Staacke v. Bell

57 P. 1012, 125 Cal. 309, 1899 Cal. LEXIS 854
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 6, 1899
DocketS. F. No. 1106
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 57 P. 1012 (Staacke v. Bell) 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
Staacke v. Bell, 57 P. 1012, 125 Cal. 309, 1899 Cal. LEXIS 854 (Cal. 1899).

Opinion

CHIPMAN, C.

The action is brought in the superior court of the city and county of San Francisco, and the complaint alleges that on February 1, 1892, plaintiff executed and deliv[311]*311ered to defendant, San Francisco Savings Union, his promissory note, due February 1, 1893, for sixty thousand dollars, to secure payment of which plaintiff executed á conveyance to defendants Henry 0. Campbell and Thaddeus B. Kent of certain lands in Santa Barbara county. This conveyance is set out in the complaint and is an ordinary deed of trust. The complaint then alleges that on March 8, 1893, “the defendant John S. Bell commenced an action against plaintiff and the defendant John W. C. Maxwell in the superior court .... in and for the county of Santa Barbara, which action is ... . undetermined. .... That by the pleadings in said action it is claimed by all the parties thereto that this plaintiff holds said land in trust. That on the sixteenth day of October, 1892, said Thomas Bell died in the said city and county of San Francisco, leaving a last will, a copy whereof is ... . made part hereof.” Thomas Bell is not previously mentioned in the complaint, but appears in the title of the cause as deceased. There is no explanation in the complaint for making the heirs,or executors of Thomas Bell parties to the action. The complaint then avers the appointment of plaintiff and defendant John W. 0. Maxwell as executors of the will of said Thomas Bell; that the principal of the note and some interest are still due; that the San Francisco Union “is willing to renew said note and security, or to extend the time for the payment of said note, if plaintiff can procure proper authority to make such renewal or extension, hut otherwise demands immediate payment of said note, and intends, in default thereof, to cause said lands to he sold by the trustees, Campbell and Kent, to satisfy said indebtedness; that said lands are of much greater value than the amount of said indebtedness, if sold in parcels and at a time when there is a demand for such property, but at present the market for such property is depressed, and .... that if said property should be sold at this time by said trustees it would probably realize but little if any more than sufficient to pay said indebtedness.” There is nothing in the complaint to show the nature of the trust referred to in the action pending in Santa Barbara county, or when it arose. The prayer is for the judgment of the court “authorizing and directing plaintiff to execute a new note in place of- the note above mentioned, or a renewal of the note [312]*312above set forth, and a deed of trust to secure the same, such new note or renewal note and deed of trust and the judgment herein not to in any way affect the rights of the parties to said action pending in Santa Barbara county, but leaving said rights to be determined in said action, subject always to the deed of trust aforesaid, or any deed of trust that may be authorized by the judgment herein,” and for general relief. Trustees Campbell and Kent and the Savings Union filed separate answers in which they set up many facts additional to those found in the complaint, and prayed for relief different from and in excess of that asked by the complaint. The decree adjudges that the deed of trust mentioned in the complaint “is and shall remain prior and superior to any claim, charge, or lien to or on said lands of the defendants John S. Bell (naming the other defendants except Campbell, Kent, and Savings Union), or any of them; that the said note and deed of trust were executed with full knowledge and consent of Thomas Bell; that subject to said deed of trust the plaintiff holds the legal title to said lands . ... in trust for the defendant John S. Bell and the other defendants (naming them) as their interests may be determined in the suit now pending” in the superior court of Santa Barbara county referred to in the complaint; it is also adjudged and ordered that plaintiff, “on his own behalf and as trustee as aforesaid, be and he is hereby authorized and directed to execute an instrument in writing renewing said note and extending the time for the payment of the principal thereof in words and figures following.” Then follows a prescribed form of instrument to be executed by the parties. Appellant and the executors of Thomas Bell made default; the other defendants answered; plaintiff had judgment, from which defendant John S. Bell appeals on the judgment-roll alone; the answers to the complaint were not served upon him. The grounds of the appeal are: 1. The relief granted is in excess of that demanded in the complaint; 2. Want of jurisdiction; and 3. Insufficiency of the complaint.

1. Where there is no answer the relief granted plaintiff “cannot exceed that which shall have been demanded in his complaint.” (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 580.) It is improper to grant relief other and different from that prayed for in the [313]*313complaint (Mudge v. Steinhart, 78 Cal. 34, 12 Am. St. Rep. 17; Bailey Loan Co. v. Hall, 110 Cal. 492); nor can the general prayer enlarge the power of the court to grant relief not prayed for against a defaulting defendant. In the case here, the court did not decree a renewal of the deed of trust, and that part of the prayer may b'e put aside. As we read the prayer of the complaint, so far as appellant is concerned, the judgment was not to -affect his rights in the action pending in S-anta Barbara county. The language is “not to in any way affect the rights of the parties to said action pending in Santa Barbara county, but leaving said rights to be determined in said action.” It is true the prayer also says, “subject always to the deed of trust aforesaid, or any deed of trust that may be authorized by the judgment herein.” Whether or not this latter clause was intended as a limitation of the clause preceding it, we think it clear enough that the complaint notified appellant that plaintiff intended to ask a decree, not as trustee of anybody, but individually, as he had executed the note and deed of trust, authorizing him to renew the note, and that the decree should be so drawn as “not to in any way affect the rights of the parties to said action pending in Santa Barbara county.” Of course, the Savings Union would not consent and did not consent unless the renewal could be made so as to preserve its rights as they then stood, but, nevertheless, we think appellant had the right to make default on the assumption that his rights also in the Santa Barbara action would not be affected. The decree, however, goes far beyond the prayer and grants -the relief prayed for by the Savings Union and trustees Campbell and Kent in their answers, which were not served upon appellant, and of the nature and contents of which he had no notice. Appellant could rest secure under section 580 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and the allegations of the complaint that the judgment was “not to in -any way affect the rights of the parties” in the action pending in Santa Barbara county. The decree as to appellant was in excess of the relief demanded in the complaint in adjudging that the deed of trust given by plaintiff is a first charge upon the lands; that plaintiff holds the lands in trust for appellant subject to said deed of trust; that the instrument to be executed by plaintiff [314]*314should he executed by him as trustee of appellant; and should recite that when the de'ed of trust was executed by plaintiff, he, plaintiff, “was by the San Francisco Savings Union believed to be the owner in fee in his own right of the lands described in the deed of trust”; and also in directing that plaintiff should,as trustee of appellant, execute a renewal contract.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
57 P. 1012, 125 Cal. 309, 1899 Cal. LEXIS 854, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/staacke-v-bell-cal-1899.