148 P. 938 | Cal. | 1915
The defendant appeals from the judgment and from an order denying its motion for a new trial.
The complaint sets forth a cause of action to quiet the title of the plaintiff in a tract of land against the unfounded claim of the defendant. The answer denies the title of the plaintiff and alleges that the defendant is the owner of the land in controversy. The defendant's title is derived from a deed executed by the county tax-collector on behalf of the state of California to William O. Maxwell based upon a sale of the property for delinquent taxes levied and assessed for the year 1902. Maxwell thereafter conveyed the property to the defendant. The court made findings holding the alleged tax title of defendant invalid upon the ground that the property was not duly or legally assessed for the year 1902, the tax upon which the delinquent tax-sale was based.
The only defect urged against the validity of the assessment is the absence of the dollar mark at the head of the column in the assessment-book headed "Value of real estate other than city and town lots." The evidence shows that this defect existed. We think, however, that other parts of the assessment-book completely cured the omission. The essentials required in an assessment-book are set forth in section 3650 of the Political Code. That section provides that "the assessor must prepare an assessment-book, with appropriate headings as directed by the state board of equalization, in which must be listed all property within the county, under the appropriate head." The section then proceeds to state the matters that must be specified under appropriate headings. The evidence shows that the state board of equalization prepared the form of assessment-book by requiring a number of columns with distinct headings. The column headed "value of real estate other than city and town lots" comes first after the columns provided for a description of the real property. In this column no dollar mark was printed. It is divided into perpendicular lines appropriate for the insertion of a figure between each line. In these lines were the figures "160," and the column as it appears on the book has nothing to indicate whether the figures represent dollars, cents, or mills. If this *146
constituted the entire assessment-book upon this subject we should be compelled to sustain the decision of the court below upon the authority of Fox v. Townsend,
In view of the possibility of another trial, it is proper to mention another point urged for reversal. After the beginning of the action and before the trial, the plaintiff conveyed to one Murray an undivided three-fourths interest in the land in question. It also appeared that the title he holds of the remaining fourth is held by him in trust for another person. The claim of the appellant is that because of these facts the court could not proceed with the case, or give judgment in favor of the plaintiff, in case it should properly decide that the plaintiff was the owner thereof at the time the action was begun. This claim is without merit. Where a transfer by the plaintiff of the property in controversy occurs after the beginning of the action it is optional with the transferee to continue the action in the name of the original plaintiff, or to have himself substituted and proceed in his own name. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 385.) If he elects the former alternative the court may give judgment according to the conditions existing at the time the case was begun. The transferee in that event must be deemed to have elected to trust the original plaintiff to make over the title to him in some appropriate manner after the judgment has become final.
The judgment and order are reversed.
Sloss, J., and Lawlor, J., concurred. *148