In re L.A. Tr. Co.

158 Cal. 603
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 19, 1910
DocketL. A. No. 2585
StatusPublished

This text of 158 Cal. 603 (In re L.A. Tr. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re L.A. Tr. Co., 158 Cal. 603 (Cal. 1910).

Opinion

ANGELLOTTI, J.

This is an appeal by the Los Angeles Savings Bank, a corporation, from an order of the superior court, granting an application of the Los Angeles Trust Company for authorization to change its name to “Los Angeles Trust & Savings Bank,” made under the provisions of sections 1275-1279 of the Code of- Civil Procedure. Appellant objected in the superior court to the granting of such application on the ground substantially that the proposed name so closely resembled its own name that it would tend to deceive the public as to the identity of the two corporations, with the result that it would be injured thereby.

The application of respondent, complying fully with the provisions of section 1276 of the Code of Civil Procedure, was filed with the clerk of the superior court of Los Angeles County during the forenoon of July 27, 1909, and an order was thereupon made by Judge Wilbur, one of the twelve judges of said court, directing all persons interested in said matter to appear in his department on August 24, 1909, at 10 o’clock a. M. to show cause why the application should not be granted, and directing publication for four consecutive weeks of a copy of the order in the Los Angeles Express, a newspaper of general circulation in the county published daily except Sunday. This paper was what is known as an evening paper, being published in the afternoon. The order to show cause was published therein from and including July 27, 1909, to and including August 23, 1909, as often as said paper was published, viz.: every day except Sunday. On [606]*606August 24, 1909, the matter came on for hearing before Judge Wilbur, respondent and appellant both appearing. Evidence on behalf of the parties was received, and on August 25, 1909, the matter was submitted for decision. On August 27, 1909, counsel for both parties attended at the judge’s chambers at his request, and were informed by him that by reason of certain facts that had come to his knowledge it was possible, that he was disqualified as matter of law to act as judge in such proceeding. Evidence was received upon the question of Judge Wilbur’s disqualification, and on September 2, 1909, Judge Wilbur ordered the matter transferred to department 11 of said court, presided over by Judge Willis, for further proceedings. On September 3, 1909, the matter was taken up before Judge Willis in department 11, both parties being present. Appellant objected to being compelled to proceed at once with the hearing, claiming that such procedure was in violation of a rule of the court requiring five days' notice and that it was not ready to proceed. Its objections were overruled and a hearing was then had de novo. There is no pretense that it did not produce all the evidence that it desired to present, or that it was at all injured by being compelled to proceed with the hearing on that day. In its order granting respondent’s application the trial court specifically found in favor of the allegations of respondent’s application, and against the allegations of appellant’s remonstrance. The facts in regard to the question of Judge Wilbur’s alleged disqualification were substantially as follows: There was . no pretense that there was any actual bias. Judge Wilbur and four other gentlemen were the trustees of a trust for charitable purposes known as the Hollenbeck Home, the property held by them as said trustees being certain land on a portion of which a home for indigent women and homeless children was to be erected, and twenty-five shares of stock in the First National Bank of Los Angeles. Certain of the directors of said national bank held in trust for the stockholders of said bank all of the stock of respondent trust company. The Hollenbeck Home trustees received no compensation and had no personal interest in the execution of their trust other than such interest as any person acting as a trustee of a charitable trust might have in its welfare.

Upon the facts we have stated, various technical contentions [607]*607having no real connection with the merits of appellant’s opposition to respondent’s application are made by learned counsel for appellant.

Although the hearing was had and decision made by a judge admittedly qualified to act, Judge Willis, it is urged that the proceeding must fail because the order to show cause was made by Judge Wilbur, who it is claimed, was disqualified to act at all, section 170 of the Code of Civil Procedure providing that no judge shall “sit or act” in “any action or proceeding, to which he is a party or in which he is interested.” Assuming purely for the purposes of this decision that upon the facts stated Judge Wilbur was disqualified to sit or act in this proceeding, we are of the opinion that the making of the order to show cause was not such action as is prohibited on the part of the disqualified judge. Section 1277 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that upon the filing of the application in the form prescribed by section 1276 of the Code of Civil Procedure the court shall thereupon make an order reciting certain things, and “directing all persons interested in said matter to appear before the court, at a time and place specified, not less than four or more than eight weeks from the time of making said order, to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.” No discretion whatever is given to the court in the matter of making such order. It must be made upon the filing of a petition in the form prescribed by law, and the court simply fixes therein the date when the matter shall come on for hearing. Section 170 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that the provisions “shall not apply to the arrangement of the calendar, or to the regulation of the order of business, nor the power of transferring the . . . proceeding to some other court.” The whole purpose of the order to show cause is simply to give notice to the general public of the making of the application and of the time when the same will come on for hearing, so that any person interested may present his objections. In making it the court is simply fixing the time of hearing and directing the notice expressly required by the law. Such action on the part of a judge may well be held to be action relating solely to the arrangement of the calendar and regulation of the order of business. It is not at all analogous to such action as is involved in extending the time within which a [608]*608bill of exceptions may be filed, where the judge must determine whether good cause for such extension is shown by the applicant. (See Johnson v. German etc. Ins. Co., 150 Cal. 336, [88 Pac. 985].) 1

Section 1277 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that the time of hearing specified in the order must be “not less than four or more than eight weeks” from the time of making the order, and that a copy of the order must be published for four successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation printed in the county, if a newspaper be printed therein. The claim that these requirements were not complied with finds no support in the facts above set forth. The requirement as to a full four weeks’ publication was complied with by the publication in the Los Angeles Express on every publication day from and including July 27, 1909, to and including August 23, 1909, and such four weeks’ publication was completed with the publication in the issue of August 23, 1909. (See Derby v. City of Modesto, 104 Cal. 515, 522, [38 Pac. 900] ; Sherwood v. Wallin, 154 Cal. 735, 738, [99 Pac.

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