Smith v. Smith
Smith v. Smith
Opinion of the Court
From adverse judgments in two suits to recover real property plaintiff appeals.
In case No. 13324, plaintiff and her deceased husband in 1922 bought property known as “lot 29, Block D, El Nido Tract,” under a contract which provided for a $50 down payment and monthly installments of $25 each, and shortly
The conclusion of the trial court adverse to plaintiff is supported by ample evidence. The latter’s husband during his lifetime had an income of about $30 a month and put in his time working in a small garden. Witnesses testified that plaintiff and her husband had stated at various times that the property belonged to their son, and it appears that the latter and defendant had paid taxes on the property for many years prior to the filing of this suit.
Plaintiff contends that the trial court went beyond the issues raised by the pleadings by not only deciding that defendant holds title to the property and does not hold it as trustee for plaintiff, but also by awarding defendant possession of the premises. While it does appear that the pleadings might have been more comprehensive and exact, there is no doubt that the subject matter and the parties were within the court’s jurisdiction and that the issues in the case concerned the title to and possession of the specific piece of property. That being the case, we see no valid reason why a court of equity should not dispose of these issues on the basis of the credible and persuasive evidence before it.
In case No. 13325, plaintiff during a serious illness in the year 1936 made a deed to “lot 28” in the same tract, giving it to her son, and upon his death it was set apart to defendant as his widow. The complaint seeks to set aside the gift as being one made in contemplation of death and asks that the property be returned to plaintiff. (Civ. Code, secs. 1149, 1150, 1151.) The trial court found that the property had been deeded by plaintiff to her son as a gift during a time of her serious illness, but not in contemplation of death or with intent that it should take effect only in case of her death.
Judgments affirmed.
Moore, J., and Wood, J., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.