Good v. Lindstrom

MARKS, J. This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of plaintiffs, reforming a deed because of mutual mistake of the parties, and in favor of defendants awarding them $500 because of a mistake of plaintiffs.

The property involved is in the Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County. It was sold by plaintiffs to defendants in 1944. The amended complaint alleged that by mutual mistake of the parties, the deed from plaintiffs to defendants described 6.56 acres of land, while the plaintiffs actually intended to describe and convey, and defendants intended to have described and to purchase 1.57 acres of land.

The trial court found these allegations to be true and there is much substantial evidence supporting these findings. The evidence supporting them, while contradicted by defendants, shows that the parties, excepting Gertrude Good Martin, went on the ground with Mrs. Good and a Mr. Martin, a real estate broker; that the property was broken by canyons separating the high ground; that the parties agreed to start the description of the land to be sold at a little distance from a water meter near a road on which it fronted, with a frontage of about 150 feet on this road, thence from near the meter to a fir tree growing on the down slope from a promontory, thence to an unnamed road (we will refer to this as the base line); that plaintiffs would sell and defendants would buy the land, triangular in shape, owned by plaintiffs north of the base line. Plaintiffs particularly specified that no part of the promontory was to be sold as Mr. Good and Mrs. Martin intended to build homes on it because of its unusually fine view.

No survey of the land was made until early in 1945, because of the difficulty in obtaining the services of an engineer. Plaintiffs testified that due to the housing shortage defendants wanted to move into the house on the premises as soon as possible, to which they consented; that it was agreed that a description be worked out for use in the deed and if the survey showed that description to be incorrect the parties would correct it.

Defendants contradicted much of this evidence, but the trial court found it to be true. In passing it should be noted that defendants signed the following document supporting these findings:

“Offer to Purchase Real Estate. Date, May 17, 1944. The undersigned hereby offers to purchase from the owner thereof the following described real property: The portion of Lot 3, Block 48, Rancho Santa Fe, approximately one and [478]