Tobola v. Wholet

170 P.2d 952, 75 Cal. App. 2d 351
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 15, 1946
DocketCiv. No. 7239
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 170 P.2d 952 (Tobola v. Wholet) 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
Tobola v. Wholet, 170 P.2d 952, 75 Cal. App. 2d 351 (Cal. Ct. App. 1946).

Opinion

PEEK, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment establishing and enforcing a constructive trust in favor of respondent to a one-half interest in certain personal property in the possession of appellant.

From January 24, 1924, until January 5, 1931, respondent was employed by appellant on a ranch operated by her in Shasta County. On the first mentioned date he was approximately 40 years old, and she between 60 and 65 years of age. For his services during that period he received his room and board and certain disbursements of money totaling about $400, which the court found to be a portion of the wages due him. On the last mentioned date appellant acquired by inheritance the legal title to the ranch which was then worth approximately $6,000. Thereupon, respondent and appellant entered into an oral agreement whereby respondent agreed he would claim no wages for his past services, but in lieu thereof would become half owner of the ranch and of the profits therefrom, that he would operate and manage the same for the mutual benefit of both parties and use his best efforts to improve the ranch and build up a bank account. The relationship so created was found by the court to be one of trust and confidence. Neither of the parties had sufficient funds to operate the ranch properly, and a loan of $2,500 was procured on the property. This sum, together with virtually all of the income from all sources, went into the maintenance and improvement [354]*354of the ranch. In addition thereto, respondent cashed a life insurance policy belonging to him personally and applied the proceeds, amounting to $655.52, to the operation of the ranch. He at all times had access to the bank accounts which were maintained in the joint names of the parties, and, on behalf of himself and appellant, signed the bills of sale of the livestock sold.

On May 4,1944, the ranch, together with its stock and equipment, was sold for the sum of $18,000 cash. The twenty-five hundred dollar loan was paid, and the balance of the money was placed in joint bank accounts. At appellant’s request, respondent withdrew $3,000 from one of the accounts and purchased Series E war bonds of the face value of $4,000, naming appellant as registered owner and himself as beneficiary. After giving possession of the ranch to the new owner, the parties moved to the home of appellant’s sister. There, animosities developed, culminating in an altercation which landed respondent in jail, charged with battery upon appellant’s sister. Shortly after respondent’s arrest, appellant withdrew all the money deposited in the joint bank accounts, placed it in her own name, and refused to deliver to respondent his part of the money and the war bonds.

At the conclusion of the hearing on the action instituted by respondent, which was in the nature of a proceeding for specific performance, or to have a trust declared in certain personal property, the trial court found for him on all material issues, observing that in effect the parties had entered into a joint venture, and concluded that respondent was entitled to one-half of all the property derived therefrom. Judgment was entered accordingly.

The record discloses ample evidence to sustain the finding of the trial court to the effect that the parties agreed to pool their resources and divide the profits therefrom, and to support the court’s conclusion that appellant became a trustee of respondent’s share therein. As far as the character of the relationship is concerned, a somewhat similar situation existed in the case of Bedolla v. Williams, 15 Cal.App. 738 [115 P. 747], wherein it appears that one of the parties agreed to furnish all the horses and farming implements, lands, buildings, cows, dairy and dairying fixtures, and one-half of the hogs, and the other party agreed to keep the property in good condition and do all the labor necessary to carry on the business, in return for a certain share of the profits. It was [355]*355held on appeal that the agreement there in question established in legal effect a partnership or joint venture, and that the plaintiff therein was entitled to be compensated for his services not in terms of their value but by the payment of the stipulated proportion of the profits. Applying the rule in the Bedolla case to the relationship found to exist between the parties in the present case, it is apparent that the nature of respondent’s title was that of a beneficiary of a constructive trust (Sly v. Abbott, 89 Cal.App. 209, 216 [264 P. 507]) and that the trial court properly so adjudged (Lewis v. Winfield, 48 Cal.App.2d 543, 546 [120 P.2d 65]).

Appellant’s attack on the findings and judgment, while purportedly based principally on asserted errors of the trial court in applying legal principles, is in fact largely directed to the weight of the evidence and the credibility of the testimony of respondent. On the question of the sufficiency of the evidence, her position appears to be this: Since, as she insists, there is little conflict in the testimony, therefore the legal effect of the evidence is a matter of law for this court, or at least one that we may approach without undue regard for the conclusions reached by the trial court. However, it must be noted that on the vital issue of the alleged oral agreement of January 5, 1931, the deposition testimony of appellant was decidedly at variance with the testimony given by respondent. Appellant’s view of the situation fails to take into account the rule that even where the probative facts are undisputed, the question as to the inferences to be drawn therefrom is still within the exclusive province of the trial court, and if there is any substantial evidence to support them this court is bound by the determination of the trial court. In other words, it is just as much the function of the trial court to resolve a conflict between opposing inferences as it is to resolve a conflict between contradictory statements of fact. (Mah See v. North American Accident Insurance Co., 190 Cal. 421, 426 [213 P. 42, 26 A.L.R. 123]; MacDermot v. Hayes, 175 Cal. 95, 104 [170 P. 616]; Kelly v. Brown, 2 Cal. Unrep. 536, 537 [8 P. 38]; Bank of America v. Perry, 41 Cal.App.2d 133, 136 [106 P.2d 53]; Wakefield v. Wakefield, 37 Cal.App.2d 648, 655 [99 P.2d 1105]; Los Angeles City High School Dist. v. Kennard, 94 Cal.App. 450, 452 [271 P. 342].)

Nor has appellant avoided the force of this rule by pointing out certain alleged improbabilities in the testimony of respondent concerning the transactions herein involved, and arguing [356]*356therefrom that the trial court should have found that the respondent was paid in full for his services rendered on the ranch.

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Bluebook (online)
170 P.2d 952, 75 Cal. App. 2d 351, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tobola-v-wholet-calctapp-1946.