Assets Corp. v. Perrin Properties, Inc.

119 P.2d 375, 48 Cal. App. 2d 220, 1941 Cal. App. LEXIS 784
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 2, 1941
DocketCiv. No. 6428
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 119 P.2d 375 (Assets Corp. v. Perrin Properties, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Assets Corp. v. Perrin Properties, Inc., 119 P.2d 375, 48 Cal. App. 2d 220, 1941 Cal. App. LEXIS 784 (Cal. Ct. App. 1941).

Opinion

THOMPSON, Acting P. J.

This is an appeal by one of the defendants, Perrin Properties, Incorporated, from a judgment foreclosing liens created by a written agreement and reaffirmed by a former consent judgment on 34,000 acres [222]*222of unimproved timber land in Tehama, Trinity and Mendocino Counties, to secure the payment of an acknowledged indebtedness of $350,000, together with five per cent interest thereon from August 1, 1934.

It is contended the former judgment is void for extrinsic fraud exercised in procuring consent therefor, consisting of failure on the part of Los Angeles Trust & Savings Bank, trustee of the property involved, to disclose to the defendants the known fact that a “transportation problem” existed which effectively .prevented the logging and sale of the timber or the disposal of the lands in question; that the court erred in excluding evidence of that fraud; that the finding of the court that no agreement was made to forbear instituting foreclosure proceedings while reasonable efforts were being conducted to sell the property, provided taxes and fire protection assessments were paid, is not supported by the evidence, and that plaintiff is estopped from asserting that the oral agreement not to bring foreclosure proceedings is unenforcible and void since it has accepted benefits from the agreement.

The record shows that E. B. Perrin and wife were the owners of the 34,000 acres of unimproved timber land which are described in the complaint, together with a large number of cattle and other property located in Arizona. They were the parents of six children, who are named as defendants in this case. February 15, 1922, Mr. and Mrs. Perrin executed a trust agreement affecting the property which is involved in this suit, by the terms of which the Los Angeles Trust and Savings Bank became trustee thereof for the benefit of the adult children. For several years that trust was administered, during which time the bank advanced to the beneficiaries large sums of money aggregating more than a million dollars, some of which loans were represented by promissory notes. The Los Angeles Trust & Savings Bank was succeeded as trustee by Security First National Bank of Los Angeles, and later by Assets Corporation, the plaintiff in this action. March 26, 1932, the trustor, E. B. Perrin, died. His son, E. B. Perrin, Jr., was thereafter appointed executor of his will. The bank assigned to Assets Corporation its claims for the money advanced. The Bank and Assets Corporation threatened suit to enforce payment of the money loaned to the heirs of E. B. Perrin, deceased, who were beneficiaries of the trust. The beneficiaries and heirs subsequently charged the trustees with causing great loss to [223]*223the estate by means of mismanagement in the administration of the trust. January 30, 1935, the trustee, the heirs and beneficiaries, for the purpose of settling all differences between them, signed a written agreement terminating the trust and stipulating to the existence of an indebtedness on the part of the heirs and beneficiaries in the aggregate sum of $350,000, for which they covenanted to execute notes secured by trust deeds creating first liens on the timber lands in question. The notes representing the agreed indebtedness were dated December 1, 1933, and became due four years from that date. They provided for interest at the rate of five per cent per annum from August 1, 1934, payable yearly. The agreement specifically states that the holder of the notes would rely solely on the liens for satisfaction of the debt, and that there was to be no personal liability on the part of the makers of the notes beyond the security therefor created by the trust deeds. The counter-claims against the trustees were waived. The agreement recited that the instrument was signed by the beneficiaries and that its terms were approved by them after they had investigated the trust and all matters with relation thereto and that they were possessed of full knowledge thereof.

The Perrin Properties, Incorporated, was thereupon organized to take title to the timber lands and properties belonging to the heirs and to the beneficiaries of the trust. Subsequently, by consent of all parties, in lieu of the execution of the notes and trust deeds for $350,000, a suit was commenced March 9, 1936, for the purpose of incorporating the terms of the written agreement of compromise in a formal judgment of court. The appellant in this suit and all interested parties appeared in that action and with full knowledge of its terms consented to the judgment which was duly entered in accordance with the express terms of the written agreement. That judgment determines that the heirs represented by Perrin Properties were indebted to Los Angeles Trust and Savings Bank in the sum of $350,000, due four years from December 1, 1933, together with five per cent interest thereon from August 1, 1934, and reestablished the liens provided for in the written agreement to secure the payment of that agreed indebtedness. No payment on account of either principal or interest on that indebtedness was ever made.

[224]*224February 7, 1938, more than four years after the notes became due, this suit was instituted to foreclose the liens on the timber lands. The defendants answered the foreclosure complaint admitting their indebtedness and acknowledging their consent to the rendering of the former judgment creating the liens. They also filed a cross-complaint couched in three counts, the second and third of which were voluntarily dismissed at the time of the trial. The first count alleges that the defendants consented to the rendering of the former judgment but that it was procured by extrinsic fraud of the trustee bank consisting of its failure to disclose to the defendants its knowledge of the fact that a “transportation problem” existed which absolutely prevented the sale of the timber or lands. It was also alleged, as a defense to this suit for foreclosure, that the trustee bank orally agreed not to enforce the former judgment while the defendants were engaged in bona fide efforts to sell the lands provided they paid the taxes and charges for forest fire protection in the meantime, which conditions they fulfilled.

Findings were adopted favorable to the plaintiff in every essential respect. The court specifically found that the allegations of the cross-complaint, with regard to the asserted fraud on the part of the trustee bank, in failing to disclose to the defendants its knowledge of the existence of a transportation problem incident to the operation of a lumber enterprise on the land in question, were untrue. It was also affirmatively determined that the defendants had full knowledge of that problem, and that they were afforded reasonable opportunity to sell the property before this suit was commenced ; that neither the plaintiff nor its predecessors in interest promised to refrain from foreclosing the liens for any period of time, but that the defendants owe the debt alleged in the complaint, and are in default with respect thereto.

Judgment for the principal sum alleged with interest and counsel fees was thereupon rendered against the defendants in the aggregate sum of $439,042.33, together with a decree of foreclosure of the liens and for sale of the mortgaged properties in the manner provided by law, to satisfy the. indebtedness. It was held that the plaintiff was not entitled to a deficiency judgment for any sum beyond the aggregate amount recovered from the sales of the lands impressed with the liens. [225]

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Bluebook (online)
119 P.2d 375, 48 Cal. App. 2d 220, 1941 Cal. App. LEXIS 784, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/assets-corp-v-perrin-properties-inc-calctapp-1941.