200 P. 1051 | Cal. | 1921
[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *128 Defendant appeals from a judgment in favor of plaintiff in an action to enforce a forfeiture of title to real property in the county of Los Angeles.
On July 11, 1910, the Verdugo Canyon Land Company entered into a contract with the defendant, Winifred Marr, for the sale to the latter of a vacant lot which was situated in a tract owned by the said company designated as "Tract No. 250." Defendant at that time entered into possession of the land and, on August 4, 1910, erected on the property a small cottage, which she still maintains thereon. Upon completing payment of the purchase price, on July 29, 1911, defendant received a deed to the property from the said Verdugo Canyon Land Company. Both the deed and the contract of sale in pursuance of which the deed was executed contained the "express condition" that "no residence, hotel, church, or schoolhouse shall be erected or maintained upon the property last above described of a less value than $2,000.00," providing, further, that, "In the event of a violation of any of these conditions or reservations, this instrument shall become null and void, the grantee herein shall forfeit, all right or title to said property and all interest therein shall revert without notice to the grantor herein.
"And it is further understood that the stipulations aforesaid are to apply to and bind the heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns of the respective parties."
Plaintiff, Los Angeles Arizona Land Company, claims, and the trial court found, that plaintiff became and now is the owner of the right to sue for and enforce forfeitures against those who purchased property in tract No. 250 from said Verdugo Canyon Land Company in the event that they violate the conditions of their respective deeds. The trial court also found that plaintiff became and now is the owner of various lots in the vicinity of defendant's lot and has sold and conveyed to various other purchasers divers *129 and sundry other lots in said vicinity; that the restriction above quoted was imposed for the purpose of enhancing the value of those lots in the vicinity of defendant's lot which were owned by the Verdugo Canyon Land Company at the time of the deed to defendant; that the cost and value of the house on defendant's lot does not exceed the sum of $225, and that the said building is a detriment to the surrounding property. Apparently no complaint was made on account of the maintenance of the cottage on defendant's lot until the month of April, 1913, when plaintiff informed defendant of its intention to enforce the condition as to the value of buildings maintained upon the property and requested her to remove the cottage from the lot or to move it in the rear in the position of an outhouse. Defendant having refused to comply with the notice, plaintiff instituted the present action wherein it sought and obtained a decree that all defendant's right, title, and interest in and to the land in question was forfeited to plaintiff and that the deed to defendant was set aside and canceled. From this decree defendant appeals.
[1] At the outset it must be conceded that the uncompromising language of the deed to defendant requires that the building restriction clause above quoted be construed as a condition subsequent, the breach of which may defeat defendant's title. (Firth v. Marovich,
[2] It is settled in this state that a right to the reconveyance of property upon breach of a condition subsequent, such as that reserved to defendant's grantor, is a contingent estate which may be transferred. (Johnston v. City of LosAngeles,
But the plaintiff contends that, notwithstanding the insufficiency of the evidence to support this particular finding, nevertheless the trial court has made other findings of fact from which can be deduced the ultimate finding that plaintiff is the owner of the right to sue for and enforce a forfeiture against defendant. However, the remaining findings on this issue fail to sustain a judgment in plaintiff's favor. As previously stated, the trial court found that, on December 8, 1911, the Verdugo Canyon Land Company conveyed to the Fruit World Publishing Company all of the former's interest in and to the tract in question, including the right to enforce forfeitures. There is a subsequent finding that the Verdugo Canyon Land Company forfeited its charter for nonpayment of the annual license tax and has never been rehabilitated or revived (there being no finding of the date of forfeiture), that thereupon the directors of said corporation became its trustees with full power to settle its affairs and that said trustees, by deed dated December 10, 1913, conveyed to plaintiff all the said company's right, title, and interest in and to tract 250, including lot 54 (defendant's lot), and in the sales of lots made by it to purchasers, together with its right to sue for and enforce forfeitures of said lots. The court's failure to find the date upon which the charter of the Verdugo Canyon Land Company was forfeited was evidently due to an oversight, for blank spaces are left for the insertion of the dates. [4] Although there is no express finding of the date of the forfeiture of the charter, there is a necessary implication that the conveyance of December 8, 1911, to the Fruit World Publishing Company was executed by the Verdugo Canyon Land Company before it forfeited its charter, for, where a corporation has failed to pay its license tax and a forfeiture of the charter has been declared, it thereupon ceases to be a corporation, *132
and has no right to dispose of its property. (Newhall v.Western Zinc Mining Co.,
There is an additional reason for the reversal of the judgment. In her second amended answer defendant pleads that, in the month of July, 1911, the Verdugo Canyon Land Company, with knowledge of the existence of the building on defendant's lot, accepted defendant's final payment of *133 $1,350 and delivered to her a deed to the lot. These acts, defendant alleges, constitute a waiver and estop the said grantor, and those claiming under it, from seeking to enforce any forfeiture of title against defendant for the maintenance of the said building upon the lot. The conceded facts fully support this contention and justify defendant's claim that the evidence is insufficient to support the finding that defendant's lot is still subject to the building restriction, in so far as the present building is concerned.
[6] While the validity of conditions of this kind is not questioned (Los Angeles Arizona Land Co. v. Marr,
In the case of Los Angeles Arizona Land Co. v. Marr, supra, an earlier appeal in an action involving this same matter, the court merely interpreted the language of the restrictive clauses in defendant's deed and decided that plaintiff had made a prima facie showing of a violation of the building restriction clause by defendant, and, therefore, that a nonsuit was improper. However, upon that appeal the court did not have before it any evidence of waiver.
The judgment is reversed.
Shurtleff, J., Lawlor, J., Wilbur, J., Angellotti, C. J., and Sloane, J., concurred.