Marvin Denna v. Red River Lumber Co.

California Court of Appeal Oct 9, 1941 No. Civ. No. 11571Published

Before: Sturtevant

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Holding. The court held that the trial court's order transferring the action to Lassen County was proper because the evidence supported the finding that the only defendant residing in San Francisco was improperly joined to establish venue.

Issues

Whether the trial court's findings regarding the residency of the defendants were supported by the evidence.
Whether the joinder of a San Francisco corporation was sufficient to establish venue in that county.

Disposition. Affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“That such defendant Redwood Company, Inc., a corporation was improperly joined herein as a defendant and has been made a defendant herein solely for the purpose of having this action tried in the City and County of San Francisco”

“It follows that the findings are sustained by the evidence. It also follows that the trial court did not err in holding that no one of the defendants was a resident of San Francisco and that the action should be transferred”

STURTEVANT, J. The plaintiffs have appealed from an order transferring the above entitled action from the Superior Court of San Francisco to the Superior Court of the County of Lassen. The complaint contains 72 counts. There were 72 plaintiffs and 504 defendants. Two of the latter were corporations. Another was Clin S. Johnson, sheriff of Lassen County. Thirteen others were deputies of the sheriff. Each count, among others, contains the following allegations:

“V.

“That plaintiff is informed and believes and therefore alleges that on or about July 12th, 1938, defendants and each of them agreed and conspired with one another to drive plaintiffs and each of them by force and violence from their respective homes, from the Town of Westwood, and from Lassen County.

“VI.

“That on or about July 13th, the individual defendants and each of them, together with other persons unknown to plaintiffs, assembled together to form a mob in the said Town of Westwood; that defendant Red River Lumber Company (a corporation) gave pickhandles to said individual defendants and also gave said individual defendants the. use of its [237]trucks and high, pressure fire hoses, and hydrants; that at said time, many members of said mob were also armed with rifles; that defendant Bed Biver Lumber Company, at said time, directed said other defendants, who were then, armed with said rifles, pickhandles and high pressure fire hoses, then and there to drive plaintiffs by force and violence from their respective homes, from the Town of Westwood and from the County of Lassen.

“VII.

“That defendants, who were at all times in this paragraph mentioned, assembled together and armed, as stated in Paragraph VI, displayed their said weapons to plaintiffs, and each of them, turned the said high pressure fire hoses on plaintiffs, seized plaintiffs, put them in said trucks, and ordered all plaintiffs to leave said Town of Westwood and said County of Lassen within two hours, telling plaintiffs, and each of them, that if they did not do so within two hours, they would machine gun plaintiffs, and each of them.”

The defendants’ motion to change the place of trial was based on their claim that they resided in the county of Lassen and that the action should be tried there. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 395.)

Marvin Denna v. Red River Lumber Co.

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