Marco Zaninovich, Inc. v. Rydell California Potato Co.

CONLEY, P. J. The defendants, Rydell California Potato Company, a corporation, and Paul Rydell and Jeanne E. Rydell, the owners of all of the stock, and the directive heads, of the corporation, appeal from a judgment correcting an error in the deed by which the Marko Zaninovioh interests secured title to certain real property in Tulare County. The principal ground of the appeal is the claim that the trial court erred in giving a species of relief which was somewhat different in detail from that asked for in the complaint; during the trial the court discovered that the individual defendants had title to a reversionary interest in a portion of the land, which should have been transferred to the plaintiff as provided in the contract between plaintiff and the individual defendants; in ordering judgment that the individual defendants should now convey, the trial court permitted an amendment of the complaint to conform with proof and, therefore, to justify the requirement that the individual defendants should observe the terms of the contract which was made by them. The judgment for the plaintiff was succeeded by a motion for a new trial by the defendants, which was denied.

With respect to certain land in Tulare County, the individuals, Marko Zaninovieh, Paul Rydell and Jeanne E. Rydell, executed escrow instructions with the United California Bank at its Delano branch on September 30, 1963, providing for the purchase by Mr. Zaninovioh for the sum of $200,000 (cash through escrow—$155,000; unpaid balance of encumbrances of record—$45,000) from Paul Rydell and Jeanne E. Rydell of the following described land: the north half of the northwest quarter of section 23, township 24 south, range 25 east, and the south half of the southwest quarter of section 14, township 24 south, range 25 east, of Mount Diablo base and meridian, except the mineral rights, and subject to the life estate created by H. M. Harrelson and his wife in a [280]previous deed recorded December 31, 1956; a reference to that deed shows that the Harrelsons reserved in joint tenancy “. . . an estate for life in and to the south 300 feet of the east 200 feet of the south half of the southwest quarter of said section 14.” In the escrow instructions, Mr. Zaninovich also bought the grape crop on the land for $16,000, and there were certain other provisions which are not involved in the present litigation.

The original escrow instructions were modified by an instrument dated September 30, 1963, to show that by grant deed executed by Paul Bydell and his wife, recorded on May 8, 1959, the land, or part of it, had been conveyed to Bydell California Potato Company, and that a grant deed was to be executed in favor of the Zaninovich interests by the potato company. The amendment to the escrow instructions also contained the provision that “At the close of escrow all funds due seller to be disbursed by Escrow Check payable to Paul Bydell and Jeanne E. Bydell and Bydell California Potato Company.”