26 Cal. 393 | Cal. | 1864
This appeal is from a judgment dismissing the complaint in an action to quiet title, and from the order denying a new trial. The facts found by the Court below are amply sufficient to justify the judgment, and, unless some error appears from the statement to have been committed, which entitles the plaintiff to a new trial on the issues of fact, the judgment must be affirmed.
The plaintiffs claim title in the wife. It was admitted by the parties that on December 6, 1850, title in fee simple to the premises in question was in one Maria B. Gimmy. Plahitiffs proved occupancy by themselves since 1852 ; that they erected the improvements on the land; that the value of the premises is from twenty thousand dollars to twenty-five thousand dollars; that Maria B. Gimmy on the 23d of January, 1857, executed a conveyance of the premises to Anna M. Gimmy, who was then the wife of John G-. Ghnmy, for the consideration, as expressed in the deed, of one thousand dollars ; that on the 10th day of March, 1862, (about a month before the commencement of this suit,) said Anna M. Gimmy (who had then been divorced from her husband, John G-. Gimmy,) executed in favor of the plaintiff, Sarah Landers, a conveyance of the said premises, purporting to be a gift, and then rested. The defendant offered testimony to show, and the Court found the following facts : First, title in Maria B. Gimmy, as before stated; Second, the execution of a power of attorney by Maria B. Gimmy, in the State of Pennsylvania, on the 3d of February, 1852, to her son, John G. Gimmy,
Upon these facts the title is clearly in defendant Bolton. We do not understand that this proposition is seriously controverted. But it is insisted that the testimony upon which the second finding is based was improperly admitted, and if admissible, that it is insufficient to sustain the finding. The power of attorney from Maria B. Grimmy to John Gr. Grimmy was not acknowledged before a proper officer, and for that reason it was not regularly recorded. The acknowledgment being void, it is contended that the instrument is a nullity, and conferred no power whatever on John Gr. Grimmy to convey the land, and various provisions of the “Act concerning conveyances ” are cited to sustain this view.
We have carefully examined the several sections of the Act, and are satisfied that a conveyance, as between the parties to it, is valid, and passes the title without acknowledgment or record. And this was the opinion of the Court in Ricks v. Reed, 19 Cal. 553. The acknowledgment is only the mode provided by law for authenticating the act of the parties, so as to entitle the instrument to record and make it notice to subsequent purchasers, and to entitle it to be read in evidence without other proofs. If purchasers neglect to have their deeds properly authenticated and recorded, they will be liable to have their title divested by subsequent conveyances to innocent parties, and to the further inconvenience of being compelled to prove their execution when called upon to put them in evidence. By sections ten, eleven, fourteen, and other sections of the Act, the execution of the conveyance may be proved by the subscribing witnesses, and when the subscribing witnesses are dead or cannot be had, the end may be accomplished by proving the handwriting of the party and of the
Section thirty-one provides that neither the certificate of acknowledgment, or of proof, shall be conclusive, but may be rebutted; and section thirty-two, that if it shall be made to appear “ that any such proof was taken upon the oath of an incompetent witness, neither such conveyance or instrument, nor the record thereof, shall be received in evidence until established by other competent proof 1”
In such a case the certificate of acknowledgment or proof upon rebutting the prima facie case becomes a nullity, as being false or unauthorized, and the deed stands as if there was no certificate. But the deed is nevertheless good under the Act, and when “ established by other competent proof,” is authorized to be received. It is apparent from these several provisions of the Act, that the deed exists as a valid instrument without any acknowledgment or proof; but to entitle it to record, or to be read in evidence without further proof, it must
The view we have taken accords with the legislative construction of the Act, as manifested in the supplementary Acts of 1860 and 1863. (Laws of 1860, p. 357,* Laws of 1863, p. 760.) The Act of 1860, section one, provides, that “all instruments of writing now copied into the proper books of record of the office of the County Recorders of the several counties of this State shall, after the passage of this Act, be deemed to impart to subsequent purchasers and incumbrancers, and all other persons whomsoever, notice of all deeds, mortgages, powers of attorney, contracts, conveyances, or other instruments, so far as, and to the extent that, the same may be found recorded, copied or noted, in the said books of record, notwithstanding any defect, omission or informality existing in the execution, acknowledgment, certificate of acknowledgment, recording, or certificate of recording the same; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect any rights heretofore acquired in the hands of subsequent grantees or assignees.”
