People v. Fawver

77 P.2d 325, 29 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 775, 1938 Cal. App. LEXIS 423
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 10, 1938
DocketCr. A. 1483
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 77 P.2d 325 (People v. Fawver) 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
People v. Fawver, 77 P.2d 325, 29 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 775, 1938 Cal. App. LEXIS 423 (Cal. Ct. App. 1938).

Opinion

SHAW, P. J.

The conviction of petty theft here can be sustained, if at all, only on the evidence tending to prove these facts: that the defendant stated to Tinkle, the complaining witness, who was a plumber, that defendant had built the molds for and had manufactured certain plumbers’ fittings which defendant offered to sell to Tinkle, that Tinkle on a Saturday gave defendant an order for some of them, which defendant said he could and would deliver on the following Monday, that defendant asked Tinkle on Saturday to give him $25 ‘in advance, as payment on these fittings”, which Tinkle then did; that no fittings were ever delivered to Tinkle and none had in fáct been manufactured by defendant, nor had he built the molds for them. It also appears that defendant had previously asked Tinkle to finance him in making the molds for these fittings by a loan, which Tinkle had refused to do, and that still earlier Tinkle had loaned defendant money for making other molds, which defendant had not repaid.

These facts are sufficient to prove a theft as defined in section 484 of the Penal Code, of the sort formerly known as obtaining money by false pretenses. The material false pretense here is the statement that defendant had made the fittings and could deliver them. This pretense was not in writing or accompanied by any false token or writing, nor was there any written note or memorandum thereof. The only testimony of its making is that of Tinkle. Under the circumstances, section 1110 of the Penal Code requires for conviction corroboration of his testimony in that respect by that of another witness or by circumstances, and neither appears here. The amendment of section 484 of the Penal Code, by which the offense of obtaining money by false *Supp. 777 pretenses was included in the definition of theft, did not repeal section 1110 by implication or make it inapplicable to a false pretense case prosecuted as one of theft. (People v. Carter, (1933) 131 Cal. App. 177, 183 [21 Pac. (2d) 129] ; People v. Edwards, (1933) 133 Cal. App. 335, 339 [24 Pac. (2d) 183] ; People v. Curran, (1938) 24 Cal. App. (2d) 673 [75 Pac. (2d) 1090].)

Since the crime of larceny by fraud, trick or device is also included in the statutory definition of theft and in the charge here, and section 1110 of the Penal Code would not apply thereto (People v. Edwards, supra, at p. 341), we have considered whether out of the facts in this case such an offense can be constructed. We conclude that it cannot. The evidence in support of the judgment discloses at most only a plain case of lying, unaccompanied by any trick, stratagem, or device.

In a case which has been often cited, the Supreme Court said: “The distinction between larceny and false pretenses sometimes depends on a close analysis of facts and legal principals. It is stated in Harris on Criminal Law (3d ed., p. 194): ‘The most intelligible distinction between false pretenses and larceny has been thus set forth: “In larceny, the owner of the thing has no intention to part with his property therein to the person taking it, although he may intend to part with the possession. In false pretenses the owner does intend to part with his property in the money or chattel, but it is obtained from him by fraud,” ’ (The italics are our own.) . . . These authors are here speaking of the intention of the owner with respect to the relation which the person then receiving the goods shall bear to them; that is, the owner’s intention as to the effect which the delivery of the possession shall have on the title. If such delivery is intended to transfer the title, absolutely, there is no larceny.” (People v. Delbos, (1905) 146 Cal. 734, 736 [81 Pac. 131].) In this ease the charge was larceny only, and there was evidence that the complaining witness had given money to the defendant to be used by defendant in buying a lodging house for the complaining witness from a third person, and that the defendant obtained this money on a false pretense and with the intention of appropriating it to her own use; on which the court held that a ease of larceny appeared. But the court also held that the trial court erred in *Supp. 778 rejecting defendant’s offer of evidence to show that in fact the complaining witness was buying the lodging house from defendant and the money was delivered to defendant in part payment therefor, and for such error reversed the judgment, saying in that connection, “if the defendant had herself some property interests in the goods sold, and had by means of criminally false and fraudulent pretenses made a sale of that interest to Mrs. Marquet [complaining witness] for an extravagant price and thereupon Mrs. Marquet had delivered the money to Mrs. Delbos [defendant]—-not to be carried to the original seller, Mr. Stalford, but to pa)' upon the price of the sale direct from the defendant to Mrs. Marquet;—the crime might have been that of obtaining money by false pretenses, but it would not have constituted larceny, because in that case there would have been an intention on the part of Mrs. Marquet to transfer the title to her money directly to the defendant,’’ page 737.

In People v. Shearer, (1927) 83 Cal. App. 321, 331, 332 [256 Pac. 611], the information charged the obtaining of money by a false pretense that the defendant had for sale and could sell a certain cleaning plant. The evidence showed such a false pretense, and that in reliance on it the complaining witness paid money to the defendant, which said witness “regarded as money paid for a purchase thereby effected’’, although it was understood that certain papers were yet to be signed to complete the transaction. The defendant contended that on the facts the crime, if any, was larceny. The court stated the rule that ‘ ‘ If the owner intends to- part with the possession merely, and not to transfer title as well, the crime is larceny; but if title is intended to pass at the time, then the offense is that of obtaining money or property by false pretenses ’ ’, and held that the crime proved was properly charged.

In People v. Leach, (1930) 106 Cal. App. 442, 463 [290 Pac. 131], where the complaining witness was induced to exchange certain stock for mortgage notes by representations as to the value and character of the property covered by the mortgages securing the notes, the court said, “we are satisfied that if there was a theft it was by false pretenses and not by trick and device. The evidence shows clearly that Mrs. Wiseman intended at the time of transfer to part with both possession and title absolutely and not- for a special purpose, such as to place upon a particular horse in a horse *Supp. 779 race, to be used as a bribe or similar purposes commonly-found in cases of larceny by trick and device. The intent to part absolutely and unconditionally with both possession and title prevents the transaction from being larceny by trick or device.” Section 1110 of the Penal Code was held applicable to the case.

There are many other eases declaring in substance the rjile which the court succinctly stated in People v. DeGraaff, (1900) 127 Cal. 676, 679 [60 Pac.

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Bluebook (online)
77 P.2d 325, 29 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 775, 1938 Cal. App. LEXIS 423, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fawver-calctapp-1938.