Hahn v. Hahn

266 P.2d 519, 123 Cal. App. 2d 97, 1954 Cal. App. LEXIS 1148
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 5, 1954
DocketCiv. 19567
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 266 P.2d 519 (Hahn v. Hahn) 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
Hahn v. Hahn, 266 P.2d 519, 123 Cal. App. 2d 97, 1954 Cal. App. LEXIS 1148 (Cal. Ct. App. 1954).

Opinion

VALLÉE, J.

—Appeal bydefendant Sarah E. Hahn from a judgment decreeing foreclosure of a deed of trust and ordering a sale.

In 1946, Young Hahn, uncle of plaintiff, and defendant were living together as man and wife. They were not married because Young is a Korean by birth and defendant is a Caucasian. They lived together from 1937 until May 29, 1951, when they separated.

In August, 1946, Young and defendant contemplated purchasing a parcel of improved realty for $25,000. Young testified he discussed the purchase with defendant, and how the $25,000 might be raised, and told her, “We only have about $3,000 to begin with, but I told her, ‘We probably can get a loan from the bank, say, five or $8,000’; and then the balance I was going to borrow from my nephew [plaintiff]. . . . She said, ‘Sure, if it’s going to be profitable for us, well, why not do it?’ ”

Young talked to plaintiff and informed him of his and defendant’s plan to buy the property and of their need for a loan to do so. Plaintiff agreed to lend $20,000, to be repaid $2,000 a year, commencing one year thereafter, with interest at 5 per cent. The money was paid to Young by means of several checks mailed to him, at plaintiff’s instructions and directions, by plaintiff’s father, Sai Di Hahn. Young deposited the money in defendant’s bank account. Thereupon, Young and defendant purchased the property. They obtained the purchase price as follows: $3,000 cash from their savings, $8,000 from a bank loan, and $14,000 from the proceeds of the loan from plaintiff. The balance of the $20,000 loan from plaintiff was invested in furniture and in repairing and improving the property. Young testified he had told defendant he “got the money from Mr. S. D. Hahn, through the request of my nephew Arthur [plaintiff], and that the money *99 was sent to us so that we could purchase the property.” Defendant signed the escrow instructions in connection with the purchase. Title was taken in defendant’s name only; it was thought that Young could not hold or take title to realty in his own name because of his Korean birth.

When the first payment of the loan became due in August, 1947, Young and defendant were unable to meet it. Young testified he told defendant they couldn’t raise the money and asked what they should do about it; “ [W]e figured we’d ask him [plaintiff] to take a trust deed on the property for $20,000, and let us pay as we had promised”; the commencement of payment “was to be made a year from the first date when it was due; that would be August of 1947; so, we were to make our first payment in 1948”; and defendant said, “That’s all right.”

Young testified to a conversation he had with plaintiff. He stated he said, “We couldn’t pay you [plaintiff] the first payment as we had agreed orally, but in order to secure the $20,000 you advanced me, how would you like to take a trust deed on the property, and make the payment as usual; $2,000 with five per cent interest a year on the unpaid balance? And he said, 1 Sure, that’s okay.’ ” Plaintiff testified that he had a conversation with Young in August of 1947 concerning the repayment of the loan; he agreed to accept a promissory note and a deed of trust and that they could make the payment the following year.

On August 22, 1947, Young and defendant went to a lawyer and had a promissory note and a deed of trust drawn on the terms and conditions agreed upon. Defendant signed the note and signed and acknowledged duplicate originals of the deed of trust. Young testified the lawyer gave the papers to defendant and advised her to record them; defendant gave the papers to him and told him to keep them in his office safe and to record the deed of trust whenever he got around to it; “She said for me to give Dr. Arthur Hahn a copy of this trust deed, and also . . . the . . . promissory note”; he gave the note and one of the duplicate originals of the deed of trust to plaintiff; one of the duplicate originals of the deed of trust was kept in his safe until January 20, 1948, when he recorded it; when he did, he made a notation on the back of it that it be mailed to defendant; when it came back from the recorder’s office, it was in an envelope addressed to defendant; he delivered it to her. Plaintiff iden *100 tified the original promissory note and the duplicate original of the deed of trust which had not been recorded and testified Young had given them to him sometime in August of 1947.

While defendant and Young were living together, Young managed the financial and business affairs of both, with defendant’s consent. On prior occasions, they had purchased four other rental properties and had taken title in defendant’s name; defendant collected the rents and turned them over to Young; and they were managed and controlled by Young. He signed checks made payable to defendant, with her consent. All income received by either was placed under his management and control.

Defendant denied she ever agreed to the 1946 oral loan or that she ever knew of the use of the proceeds of such a loan to purchase the property. She contended she “really thought” that the money came from the family safe, from accumulated joint funds. She denied she ever knowingly signed the trust deed or the promissory note and contended she thought she had signed papers in favor of Young only, not plaintiff. She also denied she ever delivered the promissory note or deed of trust to Young to be transmitted and delivered by him to plaintiff.

Neither Young nor defendant paid any of the principal or interest on the promissory note. Plaintiff brought this suit for foreclosure of the deed of trust.

The court found: 1. Prom 1937 until May 29, 1951, Young and defendant lived together as man and wife, but were not married. 2. The property- was purchased by Young and defendant for $25,000; title was taken in defendant’s name as her sole and separate property. 3. In August, 1946, Sai Di Hahn, as an agent for plaintiff, forwarded by mail to Young the sum of $20,000, which was used in part on the purchase price of the property, in part on the purchase price of furnishings therefor, and in part for repairs. 4. Young orally agreed to repay the $20,000 at $2,000 a year with interest at 5 per cent a year. 5. On August 22, 1947, defendant made and executed to plaintiff the deed of trust and promissory note for $20,000, and delivered them to Young; Young delivered a copy of the trust deed together with the original promissory note of $20,000 to plaintiff. 6. On January 28, 1948, Young delivered the original deed of trust to the county recorder and instructed the recorder to return the deed of trust after recordation to defendant; and it was thereafter mailed by the recorder to her. 7. Plaintiff is the owner and holder of the *101 deed of trust and promissory note. 8. The note is due and payable, and no part of it has been paid. 9. Plaintiff gave defendant “good valuable” consideration for the note and deed of trust. Judgment for plaintiff followed. Defendant appeals.

Defendant’s specifications of error are; 1. The evidence is insufficient to support the findings. 2. The court erred in failing to make a finding as to the agency of Young to act for her. 3. The court erroneously admitted evidence which was prejudicial to her.

It is first urged that there was no consideration for the promissory note.

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Bluebook (online)
266 P.2d 519, 123 Cal. App. 2d 97, 1954 Cal. App. LEXIS 1148, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hahn-v-hahn-calctapp-1954.