Here the Legislature assume that the instruments referred to are valid as between the parties to them, notwithstanding their defects, and provide that the records of such defective instruments shall, nevertheless, thereafter impart notice to all other persons whomsoever of their contents. And section two provides, that certified copies shall be admissible in evidence upon the same terms as other instruments duly executed
' With respect to the conveyances by married women in this and other States, referred to by counsel, a different policy prevails. For the purpose of protecting her against fraud, coercion and undue influence of any kind, the acknowledgment of the wife is made a part of the deed itself, or perhaps more properly speaking, an indispensable part of the evidence of its execution. To secure perfect freedom of action, the wife must be examined separate and apart from her husband, and even at the last moment the right of retracting is secured to her. It must appear in the certificate of acknowledgment that she stated that she did not wish to retract. In her case, the certificate cannot be made, as in others, upon proof by subscribing, or other witnesses. The acknowledgment in person before the proper officer, and his certificate in the form prescribed by law is the only evidence admissible that she ever executed the instrument. All other proof in Court or out is incompetent. For these reasons the cases cited by appellants’ counsel relating to conveyances by married women' are inapplicable.
The next objection is, that the execution of the power of attorney from Maria B. to John G. Gimmy was not legally proved. The original was not produced. It appeared from the testimony that there were two subscribing witnesses, neither of whom was produced. It is contended that no sufficient diligence was shown to find and produce the subscribing witnesses—or, if the non-production of the witnesses is sufficiently accounted for, that it was necessary to prove their signatures, or show that it was impracticable to do so, before it was competent to prove the signature of the party to the power of attorney by other witnesses. John G. Gimmy testifies that Maria B. Gimmy, the grantor in the power, is his mother; that at the time of the execution of the instrument, in 1852, she resided at Bethlehem, in the State of Pennsylvania; that he had the power of attorney drawn up by Mr. Moore, an attorney in San Francisco, and sent it to her for
The instrument having been apparently executed and witnessed out of the State, by parties shown to have resided at the time in Pennsylvania, and there being no evidence to show that they were ever in this State, a sufficient presumption is raised that the subscribing witnesses were not within the jurisdiction of the Court to let in secondary evidence of its execution. (Valentine v. Piper, 22 Pick. 89; Newsom v. Luster et al., 13 Ill. 181.) Other cases to the same effect might be cited.
But it is said, that, in the absence of the subscribing witnesses, their signatures must be proved, or it must be shown that, after the exercise of due diligence to procure it, proof of their signatures is unattainable before it is admissible to prove the signature of the party. Conceding this to be so, no greater
But we are by no means satisfied with the rule which requires the handwriting of the subscribing witness to be proved rather than that of the party. Such seems to have been the rule in England, and it was followed in the early cases by a number of the States; but generally, where the question has arisen during the last fifty years, the Judges have expressed great dissatisfaction with it, and only followed it because they •deemed it established. (Clarke v. Saunderson, 3 Bin. 194-199; 6 Bin. 50; 10 S. & R. 199; 4 Rand. 328; Jackson v. Waldron, 13 Wend. 183, 197.)
In New York and other States it seems to have been, latterly at least, restricted to sealed instruments. The reasons attempted to be given for the rule are, to our minds, wholly unsatisfactory. And this seems to be the almost united voice of Judges who have had occasion to refer to it. Witnesses to instruments have no interest in the matter, and rarely, as every one is aware who has had much to do with the execution of documents, know or care anything about the transaction. The person who happens to be nearest is called in and requested to write his name under the word witness, and he does so and departs, often without knowing or caring what the paper is, or who the parties are. When called upon as a witness years afterwards, as every lawyer who has had occasion to prove signatures in Court knows, he rarely remembers anything about the matter. He recognizes his signature, perhaps,
But the rule is a technical one, originally ado|oted by Judges, independent of legislative action, and the tendency of modern decisions where Courts are untrammelled by prior adjudications is, to adopt the more reasonable rule, and in the other Courts to restrict the application of the more unreasonable rule to instruments under seal. The rule of allowing proof of the handwriting of the party when the witnesses cannot be produced without requiring proof of that of the witnesses, has been adopted by many Courts of the highest authority; and it has the sanction of Mr. Greenleaf, as the following citations will show : (Greenleaf Ev. 575 and Note 1; Valentine v. Piper, 22 Pick. 90; Woodman v. Segar, 25 Maine, 90; Yocum v. Barnes, 8 B. Monroe, 496; Sentney v. Overton, 4 Bibb. 445; Mardis v. Shackleford, 4 Ala. 503 ; Cox v. Davis, 17 Ala. 717; Newsom v. Luster, 13 Ill. 185; Homer v. Wallis, 11 Mass. 311.)
The question, so far as we are aware, now arises for the first time in this State. Supported by the foregoing authorities, and, as we conceive, by sound reasons and good sense, we have no hesitation in holding with the Supreme Court of Illinois, in the case cited, that, “As a general rule, whenever the sub
This rule might not apply to instruments which the law requires to be attested by witnesses. In such cases proof of the handwriting of both parties and witnesses might be necessary.
