Kofl v. Dunn

176 Cal. App. 2d 204, 1 Cal. Rptr. 278, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1466
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 14, 1959
DocketCiv. No. 23626
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 176 Cal. App. 2d 204 (Kofl v. Dunn) 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
Kofl v. Dunn, 176 Cal. App. 2d 204, 1 Cal. Rptr. 278, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1466 (Cal. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

THE COURT.

Plaintiff Mrs. Kofl and defendant David Dunn and his wife owned adjoining lots in Pomona. A controversy arose as to the boundary line between the lots. Mrs. Kofl commenced this action to enjoin Mr. Dunn from interfering with her use and occupancy of her property. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn filed a cross-complaint in which they sought to quiet title to their lot and to obtain an injunction compelling Mrs. Kofl to remove a wall and other structures which al[206]*206legedly encroached on their lot. Judgment was in favor of Mrs. Kofl upon the complaint and cross-complaint. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn appeal from the judgment.

Appellants contend that the evidence was not sufficient to support the findings regarding an agreed boundary line or the findings regarding adverse possession.

The lots owned by Mrs. Kofi and the Dunns were a part of a parcel of approximately 5 acres which was formerly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Gaul. The Gauls acquired the parcel in 1943. At that time the property immediately south of the Gaul property was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Keiser. By deed dated August 23, 1948, and recorded November 8, 1948, the Gauls conveyed a portion of their property (described as the south 53 feet thereof) to Mr. and Mrs. Black. After the Gauls made that deed, they deposited it in escrow. While the escrow was pending, the Blacks caused a survey to be made of the Gaul property, including the property which the Blacks were purchasing. The survey was made by Mr. Adams, a licensed surveyor, and he prepared a survey map of the property. On that map there was a statement as follows:

“Boundary Line
“The southerly line of the northerly five acres [Gaul property] . . . has been surveyed by C. D. Adams and marked by the monuments indicated on this map. The northerly and southerly portions of . . . [the Gaul and the Keiser property] are now owned by J. L. Gaul & E. T. Keiser respectively. It is hereby mutually agreed that the location of the southerly line of said northerly five acres now owned by Mr. J. L. Gaul is located as shown on this map.”

The statement was dated October 25, 1948, and was signed by the Gauls and the Keisers. The survey map showed that the south line of the Gaul property (which included the portion thereof conveyed to the Blacks) was 222.60 feet from the north line of the Gaul parcel. It thus appears, according to the Adams map, that after the Gauls conveyed the south 53 feet of the property to the Blacks, the south line of the Gaul property (north line of the Black property) was 169.60 feet from the north line of the Gaul property.

After the Blacks acquired the south 53 feet (of the Gaul property), as shown by the Adams map, they built a house and a garage thereon. Mr. Black testified that he “accepted the four points of the [Adams] survey”; he had resided on the property ever since the escrow closed; he had a fence on part of the north boundary of his property.

[207]*207By deed dated November 1,1948, and recorded January 11, 1949, the Gauls conveyed another portion of their property (being 65 feet adjoining the north side of the Black property) to plaintiff (Mrs. Kofl) and her husband. It thus appears, according to the Adams map, that after the Gauls conveyed the 65 feet (adjoining the Black property) to the Kofis, the south line of the Gaul property (which was then the north line of the Kofl property) was 104.60 feet from the north line of the Gaul property.

After the Kofis acquired the said 65 feet (of the Gaul property), as shown by the Adams map, they built a house and a garage thereon. The house was completed in January, 1950, and the garage was completed in 1951. About January, 1953, after the death of Mr. Kofl, the plaintiff (Mrs. Kofl) built a concrete-block wall south of, and adjacent to, the north boundary line of her property (the line as shown by the Adams map).

In April, 1956, the Gauls conveyed to defendant Dunn and his wife the remainder of the property which the Gauls had purchased in 1943 (that is, they conveyed to the Dunns all the original Gaul property except the 53 feet and the 65 feet which had been conveyed to the Blacks and the Kofis).

About May, 1956, the Dunns caused a survey to be made of the property which the Gauls had acquired in 1943. The survey was made by Treadwell Engineering Corporation, and in September, 1956, that corporation prepared a survey map of the property. As shown by that map, the south boundary of the original Gaul property was 230.31 feet from the north boundary of the original Gaul property; the south boundary of the Dunn property (that is, the Dunn-Kofl line) was 112.31 feet from the north boundary of the Gaul property (now the Dunn property); the Kofl block wall was approximately 9 feet north of the Dunn-Kofl boundary line (that is, the wall was on the Dunn property) ; the Kofl house and garage extended approximately 6 feet north of the Dunn-Kofl line (that is, they extended about 6 feet onto the Dunn property).

It thus appears (1), according to the Treadwell survey map, that the south boundary of the original Gaul property was 230.31 feet from the north boundary of the Gaul property; and (2), according to the Adams survey map, the south boundary of the original Gaul property was 222.60 feet from the north boundary of the Gaul property. In other words, according to the Treadwell map, the south boundary line of the original Gaul property was 7.71 feet farther south than [208]*208the south boundary line of that property, according to the Adams map. The Treadwell map shows that the survey measurements were made from the curb line of the street. (Street was east of Gaul property.) The Adams map shows that the survey measurements were made from the middle of the street. Since the area of the original Gaul property was 5 acres, and since the north and west boundaries were not in dispute, it appears that if the east boundary of the property is the curb line of the street, instead of the middle of the street, the south boundary would extend farther to the south than it would extend if the east boundary line were the middle of the street.

The deeds from the Gauls to the Blacks, the Kofis, and the Dunns recited that the depth of the lots (from east to west) was measured from the westerly line of the street.

Defendant David Dunn made a demand that plaintiff (Mrs. Kofl) remove (1) the wall which, according to the Treadwell survey, was upon the Dunn property, and (2) the portions of her garage and house which, as shown by the survey, encroached upon the Dunn property. Plaintiff refused to remove those structures. Thereafter David Dunn attempted to undermine and destroy the wall, and he threatened to destroy the portions of the house and garage, which he contended, encroached upon the Dunn property.

On September 20, 1956, plaintiff commenced this action to quiet title to her lot and to enjoin David Dunn from interfering with her use and occupancy of the lot. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn filed a cross-complaint in which they sought to quiet title to their lot; to obtain an injunction compelling Mrs. Kofl to remove the wall and other structures which allegedly encroached on their lot; and to recover damages.

The court found, as follows: On October 25, 1948, the Gauls and the Keisers entered into a written agreement fixing the boundary line between the real properties then owned by them. The agreement was incorporated in the survey map prepared by Mr. Adams. The agreement was entered into pursuant to a dispute between said parties.

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199 Cal. App. 2d 484 (California Court of Appeal, 1962)

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Bluebook (online)
176 Cal. App. 2d 204, 1 Cal. Rptr. 278, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1466, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kofl-v-dunn-calctapp-1959.