Halla v. Bank of America National Trust & Savings Ass'n

45 P.2d 231, 6 Cal. App. 2d 561, 1935 Cal. App. LEXIS 953
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 3, 1935
DocketCiv. No. 9655
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 45 P.2d 231 (Halla v. Bank of America National Trust & Savings Ass'n) 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
Halla v. Bank of America National Trust & Savings Ass'n, 45 P.2d 231, 6 Cal. App. 2d 561, 1935 Cal. App. LEXIS 953 (Cal. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

STURTEVANT, J.

The plaintiff commenced an action to recover a judgment for money. She named as defendants Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association and Commercial Casualty Insurance Company. On the trial before the court sitting without a jury, after all of the evidence had been received and both parties had rested, the trial court granted motions for a nonsuit in favor of Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association, and also ordered judgment in favor of Commercial Casualty Insurance Company. The plaintiff made a motion for a new trial. Her motion was denied and she has appealed. In her complaint she alleged that she is a citizen of San Francisco; that the Bank of America -National Trust and Savings Association is a corporation and is the executor of the last will and testament of A. Porta, deceased; that the Commercial Casualty Insurance Company is a corporation; that on the second day of January, 1932, there was issued to A. Porta a license to act as a real estate broker in the name of Progressive Realty Company, and as a condition A. Porta was required to file and did file with the commissioner of real estate a bond in the sum of $2,000 executed by the Commercial Casualty Insurance Company and conditioned as required by law; that the contents of the bond were as stated in the document pleaded in haec verla in the plaintiff’s complaint; that on the eighth day of February, 1932, “ . . . plaintiff employed” said A. Porta as a real estate agent to purchase for her certain real estate (not describing it) in San Francisco and paid to him $3,000 to enable him to make the purchase; that A. Porta did not make the purchase but converted the $3,000 to his own use; and that on the tenth day of February, 1933, plaintiff filed with the executor her claim for $3,000 which it has not allowed. The claim is not set forth in the com[563]*563plaint, but the answers admitted the filing thereof. As to what may be the contents the court is not advised.

We will first consider the case as made against the defendant bank. As from the beginning both counsel agreed that as to the bank the plaintiff was not entitled to testify regarding any matter or fact occurring before the death of the deceased. Four documents which indicate the payment of moneys were produced from the possession of the plaintiff and introduced. Taking up each chronologically, plaintiff’s exhibit No. 3 is a statement reciting disbursements by the decedent down to April 9, 1930, which amount to $210.44. He charges himself with “interest on $2,000 at 7% from October 1, 1929 to April 1, 1930”, in the sum of $70, which left a balance due plaintiff of $140.44. He then wrote an addendum, “Received from Miss F. Halla $140.50 as payment on house.” No evidence was introduced showing what house. Plaintiff’s exhibit No. 4 is of like tenor. It shows payments by deceased of $152.19. In an addendum thereto he charged himself with “interest $35 from April 1 to July 1, 1930”, and wrote a self-serving declaration, “Bal. due Progressive $117.19.” On the main document he wrote, “Paid August 12, 1930.” Plaintiff's exhibit No. 5 is dated August 7, 1931. It shows a purchase or sale of ‘$7,900. From its face it may be inferred it was a purchase of real estate bought subject to existing bank mortgage, and that $1,500 was paid. But by whom, plaintiff directly or by deceased for plaintiff’s account? The record shows nothing to answer the question. On its face it acknowledges the receipt of $100 for expenses, but it enumerates expenses aggregating $103.10, bank interest $15, and shows a balance due Progressive Realty Co. of $18.10. Then to that instrument there is an addendum, “Applied July 30 interest $35.00”; he subtracts $18.10; and the balance is $16.90. He writes, “Paid in full, A. Porta.” Paid by whom, himself or the plaintiff? The record does not show. If the interest mentioned was his interest payable to the plaintiff, the balance was properly struck but as a receipt the document should have been signed by the plaintiff. If the interest was due decedent he should have added instead of subtracting and the paper should have been signed by decedent. Finally, plaintiff’s exhibit No. 2 is: “Received [564]*564from Mrs. Francesca Halla on March 22nd, 1929, $2000.00. Received on February 8th, 1932 from Mrs. Halla $1000.00. A. Porta.” There is evidence in the record tending to show the purchase by the decedent for the plaintiff’s account of two or more different pieces of real estate and of the sale of at least one piece for her account, but the record does not give the facts nor dates of any one of the transactions. Mr. Perrera became an employee of the decedent in 1930. He testified he knew the facts regarding the plaintiff’s purchase through the decedent of the property at 1306 York Street, but he was not asked to state the facts. Plaintiff’s exhibit 5 is dated August 7, 1931. It shows the purchase or sale of property the price of which was $7,900. It contains a detailed list of the expenses. As the purchaser usually pays such expenses we assume the transaction was a purchase. The record does not contain any evidence giving any description of the property involved. The Rhode Island Street property was sold. When and for how much the record is silent. At least one transaction, according to the exhibits, was conducted through a title company, but no representative of any title company was called as a witness. All deeds were presumptively placed of record, but such facts were not introduced in evidence. The record also discloses that from May 1, 1930, the plaintiff was indebted to the Hibernia Savings and Loan Society on a note bearing interest at $29.33 per month and that the decedent had charge of the making and did make the payments. However, no representative of the bank was called as a witness and the record does not disclose what payments, if any, were made after August 7, 1930. It will be presumed that the evidence on these outstanding factors which we have just enumerated would have been against the plaintiff (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 1963, subd. 6) if it had been introduced. Mr. Bruzza, the owner of the property at 847 Alabama Street, testified that the day before the death of the decedent the latter called on him, asked his price, and stated that decedent made the remark that he had a client who had already given him money to buy the property—two or three thousand dollars—and that she had no more money. No name was mentioned. The witness had never seen the plaintiff. He had heard a woman had called and examined [565]*565the property. No contract was made, but Porta said he would return the next day. He died that night. The bank called as a witness an expert who testified that he had examined the books and papers of the deceased for the purpose of ascertaining how the account stood between the plaintiff and the deceased. Among other things, he testified regarding the purchase of another piece of property, 1372 Rhode Island Street, for the plaintiff. The record showed that the price was $5,400; that a mortgage in the sum of $3,000 was assumed, leaving a balance of $2,400. On that balance $2,000 was paid as a deposit and a check for $400. The record does not show who made the payments. The witness was unable to give the date. The same witness testified that' the last named property was later sold and on February 10, 1931, the deceased paid the plaintiff $2,032.94. As we have shown in another place, the record shows that the Rhode Island Street property was bought about July 29, 1929, hence the expert accountant’s evidence is not helpful. The same witness testifying regarding the accounts as he found them stated that there would be a balance due the deceased of $403.31.

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Bluebook (online)
45 P.2d 231, 6 Cal. App. 2d 561, 1935 Cal. App. LEXIS 953, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/halla-v-bank-of-america-national-trust-savings-assn-calctapp-1935.