225 P. 765 | Cal. Ct. App. | 1924
Plaintiff brought an action for damages against defendant as executor of the last will of B. F. Childs, deceased, based upon the failure of said Childs to comply with the terms of an alleged oral contract by which it was agreed that if plaintiff would give up her home in the state of Kansas and come to California with the said Childs and there continue to serve him as she had done in the state of Kansas in the capacity of housekeeper, cook, companion, and nurse so long as he lived, he would buy for plaintiff a home better than "Maple Crest" (which was the name of the home of said Childs in the state of Kansas), and that he would also see that plaintiff would be comfortable the rest of her life and would afford her an opportunity to educate her young daughter.
Judgment was rendered for plaintiff, and defendant appeals.
The points presented by appellant are: That the alleged contract was too indefinite and uncertain to admit of enforcement; that the findings of the court, the conclusions *132 of law, and the judgment therein are not supported by the evidence.
The findings of the court were to the effect that the alleged contract was actually made by the parties; that pursuant thereto plaintiff performed her part of the agreement; that in accordance with said agreement and as a part thereof said Childs purchased a home for plaintiff in the city of San Diego, California, at an agreed price of $10,000 and caused the same to be conveyed to plaintiff; that said Childs paid in cash on said purchase the sum of $3,000, leaving a balance of $7,000 to be paid on or before five years, with seven per cent interest, in accordance with the terms of a promissory note secured by a mortgage on the premises executed by plaintiff at the request of said Childs; that Childs thereafter died without having paid said $7,000, the balance of the purchase money; that the plaintiff was obliged to and did pay interest on said indebtedness amounting to the sum of $490; and that she duly presented her claim for the sum of $7,490 against the estate of said Childs, which claim was by the defendant herein, as said executor, rejected. As conclusions of law the court found that plaintiff was entitled to recover the sum of $7,490 from defendant, and judgment was ordered accordingly.
While the evidence in the case is not of that character which might be called conclusive, it is substantial in quality and fully authorizes the conclusions reached thereon by the trial court.
[1] A general rule, supported by many authorities not only in this state, but as well in other jurisdictions, is that contracts of the nature of that upon which action is brought herein are valid and enforceable, provided only that the precise act which is to be done be clearly ascertainable. (Civ. Code, sec.
The judgment of the lower court was right and just, and it should be affirmed. It is so ordered.
Conrey, P. J., and Curtis, J., concurred.
A petition by appellant to have the cause heard in the supreme court, after judgment in the district court of appeal, was denied by the supreme court on May 5, 1924.
All the Justices concurred.