Shermaster v. California Home Building Loan Co.
Shermaster v. California Home Building Loan Co.
Opinion of the Court
Plaintiff had judgment rescinding and canceling two contracts of sale and purchase of real property, and defendant appeals.
From the findings of fact, which are amply supported by the evidence, it appears that the parties entered into two contracts in writing, whereby they mutually agreed that defendant should sell, and plaintiff should buy from defendant, two lots of land situated in the city and county of San Francisco. The particular description of the lot of land, in each contract, began as follows: “Commencing at a point on the westerly line of Wieland Street, distant thereon, etc., from the southerly line of Sunnydale Avenue; running thence southerly along said westerly line of Wieland Street, etc.”
Some reliance is placed by appellant upon a deed between private parties conveying from one to the other a strip of land, which appears to be coincident with the parcel, which the appellant claims is Wieland Street south of Sunnydale Avenue, but we see nothing in this private document creating a public easement for street purposes. There was testimony that negotiations appeared to have been commenced between the present owner of the property and the city and county looking to a possible dedication and opening of Wieland Street past plaintiff’s land, deeds having been tendered for that purpose. But there was no showing that such result was presently probable, and no evideh.ee which would in any way indicate that plaintiff, or anyone, had the right to use the strip of land represented by defendant to be Wieland Street, adjacent to the property in question, for street purposes.
Plaintiff believed, and relied on, the representations of defendant, concerning the existence of an open, public street, and would not have bought the lots, supposed to front thereon, had he known there was no way of reaching his property, other than over privately owned lands. He began living on the first lot purchased in April, 1914, and in June of the same year he executed the contract for the purchase of the second parcel. He first became aware of the true state of affairs when, in December, 1914, he found his property entirely cut off from any ingress or egress, by fences erected all around his property by the owner of the surrounding land. ' He demanded of defendant a rescission of the contracts, which, being refused, he executed and tendered quitclaim deeds of the property and brought this action.
*665 It appeared from the testimony that during the preliminary negotiations leading to the signing of the first contract, defendants represented to plaintiff that the lot he ivas purchasing was bounded on the front by Wieland Street, that Wieland Street was an open street, south of Sunnydale Avenue, and that the property could be driven to in wagons from any direction. Plaintiff was shown a map or plat of the property on which Wieland Street was designated as fully laid out. Plaintiff visited the property before signing the contract, approaching it from Walbridge Street, which was on the south of the tract of land, going over the adjacent lots to reach it. He located the exact property by “stepping it off- from Sunnydale Avenue.” He saw a fence to the north, and between the land he was intending to buy and Sunny-dale Avenue. .On this fence was a sign bearing the name “Wieland Street” in large letters. There were no indications on the ground of a street leading to or adjacent to the property. Plaintiff communicated the fact of his discovery of the fence to the defendant’s agent, who assured him that it was not rightfully there and he “would go out with an automobile and tear the fence down.”
The appellant contends that the plaintiff is estopped to claim a reliance on its representations, because he went on the land and examined it before signing the first contract,
*666
and lived on that portion several months before buying the second piece.
The lots had been owned by the defendant for many years before the making of the contracts with plaintiff. The defendant knew that Wieland Street, adjacent to the property, was not a public street, and that there was trouble in relation thereto. The president of the defendant company testified that he was familiar with the condition of the streets and roadways in the tract, “having been out there probably two or three or more times a year since 1906.” He further testified that “at none of the times he had been on the property was the portion of Wieland Street as shown on the map, south of Sunnydale Avenue, extending through the property of Grim, open.” The agent, Webb, to whom defendant intrusted the sale of the lots in the tract, testified that at the time of the sale he told plaintiff the condition of Wieland Street, and the fact that it was not a public street at tha't *667 time, but that he thought it could be opened. On the issue presented by the conflict of evidence, arising from all the testimony bearing on this subject, the trial court found in support of plaintiff, and we are bound by the finding in that regard.
Furthermore, no objection was made at the trial as to this method of fixing the value, which seems to have been acquiesced in by all parties and by the court.
The rental value of the property was established by a witness for defendant. While the court’s finding is not as full *668 and explicit as it might be, we are of the view that it was justified by the evidence and is sufficiently clear to support the judgment.
Defendant, by its attorney, in reply to the notification by plaintiff, just referred to, wrote that it expected “to carry out to the fullest extent all their agreements with Mr. Shermaster [plaintiff]. They, however, do not accept any offer made by you to rescind his contracts. They also take exception to any alleged tender which you suggest in regard to a quitclaim deed.” The communication further stated that when all payments had been made by plaintiff, defendant would “give him deeds in accordance with the terms of his respective agreements. ’ ’
Here was a sufficient offer, and a direct refusal of rescission. Plaintiff demanded more from defendant than he was entitled to recover, but in the absence of any specific objection made to the tender, the exception thereto noted, availed defendant nothing, and must be now disregarded. (Civ. Code, sec. 1501 ; Code Civ. Proc., sec. 2076 ; Kofoed v. Gordon, 122 Cal. 314, [54 Pac. 1115] ; Latimer v. Capay Valley Land Co., 137 Cal. 286, [70 Pac. 82].)
The contracts of sale were executory, and the acceptance of the quitclaim deed by defendant would have restored everything of value which plaintiff had received from it.
Defendant has not suffered any injury by reason of plaintiff’s act in remaining in such tentative possession, for the court found that the value of the improvements placed on the land, exclusive of any rental that might be due defendant for the use and occupation of the land, was the sum of $250. We may assume that the court allowed defendant the sum of eight dollars per month for the use of the land, that being the sum fixed by its own witnesses, for the full period of the twenty-four months from the date of occupation by plaintiff to the trial. We may further assume that the court fixed in its own mind the value of the improvements at somewhere near the amount they cost, that being the course pursued in the examination of the witnesses by the court. The-judgment as rendered appears to give defendant full credit for the reasonable use and occupation during the term specified, and under the circumstances it should not be heard to complain.
What we have last said also disposes of defendant’s contention that the judgment was excessive.
The judgment is affirmed.
Kerrigan, J., and Richards, J., concurred.
A petition for a rehearing of this cause was denied by the district court of appeal on May 15, 1919', and a petition to *670 have the cause heard in the supreme court, after judgment in the district court of appeal, was denied by the supreme court on June 12, 1919.
All the Justices concurred.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- C. SHERMASTER, Respondent, v. CALIFORNIA HOME BUILDING LOAN COMPANY (A Corporation), Appellant
- Cited By
- 18 cases
- Status
- Published