Lawrence v. Doty
Lawrence v. Doty
Opinion of the Court
This is an action of Robert H. Lawrence and wife against George R. Doty and wife for the rescission of a purchase by plaintiffs of a citrus grove for the sum of $80,000, of which $23,000 was paid down, and the balance secured by a note and trust deed. Plaintiffs had paid an additional $17,000 and interest at the time they brought their action. It was alleged in the complaint that plaintiffs were inexperienced in the operation of citrus groves and ignorant as to their value; that defendants represented that the grove contained 11 acres planted to oranges and 8 acres planted to lemons; that the soil was good; the property had an abundant supply of water from a well on the premises; that the grove was of top grade; that the trees were all of good root stock; that the fruit was not damaged by frost or cold; that the lemon trees were highly productive; that all trees were in a healthy condition; that the grove had a total of 800 lemon trees; that the crop then growing was worth $15,000; that the grove was worth $80,000 and would produce a net profit sufficient for the support of a family. It was alleged that the representations were made with intent to deceive plaintiffs, that they were untrue and that the property was worth not more than $40,000, which the defendants well knew. Plaintiffs made their purchase in January, 1946. The complaint alleged that they became suspicious as to the quality and value of the grove in the spring of 1948, that they caused the soil and water to be analyzed and the trees and location to be examined by experts, and that on or about July 7, 1948, the falsity of the representations was established and could not have been established at an earlier date. Plaintiffs gave notice of rescission July 21, 1948, demanded the return of their money and offered to account for any sums due from them to the defendants. Defendants denied the charges of fraud and alleged that prior to their purchase plaintiffs conducted a complete investigation of the property and its income, and purchased the same in reliance upon their own judgment and the advice of third persons. It was also alleged that in January, 1948, when the sum of $2,500 fell due on the note, plaintiffs applied for and were granted an extension to and including July 15, 1948, in which to make said payment, and that plaintiffs thereby confirmed and ratified their said purchase. After an extended trial the court made findings that defendants did not make any false or fraudulent representations, that all of defendants’ representations were made honestly and with the reasonable belief on their part that the same were true, and
As grounds for the appeal appellants claim insufficiency of the evidence to support any of the essential findings. Although they make a good argument upon the facts they emphasize the strength of their case, rather than the alleged weakness of the defendants’ case, with relation to the following findings: (1) That defendants did not represent that the grove was a “top place"; (2) that the property was worth $80,000; (3) that plaintiffs did not rely upon the representations of defendants; (4) that defendants did not represent that the grove was growing upon good soil; (5) that defendants did not represent that the orchard had as one of its appurtenances a good water supply; (6) that the representations made by defendants were made honestly and with a reasonable belief that they were true; (7) that plaintiffs conducted a complete investigation of the property including soil, water, trees and crops prior to January, 1947, thereafter continued in possession endeavoring to sell the property, in January, 1948, obtained an extension of time for the payment of an installment of $2,500 and by their conduct did confirm and ratify their purchase. The court made 52 separate findings. They recite in great detail the history of the development and operation of the property from the time it was acquired in 1928 by defendants until plaintiffs’ attempted rescission in July, 1948. We shall paraphrase these findings, inasmuch as they summarize the evidence and indicate the court’s factual conclusions therefrom. In January, 1946 there were 741 lemon trees on the easterly 7.15 acres and 985 orange trees on the westerly 10.90 acres; also improvements consisting of a residence, other buildings, water well, pipe lines, irrigation system, windbreaks and roads of the total value of
The first finding, which we have combined from separate findings, is supported by the testimony of Mr. Doty that he made a complete disclosure of the production from the grove over a period of years; he represented it was a good grove on good soil but not that it was of top grade or quality; the grove had a sufficient water supply from a well on the premises but he made no representation as to the quality of the water. The court found that the soil and water were good, that the grove was a good one, which had produced and was capable of producing fruit in average quantities and of average quality for groves in the vicinity. The record contains sufficient evidence to support these findings, notwithstanding the fact there was evidence that neither the soil, water nor the trees was of the highest quality. There was testimony by competent witnesses that the grove compared favorably in these respects with other groves in the locality and that it came up to the representations of Mr. Doty. There was also expert testimony that the property was worth $80,000. It necessarily follows that if defendants’ representations were true the court could not reasonably have found them to have been made in bad faith. But regardless of their accuracy the evidence tended to prove that all the statements of the defendants concerning the property were justified by the facts which were known to them. It was undisputed that the grove had produced as a good grove. Although it was developed through investigations made by defendants during the two and a half years they were in possession that the water from the well was saline and many of the trees were afflicted with one disease or another, the claim that defendants knew these facts and concealed or misrepresented them is not supported by the record. There was evidence that while the growth of the orange trees had
It would appear from the evidence that the court was almost required to find that plaintiffs acted upon their own judgment based upon the investigation they made. They went upon the property with experts and examined the trees and the soil. Plaintiffs’ advisors found nothing wrong with the property and so informed plaintiffs. They were not hindered in their investigation nor persuaded to discontinue it, and the means for determining the facts were fully accessible. It is thoroughly established that under such circumstances the buyer will be deemed to have acted upon his own judgment, being satisfied with the result of his investigation. (Cameron v. Cameron, 88 Cal.App.2d 585 [199 P.2d 443] ; Nielsen v. McKenna, 8 Cal.2d 690 [67 P.2d 1044].) He will not be heard
There was evidence that from a time soon after plaintiffs went into possession the grove was in charge of a manager who was experienced in citrus culture. Extensive tests and experiments were made and in October or November, 1947, plaintiffs began to' doubt that the grove was what they expected it to be. But it is unnecessary to discuss the evidence from which the court concluded that plaintiffs had ratified their purchase and had not rescinded promptly after knowledge of facts which indicated to them that they had purchased an inferior grove. The other findings which we hold to be supported by the evidence are more than ample to support the judgment.
The judgment is affirmed.
Wood, J., and Vallée, J., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.