It is further objected that the loss of the power of attorney was not sufficiently proved to let in secondary evidence of its contents, and that the contents were not sufficiently proved. Both objections will be considered together. The Act of 1857 modifying the common law rule as to proving the loss of instruments, provides that “ duly certified copies, regularly recorded * * shall be received in evidence; * # provided it be shown that the originals are not under the control of the party offering said copies, or are lost.” (Laws 1857, p. 317, Sec. 2.) And the Act of 1860, before cited in this opinion, places duly certified copies of all instruments in writing, actually recorded in the Recorder’s office before the passage of the Act, notwithstanding defective execution, acknowledgment, etc., upon the same footing as evidence as certified copies of instruments duly recorded; “provided, that proof shall first be made that the instruments, copies of which it is proposed to use, were genuine instruments, and were, in truth, executed by the grantor, or grantors, therein named.” (Laws 1860, pp. 357, 358, Secs. 1 and 2.) The affidavit of defendant, Bolton, was read, showing that the original power of attorney was not in his possession, or under his control. Gimmy testified that he gave it to Reed, and Reed that he had it recorded, took it away from the Recorder’s office, and afterward, in 1853 or 1854, saw it in the hands of an attorney since dead. It was sufficiently shown not to be under the control of the party under the Act of 1857, as was held in Skinker v. Flohr, 13 Cal. 638, and Hicks v. Coleman, 25 Cal. 122.) John G. Gimmy testified that an attorney named Moore drew the original power of attorney, and that there was hat one—that he sent it to his mother in Pennsylvania to be exe
The' next point we shall notice is, that there was no evidence of a conveyance from Maria B. Gimmy to Joseph L. Beed.
The transcript states, that “ defendant’s counsel offered a deed from Maria B. Gimmy, executed under the power of attorney to Joseph L. Beed for the premises in question, dated July 15, 1852. Witness (Beed) continues: ‘I received same conveyance for the exchange of some property; I have not the conveyance; it was executed under the power of attorney.’ Defendant’s counsel offered and read an affidavit of James B.
It is insisted that “ offering a deed is not giving it in evidence,” and that it could not be in evidence, because Bolton’s affidavit shows that it was not under his control. The fact of putting the deed in evidence is rather loosely stated, it is true. But the reason is manifest. When it was offered, no objection was made to its introduction. The contest was over the power of attorney, which was a necessary link in the chain of title, and as this was not duly recorded, it was the weak point in the chain. The deed could avail nothing if admitted without the power of attorney. No objection being made to the deed, nothing more was necessary to be said about it. As the foundation was laid for introducing a copy, doubtless the record of the deed, or a certified copy, was used, though it is called in the statement a deed. Something called a deed in the statement was offered in evidence, and no objection to its introduction was made, and we must presume it was received and regarded by the Court as being in evidence, for the Court in its third finding expressly finds, “that under the power, contained in said letter of attorney, the said John G-. Grimmy, in the name of said Maria B. Grimmy, on the 15th day of July, 1852, sold and conveyed the said lands to one Joseph L. Beed for the consideration, as expressed in the deed, of twelve hundred dollars—which was duly acknowledged and recorded.”
The deed described in the finding corresponds exactly with the one stated in the transcript to have been offered in evidence; and it is inconceivable that the Court should have made the finding unless the deed or a record copy of it was in evidence. The necessary inference from the record is, that it was in evidence in some form, and the presumptions are all in favor of the correctness of the judgment.of the Court below. Error must be affirmatively shown. No objection to the introduction of the evidence below having been made, probably the attention of the attorneys was not directed to the loose form in which the introduction of the deed was stated in the.
It is further objected, that the attachment proceedings in the case of Robinson and Mead v. Joseph L. Reed were improperly admitted, for the reason that no bond or affidavit was shown as a basis for issuing an attachment. It is wholly immaterial whether the attachment was valid or not. There was a judgment against Reed in the case—an execution was issued on the judgment and levied on the property; and the premises were sold under it, no other parties having acquired rights before the judgment lien attached, dr before the levy under the execution.
Another point is, that there is no evidence to support that part of the thirteenth finding, which finds that French and Robinson (Mead having conveyed to French) conveyed to the defendant, Bolton. At the time the pleadings were filed a replication was necessary, and the statute provided that every material allegation of the answer not specifically controverted by the replication should, for the purposes of the action, be taken as true. The defendants are not shown by the statement to. have introduced any deed from French and Robinson to Bolton, and assuming that none was -introduced, the question is whether there was an issue on that point. The allegation of the answer is as follows :
“And the defendant further says, that, on the 24th day of March, 1862, tlie said French and Robinson, by deed duly executed, acknowledged and recorded, conveyed said premises to this defendant for the sum of seven thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.” Now, this is a distinct allegation that there was a deed duly executed, acknowledged and recorded, and that it conveyed the premises in question for a specified consideration.
