Hunter v. Hunter

SHENK, J. — This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs quieting their title in and to certain real property in the county of Santa Clara and cancelling a promissory note and a trust deed on the property.

The amended complaint proceeds on three causes of action: (1) a cause of action to quiet title in the usual form; (2) a cause of action on the ground that there was no consideration for the note and trust deed; and (3) a cause of action based on the oral agreement that the note and deed of trust were to be cancelled if F. A. Hunter predeceased the plaintiffs. The answer admitted the ownership and possession of the property by the plaintiffs but asserted the validity and effectiveness of the note and trust deed.

The plaintiffs C. E. Hunter and Maud M. Hunter are husband and wife. F. A. Hunter was the father of the plaintiff C. E. Hunter. The defendant Lydia Hunter is the mother of the plaintiff C. E. Hunter. The defendant Grandin H. Miller was named as the trustee in the deed of trust ordered cancelled by the judgment. During the events out of which this controversy arose the elder Hunter was living. At the beginning of those events the younger Hunter and his wife were living in Browns Valley, Yuba County, California, and the elder Hunters lived on a ranch in Santa Clara County. The elder Hunters were well along in years and desired to have their son near them for the purpose of helping to farm and manage their ranch, also to do away with the long trips and traffic dangers in their customary visits to the younger Hunters. For the purpose of inducing the plaintiffs to dispose of their property and to move to Santa Clara County [230]to be near the elder Hunters, the latter offered to purchase for the plaintiffs acreage upon which they could make their home. The plaintiffs objected to the plan. They were considering at that time a proposition to dispose of their property in order to take up their residence in San Francisco where the plaintiff C. E. Hunter had the opportunity of securing a good position. The plaintiff wife especially was reluctant to make the move requested by the parents of her husband.

The negotiations continued over a period of time. Finally F. A. Hunter succeeded in finding a place consisting of thirty-five acres, adjoining the property of the elder Hunters, which could be purchased for seven thousand dollars. The property had no suitable home upon it and was planted to young trees which would not bear for several years. That condition of the place was one of the grounds upon which the plaintiff wife based her objections to making the change. She was averse to leaving the home in Yuba County for a place where the buildings were inadequate and the property for a considerable period would not be income-producing. Eventually, however, the plaintiffs were persuaded to accept the parents’ proposal and they prepared to move to Santa Clara County. They succeeded in trading their property in Yuba County for property in Glendale.