Colton Land & Water Co. v. Swartz
Colton Land & Water Co. v. Swartz
Opinion of the Court
Ejectment for a lot of land in the city of Colton. Judgment was rendered in favor of the defendants,
The action of the San Bernardino National Bank against the present plaintiff was commenced March 27, 1889, and a demurrer to the complaint therein having been overruled, judgment was ordered in favor of the plaintiff as asked in the complaint, and entered May 29, 1889. Subsequently the plaintiff* herein filed an answer to the complaint, and upon the issues presented by its answer a trial was had, and findings filed by the court, upon which judgment was entered November 21,1889. Upon this judgment an execution was issued, and by virtue of a sale thereunder is derived whatever title the defendants have to the demanded premises. When this judgment roll was offered in evidence the appellant objected to its introduction upon the grounds that it was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, aud now urges that the court erred in admitting it and that it is not entitled to be considered as evidence in establishing the transfer of title to the land, for the reason that the judgment of May 29th was the final judgment in the case, aud that, upon its entry, the court lost jurisdiction to enter any other judgment in the action, so long as that remained upon its record, and that inasmuch as there was no evidence introduced showing that it had been vacated or set aside, the judgment of November 21st was void and not the basis of an execution or sale.
1. A judgment roll is defined in section 670 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and consists of the papers therein enumerated. This “roll” does not depend upon the fact that the clerk has fastened these papers together, nor do any other papers which the clerk may have joined with those which the statute declares shall constitute the judgment roll become a part of such roll by
2. The sale under this judgment was made December 23, 1889, and the sheriff’s deed issued to the purchaser June 24, 1890. On the 21st of November, 1890, the plaintiff herein appealed from the judgment of November 21, 1889, in favor of the San Bernardino National Bank, and now contends that by virtue of such appeal the judgment was not admissible in evidence. No such objection, however, was made at the trial, and, as it does not appear that the fact of an appeal from the judgment had been shown at the time when the judgment was offered in evidence, it was not embraced in the objection that the judgment roll was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. The judgment was not offered as evidence of any issue in the case, or for the purpose of showing that the matters in controversy in this action had been determined in another action, but as a collateral fact in support of the execution, and for the purpose of showing that at the time the execution under which the sale was made a judgment had been rendered and was then in force. Section 681 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides
3. The objection that the deed from the San Bernardino National Bank (the purchaser at the execution sale) to the defendant Swartz does not show upon its face that the grantor was a corporation, does not deserve any consideration. If, in fact, the grantor was a corporation, the proper execution of the deed to the grantee would transfer all its title to the land therein described, and if it was not a corporation, any statement in the deed that it was would not make it such. This objection to the introduction of the deed was not taken at the trial, the only objection being that it was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, and it is well settled that under this general objection a party cannot upon appeal urge an objection which is merely formal or special, and which, if it had been pointed out when the evidence was offered, might have been obviated. (Crocker v. Carpenter, 98 Cal. 418.) The court in finding 6 finds that the San Bernardino National Bank was a corporation, and the seal affixed to the deed was evidence that it was a corporate act. (Burnett v. Lyford, 93 Cal. 117.) If the plaintiff would claim as a fact that the grantor was not a corporation, it was incumbent upon it either to make the objection when the deed was offered in evidence, or to offer evidence to that effect. The recitals in the judgment roll and in the sheriff's deed, as well as the identity of the name of the grantee in the sheriff's deed with that of the grantor in the deed offered in evidence, together with the recital in such deed that the property was the same as that conveyed by the sheriff, giving its place of record, supports the finding that the grantor was a corporation.
4. The court did not err in receiving in evidence the map
5. It was competent to show by oral testimony that the tract of land known as “Colton addition” is within the limits of the city of Colton. (Heinlen v. Heilbron, 97 Cal. 101.)
The judgment and order denying a new trial are affirmed.
Garoutte, J., and Paterson, J., concurred.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THE COLTON LAND AND WATER COMPANY v. DANIEL SWARTZ
- Cited By
- 30 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Evidence—Judgment Roll—Latee of Two Judgments Alone Considered.— Tuere can properly be but one judgment in a judgment roll, and if two judgments are found therein, the later in point of time is the only one which can be considered as a part of the judgment roll, and the fact that the earlier judgment is hound up with the roll can not impair the admissibility of the judgment roll in evidence, or affect the later judgment which alone forms part of it. Id. —Sale under Later Judgment—Collateral Attack—Vacation of Earlier Judgment—Presumption. — Where a judgment roll is offered in evidence which improperly contains two judgments, it will be conclusively presumed upon collateral attack upon a sale under the later judgment, that the earlier judgment was vacated by consent of the parties, or under such circumstances as to justify its vacation by order of the court, and that an order vacating the earlier judgment, which forms no part of the judgment roll, appears in the minutes of the court, and it is not necessary in order to sustain such sale to offer any evidence that the former judgment was annulled. Id.—Ejectment—Sale under Execution—Judgment—Effect of Appeal— Execution not Stayed.—In an action of ejectment, where the defendant claims the right to the possession of the property through a sale under an execution, it is necessary for him to introduce in evidence the judgment as the basis of the execution, and if the enforcement of the judgment has not been stayed, the fact that an appeal therefrom has been taken does not prevent the judgment from being received in evidence and considered, as a collateral fact in support of the execution. Id.—Deed of Corporation—Seal—Contents of Deed—Capacity of Grantor — Objection upon Appeal.—If the grantor of a deed is in fact a corporation, and the corporation seal is affixed thereto, a statement in the deed that it is incorporated is not essential, and an objection upon appeal, that a deed offered in evidence at the trial does not show upon its face that the grantor was a corporation, will not he considered where the only objection to its introduction taken at the trial was the general objection that the deed was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, there being no proof that the grantor was not a corporation in fact, and no objection urged upon that ground in the court below. Id. — General Objections—Special Objection which Might be Obviated.— Under a general objection to evidence, a party cannot upon appeal urge an objection which is merely formal or special, and which, if it had been pointed out when the evidence *as offered, might have been obviated. Id. — Map of City Lots—Deposit for Record — Acknowledgment not Re-' quired. — A map is not an “instrument” which affects the title or possession of real properly, within the meaning of the recording act, nor is it an instrument which is to be executed by the party who prepares it, or of which an execution can be acknowledged; but it is sufficient if it be deposited in the recorder’s office, and a map so deposited is properly referred to as being of “record” therein, and may he received in evidence, even though it be not acknowledged. Id. —Parol Evidence—Location op Addition to City.—Parol evidence is admissible to show that a tract of land described in a deed as a part of “ Colton addition ” lies within the limits of the city of Colton.