94 P. 379 | Cal. Ct. App. | 1908
Action to quiet title. The land in controversy is a certain lot situated in the town of Dixon, Solano county. The complaint is in the ordinary form of an action to quiet title. Defendant denies the averments of the complaint and avers that at the time the action was commenced he was the owner in fee of the premises. It is further averred that on November 3, 1904, one Josephine Quick was the owner of the land, and on that day conveyed the same to Albert Manning, who on November 9, 1904, conveyed the same to defendant. The answer then sets forth that plaintiff claims title through a deed dated December 2, 1905, from said Josephine *289 Quick and William Quick, her husband; avers that Josephine Quick, on October 5, 1901, filed "a pretended declaration of homestead which declaration is claimed by plaintiff to be a valid, homestead declaration"; that plaintiff took said deed with notice of said deed to said Manning; that at the time said pretended homestead was filed "the house upon said premises was not suitable for the dwelling of a family and was not a dwelling, but was a place of business, to wit, a house of prostitution."
The court made the following findings of fact: That at the commencement of the suit plaintiff was not the owner of the premises; that at that time defendant was the owner in fee thereof; that said Josephine Quick was the owner in fee simple of the land on November 3, 1905, and on that day conveyed the same to said Manning, who sold and conveyed the same to defendant on November 9, 1905; that plaintiff claims title under deed, dated December 2, 1905, "made by William Quick and Josephine Quick, husband and wife"; that at the time of its execution plaintiff had actual notice of the previous grants by Josephine Quick to Manning and by Manning to defendant; that on October 4, 1901, said Josephine "executed and acknowledged in proper form, and on October 5, 1901, recorded . . . a declaration of homestead on said real property"; that at that time "she was a married woman and was the wife of William Quick, the only other member of the family, and was residing upon the said real property, but her family did not then reside upon said real property and that the following recital in said declaration of homestead was untrue, to wit: 'I do now, at the time of making this declaration, actually reside with my family on the land and premises hereinafter described'; and that all other recitals contained in said declaration of homestead were true." The court further found that, at the time of the execution of the homestead, October 4, 1901, "in physical character, the dwelling-house situated on said real property was capable of being used as a human habitation and residence and was actually so used by said Josephine Quick on said October 4, 1901, but was incapable of being a home, by reason of being a house of prostitution; and that by reason of the carrying on of said unlawful business of prostitution in said dwelling-house, the before described declaration of homestead executed on October 4, 1901, *290 was of no force or effect, and was invalid and void." For like reason the court found that the house on the premises "was not suitable for the dwelling of a family and was not such dwelling," but "was a house of prostitution."
As conclusions of law the court found that said premises could not, on October 5, 1901, be selected as a homestead and the declaration of homestead was void, and that plaintiff is entitled to no relief. Judgment was thereupon entered for defendant, from which plaintiff appeals on bill of exceptions.
All the findings of fact adverse to plaintiff are challenged for insufficiency of facts to support them. The undisputed evidence was that at the time the homestead was declared the fee simple title to the lot was in Josephine Quick; that she and her husband first rented the property and were living on it when her husband bought it and the deed was made to Mrs. Quick; that she was then the wife of William Quick and that they both resided at that time on the premises; that the husband worked away from his home at times for different persons in the neighborhood, but made the premises his home and had no other; that the family consisted of Quick and his wife. A copy of the homestead declaration is in the record and conforms in all respects to the requirements of the statute and on its face is valid. The declaration, among other things, stated: "I declare that I have not heretofore made a declaration of homestead; and I declare that my husband has not heretofore made a declaration of homestead; and I, therefore, make this declaration for the joint benefit of myself and husband."
Mrs. Quick testified: "There were three buildings upon this property; a house; a woodshed and a closet. In the house there were four rooms; Mrs. Crandall, my servant, made a bedroom out of the front room, next to that was a sitting-room, then my bedroom and then a kitchen. Those were all the rooms in the house. They were used by each one of us as part of our home at that time. I resided there; that was the only home I had. My husband resided there at that time. He worked on the electric light line; sometimes he went away from Dixon to his work, at other times he worked around near Dixon. All the rooms were convenient for use by Mr. Quick and myself as a home." The property cost originally $125 and was estimated in the homestead declaration to be worth *291 $300. Defendant testified that he paid Manning $200 for it. The evidence that the house was used as a house of prostitution was mostly hearsay and circumstantial, and was based upon the character of the people going to and coming from the place and the character of women occasionally seen there. There was no evidence that women resided in the house and were engaged with Mrs. Quick in carrying on the business of prostitution, or that any persons resided there other than as testified by Mrs. Quick. One of the witnesses testified: "I do not know whether it was a place of business or merely the rendezvous of people." Another witness testified: "I don't know of my own knowledge that the business of prostitution was going on in there, but from others; I concluded so from the fact that certain men from around town were going there." Defendant testified: "Mrs. Quick was living in that house across the street from me; it seemed to be her home so far as I knew; it was capable of being used as a residence, and was at that time the home of this woman." Much of the testimony related to the character of the house some time after the homestead was declared.
