Fedele v. Dowling

261 P.2d 295, 120 Cal. App. 2d 427, 1953 Cal. App. LEXIS 1957
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 28, 1953
DocketCiv. No. 4811
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 261 P.2d 295 (Fedele v. Dowling) 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
Fedele v. Dowling, 261 P.2d 295, 120 Cal. App. 2d 427, 1953 Cal. App. LEXIS 1957 (Cal. Ct. App. 1953).

Opinion

GRIFFIN, Acting P. J.

Plaintiff’s original complaint sought judgment for $8,533, plus interest against defendant and appellant for breach of an oral agreement to purchase plaintiff’s interest in the D. G. Granite Business owned by plaintiff and Paul E. Burton. Defendant answered and claimed that the agreement was in writing and according to its interpretation the sale was made upon different terms from those alleged in the complaint.

During the course of trial the court suggested that plaintiff amend his complaint to conform to the proof. The amendment was made where in one cause of action plaintiff sought to recover $8,000 on the breach of a claimed oral agreement to sell. In a second cause of action he sought to recover $1,100, claimed to be due for unpaid labor claims payable under some oral agreement, which agreement was confirmed by a written agreement. In a third cause of action plaintiff claimed there was a written agreement by defendant to. pay $7,500, less the amount of certain repair bills agreed upon, for the interest in the business, as ■ well as $1,100 wages which the parties agreed were due. The fourth cause of action was for $8,000, excluding the repair bills and wage claims, predicated upon a contract entered into by mutual mistake, in which reformation of the contract is sought. In a fifth cause of action declaratory relief is sought declaring the respective rights of the parties. Copies of the writings are attached to the amended complaint.

After plaintiff rested and during the production of defendant’s evidence, defendant sought to have his answer amended to show claimed fraud and misrepresentation on the part of the plaintiff relating to the amount of the repair bills. The motion was granted but it does not appear that.such [429]*429an amendment was filed. The court entered judgment for $8,770 plus interest, and defendant appealed.

The evidence shows that plaintiff and Burton were co-partners doing a granite business under the name of Hilldale Trucking Company upon property leased from one Kelly Yount.

The granite company owned certain equipment used in the business which was subject to certain purchase liens amounting to $2,867. Plaintiff decided to sell his interest in the business in which he claimed he had an $8,000 investment. It is plaintiff’s testimony that early in August, 1951, in response to an ad, defendant orally agreed and arranged to purchase the interest of plaintiff for $8,000, but defendant did not appear at the escrow office the next day; that about two weeks later the parties again met in an attorney’s office with Mr. Yount and the deal was outlined. On August 18, 1951, defendant, Burton, Yount and others met at the partnership office and defendant presented a typewritten proposal (Exhibit B) which he had prepared and in which it is stated: “I propose to buy the D. G. Business . . .’’on certain conditions, one, to place $100 in escrow; two, defendant to take possession on August 20th, and Burton to give clear title to equipment (listing it). Then follows a notation written in green ink: 11 Title to pass at once. ’ ’ Then follows a sentence: “Including repair bills past and to put in running condition,” with a line drawn through this sentence with green ink. Then follows the typed statement: “I will pay . . . Fedeli $7500.00 less that amount of money necessary to clear the above equipment including the current and past repair bills. . . . Mr. Yount will furnish me a lease, immediately, on the entire set-up, Mr. Burton having signed off his lease to Mr. Yount.” The lease was to run for five years at $500 per month, starting September 1, 1951, with an option to purchase, Yount to underwrite the operation to the extent that if the business did not show a net profit of $1,500 per month for the first six months Yount was to give one year free rent. This exhibit is signed by Yount, and Burton and contains some pencil notations which the several parties endeavored orally to interpret to the court, but they did not agree upon their meaning.

At the same time Burton and Yount signed a receipt written in green ink and prepared by defendant, reciting: “Received from . . . Dowling . . . $100.00 which is deposit [430]*430. . . for the purchase of D. P. Granite Business . . . and to include lease on entire Hilldale Granite Pit. . . . Deal as per copy attached. Possession as of close of business 8/18/51.” Then on a separate paper, written and signed by defendant (Exhibit 3) he recites: “In connection with purchase of D. P. Granite Business from Paul Burton I agree to pay bal. due on” the described equipment, and “wages due” to certain named individuals “when title to above equipment passes into my hands. Wages not to exceed $1100.00.”

Plaintiff’s evidence shows that defendant, at the time of the signing of these documents, orally agreed to pay the $7,500, plus $500, which was the amount then shown to have been paid by plaintiff to Burton, totaling $8,000, which sum plaintiff claimed he had invested in the business. The evidence further shows that defendant, in addition, was to pay the repair bills and labor claims indicated. It is claimed by plaintiff that Exhibit 3 was executed when the defendant orally agreed to pay additional money over and above that proposed in Exhibit B.

Defendant offered in evidence a typewritten copy of his proposal (Exhibit C) on which the deposit figure of $100 had been changed to “$4000.” The notation “title to pass at once” was not inserted on it. No green ink line had been drawn through the sentence pertaining to repair bills as above indicated in Exhibit B, but a black ink line struck out the line: “less that amount of money necessary to clear the above equipment including the current and past repair bills.” It is defendant’s position that this writing, without the modifications, was the ultimate contract agreed upon; that the $4,000 escrow deposit was to include the repair and labor items, and that any claimed balance due included payments due on equipment and that the total due under the contract amounted to no more than $3,802.39, payable when clear title was furnished to defendant.

It appears that defendant took possession of the business the day following the agreement entered into on August 18th, and was furnished a lease by Yount; that he continued to operate the business; that he did not pay the $1,100 labor claim agreed upon; that plaintiff was compelled to pay this amount for defendant; that defendant did pay $2,867 liens on the equipment and then immediately sold and disposed of a major portion of it and repurchased other equipment. Apparently there was a claimed violation of the lease from Yount to defendant on the part of defendant. No money [431]*431was paid on it under the claim that defendant had not realized $1,500 per month net profit from the business, or that defendant exercised the option to purchase the property under its terms. Yount padlocked the premises. Defendant brought an action against him for specific performance and obtained a temporary restraining order. That action is still pending.

It appears that the State Board of Equalization made a claim for sales tax on the transaction, for $2,273.22. A balance due of $300 on a United States government lien was paid by plaintiff during the course of trial. Defendant has paid nothing further to plaintiff since taking possession of the property and continually refuses to pay. This action followed. After trial the court found generally in favor of plaintiff’s interpretation of the oral agreement, as supported in part by the writings in evidence.

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Related

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277 P.2d 520 (Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
261 P.2d 295, 120 Cal. App. 2d 427, 1953 Cal. App. LEXIS 1957, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fedele-v-dowling-calctapp-1953.