Burton v. Clough-Detty Motors

MOORE, P. J. Clough-Detty Motors is a partnership composed of the three codefendants. For about four years the partnership and its predecessors in interest employed plaintiff to buy and sell new and used automobiles in Santa Barbara. In addition to the sums aggregating $19,699 paid him as salaries and commissions while he was with them, plaintiff claimed a balance due him in the sum of $5,935.65, and sued to enforce payment thereof. After a trial of the issues raised by his amended complaint and the answer, the court awarded plaintiff the sum of $2,100 from which he now appeals, contending “the evidence was not sufficient to justify the decision in that a larger award should have been made.”

In response to the complaint and the evidence adduced the court made the following findings. Within the two years last past defendants had not become indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $5,925.65 (count 1). About August 1, 1950, the parties did not account orally together, ndr did defendants then agree to pay plaintiff $5,925.65 (count 2). There was no accounting between the parties about November 9, 1948, showing defendants to be indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $5,318.40. About April 20, 1949, defendants transferred to plaintiff an automobile for $1,385 and that sum was credited to defendants but there was no balance then due in the sum of $3,933.40 to plaintiff. Subsequent to the last men[239]tioned date, defendants did not become indebted to plaintiff for services performed in the sum of $1,992.25 (count 3), nor did plaintiff and defendants about November 9, 1948, agree in writing on the wages then due plaintiff, nor agree on an account stated giving a credit to defendants in the sum of $1,385 for the automobile (count 4). Since April 20, 1949, defendants did not become indebted to plaintiff in the sum of $1,992.25 but there remains due to plaintiff from defendants the sum of $2,150, the reasonable value of services performed by plaintiff for defendants from October, 1946, to August, 1950 (count 5).

Inasmuch as the reviewing court is powerless to reverse a judgment based upon findings supported by any substantial evidence (Holmberg v. Marsden, 39 Cal.2d 592, 596 [248 P.2d 417]; Richter v. Walker, 36 Cal.2d 634, 640 [226 P.2d 593]; Horwath v. Roosevelt Hotel Co., 118 Cal.App.2d 1, 6 [257 P.2d 56]) the consideration of this case will be at an end if there is such support for the findings.

Mr. Clough testified that defendants owed plaintiff nothing after August, 1950, except the sum of $600. If the court believed that testimony which, the findings indicate, it did, that should have closed the case with a judgment in favor of plaintiff for the admitted debt of $600. But despite the court’s determination against all allegations of the first four counts of the complaint, it apparently adopted plaintiff’s testimony as to count 5 and adjudged defendants’ obligation was to pay plaintiff $2,150 as “the reasonable value” of plaintiff’s services performed for defendants between October, 1946, and August 1, 1950. Bearing in mind that plaintiff collected from defendants and their predecessors several thousand dollars for services rendered by him during the last mentioned period, the pleadings, findings and judgment present a confusion de luxe. However, in view of the one appeal by plaintiff denouncing the excessive meagerness of the judgment of $2,150, there appears to be no route open to this court but to ascertain whether there is any substantial evidence in support of the findings against the first four counts.