Oliver v. Schene

182 Cal. App. 2d 473, 6 Cal. Rptr. 461, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 2134
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 6, 1960
DocketCiv. 6327
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 182 Cal. App. 2d 473 (Oliver v. Schene) 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
Oliver v. Schene, 182 Cal. App. 2d 473, 6 Cal. Rptr. 461, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 2134 (Cal. Ct. App. 1960).

Opinion

COUGHLIN, J.

These are appeals upon the judgment roll alone from parts of a judgment in an action for declaratory relief, and from an order made after judgment.

The respondents have moved for a dismissal on the ground that appellants have accepted the benefits of the judgment and thus waived their right to complain.

The plaintiffs, as lessors, and the defendants, as lessees, entered into a lease evidenced by two instruments dated *476 September 23, 1957. One of these instruments was referred to as a lease and the other as an addendum and amendment to lease.

On September 19, 1958, the plaintiffs brought this action for declaratory relief. In due course the court made a pretrial order outlining the issues for determination among which were the following:

1. Whether the action should be stayed to permit arbitration;
2. Whether the lease was invalid because it was in violation of the rule against perpetuities, i.e., section 715.2 of the Civil Code;
3. Whether the lease had been terminated;
4. If terminated, how much compensation for occupancy should be paid to plaintiffs and, if not terminated, how much rent was due them; and
5. Several other subsidiary matters.

Subsequently a trial was had, and thereafter judgment was entered adjudging that the “Lease and Addendum in said action was and is valid and enforceable”; that the plaintiffs should recover from defendants “the sum of $29,214.18 rent accrued as of July 1, 1959, together with interest ... in the sum of $658.70 . . .”; that “defendants are entitled to a credit of $627.00 against said sum” and that “plaintiffs are not entitled to attorneys’ fees.” At this juncture it should be noted that the lease contained a provision with respect to attorneys’ fees, but no specific allegations concerning this subject were contained in the pleadings.

The judgment was dated July 14, 1959. Plaintiffs served notice of entry of judgment on that date. On the same day the defendants obtained a stay of execution for 30 days after notice of entry of judgment. However, the judgment was not filed and entered until July 17, 1959. On August 18, 1959, plaintiffs obtained a writ of execution under which a levy was made, but which was recalled and quashed upon motion of the defendants. This motion was made on the ground that the 30-day stay should have been measured from the time when a valid notice of entry was given defendants; that the notice of entry served was premature and, therefore, not valid; and that the writ was issued in violation of the order granting a stay. In the meantime the plaintiffs had obtained an ex parte order amending the order staying execution so as to limit the stay to 30 days after entry of judgment as distinguished from notice of entry of judgment.

*477 On September 2, 1959, five days after the first writ of execution was recalled and quashed, a second writ of execution was issued on behalf of plaintiffs who caused it to be levied on property of the defendants and collected a net of $29,089.15.

On September 14, 1959, the plaintiffs appealed from the order recalling and quashing the first writ of execution, contending that the writ was properly issued as the court had no power to order a stay for a period longer than 30 days after entry of judgment.

On October 30, 1959, the defendants paid the plaintiffs $541.95 as the balance owing on the judgment and received a receipt marked, “Balance on Judgment.”

The defendants have moved this court to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the plaintiffs have accepted the benefits of the judgment and cannot now seek its reversal. In support of this motion defendants filed an affidavit which, among other things, states that defendants “have in fact satisfied the said judgment in full.” This statement is not denied. The plaintiffs contend that the motion to dismiss should be denied because they did not appeal from that part of the judgment decreeing recovery of the $29,214.18 rent accrued and interest; that their appeal is from those parts of the judgment declaring the lease to be valid, denying them attorneys' fees, and allowing the defendants an offset; and that these provisions of the judgment are severable from the provisions respecting recovery of the accrued rental. The plaintiffs further note that they also are appealing from an order after judgment.

“It is the general rule that the voluntary acceptance of the benefit of a judgment or order is a bar to the prosecution of an appeal, since the right to accept the fruits of the judgment and the right to appeal therefrom are wholly inconsistent, and an election to take one is a renunciation of the other.” (Mathys v. Turner, 46 Cal.2d 364, 365 [294 P.2d 947] ; Schubert v. Reich, 36 Cal.2d 298, 299 [223 P.2d 242].)

The application of this general rule is limited where the judgment under consideration consists of severable parts. In such a case “a party by voluntarily accepting the fruits of one portion thereof does not necessarily estop himself to attack other and severable portions thereof upon appeal.” (Preluzsky v. Pacific Co-operative C. Co., 195 Cal. 290, 293 [232 P. 970] ; Gudelj v. Gudelj, 41 Cal.2d 202, 214 [259 P.2d 656].) The plaintiffs claim they come within the aforesaid limitation.

*478 “The test of whether a portion of a judgment appealed from is so interwoven with its other provisions as to preclude an independent examination of the part challenged by the appellant is whether the matters or issues embraced therein are the same as, or interdependent upon, the matters or issues which have not been attacked.’’ (American Enterprise, Inc. v. Van Winkle, 39 Cal.2d 210, 217 [246 P.2d 935].)

On appeal plaintiffs contend that the lease is void, or if not void, has been terminated, and that the trial court’s decision to the contrary is in error. If either of their contentions is correct, they would not be entitled to the rent provided for under the terms of the lease. When the defendants went into possession of the leased premises the building they were to occupy had not been completed and, as determined by the trial court, the lease provided that they should pay a rental equal to 6 per cent of the gross income from the business conducted thereon until the building was completed, whereupon the rental would continue to be payable in accord with the same percentage formula but a minimum fixed pursuant to another formula would be imposed. The plaintiffs contended that the building was completed on February 1, 1958, and demanded the minimum payment, which was in excess of the amount being paid under the percentage provisions. The defendants contended that the building had not been completed.

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Bluebook (online)
182 Cal. App. 2d 473, 6 Cal. Rptr. 461, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 2134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oliver-v-schene-calctapp-1960.