The following is the only denial in the replication by which issue is claimed by appellants to have been taken on the allegation : “ And the plaintiffs further deny that said French and
The fact that there was a deed by French and Robinson— that it was duly executed, acknowledged and recorded, is not specifically denied, and is, therefore, under the statute, admitted for the purposes of the trial—as much so as if it were admitted in express terms. And it is in express terms admitted that one was pretended to be made by French and Robinson on the day specified, and that it purported to transfer the said premises to said defendant. Row, if the title to the premises in question was in French and Robinson, and a deed was by them duly executed, acknowledged and recorded, purporting to transfer the said premises to said défendant, it certainly did convey the premises. The mere denial that they conveyed the premises, without denying the facts which constitute a conveyance, is only to deny the effect of the instrument—the conclusion to be drawn from the facts—and not the facts themselves. It is perfectly apparent, also, from an examination of the context of this portion of the replication, that this was all that was intended to be denied. The whole theory of the replication was, not that no deed was executed and delivered by French and Robinson to Bolton, but that they had no title to convey, and, therefore, nothing passed by the deed. And the whole strain of the contest at the trial was upon the issue as to whether Robinson and Mead had any title whatever. But to give the denial its broadest signification, still it does not deny that French and Robinson conveyed the premises. It merely denies that they conveyed them for a sum of money. It puts in issue not the conveyance, but the conveyance for money—for a particular consideration. If they conveyed, it does not matter whether it was for a money consideration or not, and issue is not taken on the material part of the allega
The pleadings were verified by the oaths of the parties, and it was therefore necessary to shape their allegations and denials so as to correspond with at least the admitted facts.The allegations of a pleading are to be taken most strongly against the pleader—the presumption being that he will state his case as strongly in his own favor as the facts will justify. Hence it is necessary that he should make his allegations and denials of matters which he desires to put in issue with distinctness and precision, and without evasion. If this denial is sufficient to raise an issue of fact, the law requiring the verification of an answer to a verified pleading will be of little utility. We think upon the pleadings the defendant was not called upon to put his deed from French and Robinson in evidence.
Assuming the views thus far expressed to be correct, no errqr intervened to affect the finding as to any of the facts material to the determination of the rights of the parties in this action. From the facts found it appears that the title was in Robinson and Mead at the time they conveyed to Landers, on the 15th of March, 1853, and that Landers obtained a good title at that time, subject only to be defeated by a subsequent conveyance from Maria B. Grimmy to some party for a valuable consideration, without notice of his title. At that time she had made no conveyance other than that to Reed. Landers then received a valid consideration for his note and mortgage to Robinson and Mead. The subsequent foreclosure of the mortgage and sale of the premises revested the title in Robinson and Mead, under whom and their grantees, Landers became tenant, and held possession as such, paying rent till March, 1862, at which time a conveyance having been received by Mrs. Landers from Anna M. Grimmy, he repudiated the title of his landlord, and soon after commenced this suit.
The deed of Maria B. Grimmy by her attorney to Beed was duly acknowledged and recorded. It may, perhaps, be doubted whether that of itself did not impart notice without a record of the power of attorney. But the point was not made and it is not necessary to decide it.
On March 1st, 1861, when John Gr. Grimmy conveyed to McCarty, and on March 10th, 1862, when Anna M. Grimmy conveyed to plaintiff Sarah Landers, plaintiff James Landers was in the actual occupation of the premises as tenant of Robinson and Mead and their grantees, and this occupation was notice of the title of his landlord. (Dutton v. Warschauer, 21 Cal. 628.) Besides, at each of those dates, under the provisions of the Act of 1860, before cited, the .record of the power of attorney from Maria B. to John Gr. Grimmey was constructive notice to said purchasers of the title of the first grantees. (Laws 1860, p. 358.)
The other views expressed as to the conveyance to Anna M. Grimmy, apply also to these two conveyances. So, also, Mrs. Landers paid no consideration, the deed to her being a gift. Besides, she was a party to the foreclosure suit and necessarily had notice of the title that was affected by the decree. It is clear, therefore, that neither McCarty nor Mrs. Landers was a purchaser for a valuable consideration without notice of the title now held by defendant Bolton.
Under no view of the facts are the plaintiffs in a position to
Entertaining these views, it is unnecessary to notice the various other points discussed in the briefs. It follows that the judgment must be affirmed, and it is so ordere1
Mr. Justice Rhodes expressed no opinion.