Appellant makes the point that his objection to the testimony introduced to prove prostitution by common reputation should have been sustained and that section
"The homestead consists of the dwelling-house in which the claimant resides, and the land on which the same is situated, selected as in this title provided." (Civ. Code, sec.
We do not understand respondent to controvert these propositions. It is said in his brief: "The home that homestead laws were made to protect is the home of decency and respectability, where a man and his wife may live without reproach and their children raised without shame." It is furthermore claimed that the premises were "primarily a place of business and could not be selected as a homestead." (CitingLaughlin v. Wright,
The ideal home which respondent describes is greatly to be desired, but does the law make it a prerequisite to claiming the benefit of a homestead? So far as is disclosed by the homestead act no personal qualifications, touching the moral character of the claimant, are prescribed. Nor does the statute undertake *293
to exclude the vicious, the criminal or the immoral from the protection given by it, or to deprive them from the shelter intended thus to be thrown around the family, however unworthy. The right to declare a homestead on one's home is in no wise dependent upon right living. If we may inquire into one species of immorality, why not into all; and where can a just line of discrimination be drawn? There may be irreconcilable differences between husband and wife; they may be committing acts of cruelty toward each other at times unbearable; the marriage vow may be recklessly violated by one or the other; the children may be surrounded by an atmosphere destructive of moral health or growth and daily witnesses of revolting conduct by their parents, and yet, we see nothing in the law that would prohibit such a family from protecting itself by a valid homestead. The homestead is as much for the benefit of the husband (and children where there are any) as for the wife, and there is not the slightest evidence in this case that the husband was a party or had knowledge of the conduct of his wife and the uses she made of their home in his absence. Judge Baldwin said in Lies v. De Diablar,
Prince v. Hake,
In discussing the subject Mr. Freeman says: "If, however, we concede that the dishonest are not worthy the benefits of the exemption laws, it still seems that we should not, as judges, enforce our peculiar ideas until they had met the supreme approval of the legislature. Judges ought not to pronounce sentence where the law has provided no penalty. Besides, it must be remembered that one of the chief objects of these laws is to protect and provide for the debtor's family, and that this object would be partially subverted by making the benefit of the law depend upon the character of the debtor." It was said in Vandall v. Teague,
The remaining question is, Were the premises used primarily as a place in which to carry on the business of prostitution within the rule laid down in the cases cited by respondent? It becomes necessary to examine these cases. In Laughlin v.Wright,
In the recent case of Estate of Levy,
In Estate of Levy the court, referring to cases cited, said: "These cases are all authority for the proposition that if the building is the actual bona fide residence of a party, he may legally select it and the land on which it is situated as a homestead, even though, incidentally, a part thereof, no matter how large, may be used by him for other purposes than the family residence. . . . In no case has it been decided that where a portion of a building is dedicated to residence purposes, and is actually occupied by the claimant as the home of himself and his family, and such occupation is not merely incidental to the carrying on of some business in other parts of the building, the building and the land on which it is situated cannot be legally selected as a homestead." *297
The undisputed testimony was that Mrs. Quick lived upon the homestead premises and that it was the only house or residence she and her husband then had; the defendant testified that this was her home and the court found that she resided there. There is not a particle of evidence that the primary object of the family in purchasing and occupying the place was to establish and carry on the business of prostitution; that the residence was incidental to the business. On the contrary, whatever of this kind of business was carried on in the house was incident to the residence of the family. Unless we can say that this incidental use destroyed the right to claim a homestead because of its immorality, we cannot say that the homestead was void. That the personal character of the claimant or her personal conduct, however immoral, in conducting her home can be inquired into and alone made the test of her right to a homestead we do not believe. If she can declare a homestead, though she earns a living in part and incidentally by the art of millinery, or renting rooms, or other legitimate occupation, there is no law that would deprive her of this right because she violated the seventh commandment. The cases all hold that the statute is remedial and should be given a liberal construction.
Defendant's title rests upon the deed of Mrs. Quick who, as we have seen, could not alone make a valid conveyance. Plaintiff's title, the homestead being valid, rests upon the deed executed by both husband and wife and conveyed the fee. The findings to the contrary are not supported by the evidence. The judgment is, therefore, reversed.
Hart, J., and Burnett, J., concurred. *298