaintiff was estopped from denying that Mrs. Starkey was a widow at the time she acknowledged her deed to Helen L. Grinnell; and whether or not this finding is supported by the pleadings and is justified by the evidence are the only questions requiring special consideration.
That the answer states facts sufficient to constitute an estoppel within the rule deducible from the cases of Reis v. Lawrence, 63 Cal. 129, 49 Am. Rep. 83, and Hand v. Hand, 68 Cal. 135, 58 Am. Rep. 5, I have no doubt.
As to the sufficiency of the evidence, it is admitted that Mrs. Starkey was married to Thomas Starkey in Ohio, in 1844; that she and her husband lived together until some time in 1869, when they separated at Chicago, Illinois; that in 1870 she came to Los Angeles in this state, where she continuously resided until 3880, except that in 1877 she visited Chicago for about three weeks, and there met her husband, who remained with her during that visit; that her husband was never in this state; and that he died in 1885. It also appears that she went to Arizona in 1880, and returned to Los Angeles in 1884, where she has ever since remained. The court found that she abandoned and deserted her husband in the state of Illinois in 1869, and this finding seems fairly inferable from the admitted fact that she left him in that state, there being no evidence that he ever left or deserted her.
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