McDougald v. Argonaut Land & Development Co.

48 P. 1021, 117 Cal. 87, 1897 Cal. LEXIS 626
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedMay 24, 1897
DocketSac. No. 153
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 48 P. 1021 (McDougald v. Argonaut Land & Development 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
McDougald v. Argonaut Land & Development Co., 48 P. 1021, 117 Cal. 87, 1897 Cal. LEXIS 626 (Cal. 1897).

Opinion

Temple, J.

This action is sui generis. The complaint as it was originally drawn, and as it was at the trial, and until the close thereof, among other things averred in substance that the corporate defendant, the Argonaut [89]*89Land and Development Company, on the first day of May, 1890, owned a certain tract of land which it was endeavoring to sell for one hundred and forty thousand dollars, and that certain of the defendants were the directors of the corporation, and were authorized to make such sale, and as such directors and agents, for the purpose of making the sale, were empowered to enter into any and all contracts, agreements, and guarantees, etc., necessary.

Pursuant to such authority they contracted with defendant Boggs to exchange said land for a tract of twelve thousand acres owned by said Boggs and forty-four thousand dollars in gold coin. Further, Boggs agreed to the purchase on condition that the corporation would furnish a tenant for the land he was acquiring by said trade, acceptable to said Boggs, who would rent said land for five years at an annual rental of twelve thousand dollars, and would obtain the guaranty by suitable persons of performance on the part of such tenant.

It is averred that the defendant corporation accepted the terms and entered into the contract, and did in fact convey the tract of land to Boggs and procured one McLaren to enter into such lease; that Boggs received the conveyance and paid the said sum of forty-four thousand dollars to the corporation, and conveyed to it the said tract of twelve thousand acres of land in Colusa county. Said Boggs also, as part of the same transaction, leased the tract acquired by him from the corporation to said McLaren, and the plaintiff, at the request of the corporation, and of the defendants other than Boggs, agents of the corporation, and to enable them to effect the sale or exchange of their said lands, in writing guaranteed to Boggs the payment of the rent reserved in the lease. Hulet, who was president of the corporation, subsequently signed the guaranty.

Plaintiff avers that he received no consideration for the guaranty from the corporation, but entered into the same solely at the request of the corporate defendant. [90]*90Also, that but for such guaranty Bogg's would not have made the said exchange of land, and this fact was well known to the corporate defendant.

It is further alleged that on the said twentieth day of May, 1890, defendants Fdirbrotlier, Spect, Wilhoit, and Foss in writing promised plaintiff to indemnify and save plaintiff harmless from all risk, damage, liability, cost, and expense that he might incur or sustain by reason of or growing out of his said guaranty.

It is then charged that McLaren failed to pay the rent which accrued during the first and second years of the term, but that a stated portion of such rent had been paid by the corporate defendant.

It is then averred that Boggs is insisting that plaintiff and Hulet shall pay such rent, and is threatening to bring suit against them therefor, and refuses to sue “any of the other parties hereto.”

It is charged that the corporation, in violation of its agreement, has failed and refused to hold plaintiff harmless upon his contract of guaranty, and now wrongfully claims and asserts that it is in nowise liable to plaintiff or to Boggs. The other individual defendants who contracted in writing to hold plaintiff harmless upon the guaranty have also made similar default, and all of said defendants are now endeavoring to burden plaintiff with all of such obligations and to compel him to pay the rent out of his own resources. He asks for a judgment determining how much is due Boggs on the lease, and decreeing that plaintiff is surety for the other defendants, who are bound to pay the rent due said Boggs upon the lease. He asks that such defendants be required to pay all sums found due Boggs, and that plaintiff be exonerated. Also, to adjudge that plaintiff is a surety and entitled to be reimbursed for any sums he may be required to pay upon such guaranty.

To this complaint Boggs filed an answer in which he made no effectual denials of any matters stated, but [91]*91simply asserted that McLaren was a necessary party to the suit, and asked that he be brought in.

The other defendants answered the complaint, denying their liability to plaintiff or to Boggs. No cross-complaint was interposed by any of the defendants, and it does not appear that the answers of the other defendants were served upon Boggs; and, as it was not necessary that they should be so served, we must presume that they were not.

After the evidence was all in, at the close of the trial, the plaintiff was allowed to amend his complaint for the purpose of making it conform to the proofs. The amendment was made, and consisted in adding an aver-' ment to the effect that McLaren was only nominally the tenant of Boggs; that the Argonaut Land and Development Company was the real tenant, ánd after the execution of the lease the said Argonaut Land and Development Company, with the consent of McLaren and of Boggs, entered upon the land and sublet portions thereof to McLaren and others, and received certain rents from such subtenants, which were paid to Boggs.

The court found the facts with reference to the sale or exchange of lands about as averred; and that Mc-Laren was not furnished by the corporation as a tenant; that McLaren never took possession as the tenant of Boggs, and never paid any rent; and that, prior to the commencement of this action, plaintiff requested Boggs to bring suit against; McLaren as principal, and the other defendants as cosureties and coguarantors of Mc- ' Dougald, and that Boggs refused to bring the suit.

As conclusions of law it is found: that McLaren was never the tenant of Boggs; that neither McDougald, or anyone else, ever guaranteed the performance of Mc-Laren under any lease; that no rent is due to Boggs from anyone, and neither plaintiff nor any of the defendants became or were sureties for Boggs, and that plaintiff is not surety for any of the defendants.

Plaintiff’s costs were assessed against Boggs. The appeal is by Boggs from the judgment and from an [92]*92order denying a new trial. In the motion for a new trial the findings of fact are attacked as not sustained by the evidence.

Whatever may be said as to the other defendants, it is perfectly certain that the findings I have epitomized are not justified by anything in the pleadings as to Boggs. The complaint not only admits the lease and liability of plaintiff as guarantor for the tenant, but the fact of the lease and the liability of plaintiff is the foundation of his cause of action. He does not aver that Boggs wrongfully claims that he is liable, and demands an adjudication to the effect that he is not liable, but he avers the liability, and that he assumed it at the request and in the interest of the other defendants, who agreed to indemnify him against loss on account thereof. The suit was brought to establish the liability of the other defendants, and to have it adjudged that as between himself and them they are principals and he a surety only. If Boggs was satisfied with the responsibility of plaintiff, I see no reason why he should concern himself about this controversy. The only allegations in the complaint which he was called upon to deny were the statements as to the sums which had already been paid him on account of rents, and if those statements were correct he was not called upon to deny them.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
48 P. 1021, 117 Cal. 87, 1897 Cal. LEXIS 626, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdougald-v-argonaut-land-development-co-cal-1897.