Los Angeles Warehouse Co. v. County of Los Angeles

ARCHIBALD, J., pro tem. Appeal by defendant from a judgment on an open book account for storage alleged to be due, owing and unpaid on certain automobiles stored at its request.

It was stipulated that the drivers of the twenty cars involved were arrested at the various times the machines were seized, upon charges which included in each instance the transportation of intoxicating liquor in violation of the Wright Act, and that the cars were delivered to plaintiff by the arresting officers for storage at an agreed price per month. The evidence shows that the cars were ultimately sold by plaintiff for the unpaid storage charges and that the amounts received less expenses of sale were deducted by it from the total charge; that a claim for the balance was presented to the board of supervisors of Los Angeles County, which allowed it for the sum of $542.47 but rejected it for the balance, suit therefor being brought by plaintiff; that “no agreement was made as to how long the county was to pay the charge for storage of the cars” nor “as to how long the cars should stay in there”; only “that my [Mr. Contreras, chief enforcement officer] signature be on all releases” and “that no one could be released without my signature”. Nor can we find evidence of any express [370]contract to pay storage after the termination of criminal proceedings instituted against the drivers of such cars. The registered and legal owners were different on all but a few of such machines.

Many cars other than those here involved were stored by the officers under the same arrangement, but such cars were either released to the driver after acquittal or dismissal of the pending charges on an order signed by Contreras, the driver paying storage charges, or were sold by the county “where the criminal charge resulted in a conviction of transportation or a plea of guilty”. On some occasions, where the driver pleaded guilty to one count, the transportation charge was dismissed and a release order given the driver, who “would present that order to the [plaintiff], pay the charges and get his car back”. It also appears that as to fourteen of the cars here involved the amount in which plaintiff’s claim was allowed covered the entire time prosecutions were pending against either the drivers or the cars. As to the remaining six, prosecutions were commenced, but the evidence does not show what disposition was made of the cases, if any. All of the seized automobiles were to be used as evidence, if necessary, in prosecutions against the persons possessing them at the time of seizure. Apparently no notice of the termination of any of the charges connected with the twenty cars mentioned was given plaintiff by anyone, and the sales were made at the suggestion of defendant’s counsel.