Burke v. Stevens
| Decision Date | 15 July 1968 |
| Citation | 70 Cal.Rptr. 87,264 Cal.App.2d 30 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Ralph BURKE, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. James F. STEVENS, Defendant and Respondent. Civ. 903. |
Chris E. Rockas, George C. Coleman, Fresno, for plaintiff and appellant.
Ray W. Donahue, Visalia, for defendant and respondent.
The plaintiff, Ralph Burke, filed a complaint to quiet title to lots 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 of Moxley and Potter's Subdivision No. 1 in Tulare County. It alleges that B. L. Stevens and James F. Stevens, sons of his deceased wife by an earlier marriage, claim an interest in the land without right. One of the defendants, James F. Stevens, alleges in his answer that he has succeeded to the interest of his brother, B. L. Stevens, and that, although under the will of his deceased mother, the plaintiff is entitled to a life estate in an undivided one-half interest in the land, and also owns the other undivided half interest outright, said answering defendant is the owner of the remaining interest in one-half of the land, less the life estate of the plaintiff. As a first affirmative defense, said defendant alleges that his mother died testate; that the executor of her estate was Robert C. Natzke, a Porterville attorney; that during the course of probate, the executor filed an action in partition to raise the necessary funds to pay federal estate taxes, inheritance taxes, executor's and attorney's fees, and other costs of administration, and that the plaintiff and defendant had thereupon agreed in writing that each of them should pay one-half of the amount necessary to avoid the sale of the property; that said defendant paid one-half of the costs of closing the estate, because plaintiff had represented that he owned only a life estate in the undivided one-half interest; that in reliance upon such representation the defendant purchased the interest of his brother, Benton L. Stevens, for $10,000, and also had paid $5,993.53 as his own share of the costs of closing the estate, and that by reason of these facts the plaintiff herein is estopped from denying that said defendant has the interest claimed by him in the real property. By an amended answer the defendant also alleges that the plaintiff was guilty of laches, which constitutes a bar to his recovery.
The pretrial conference order specifies that matters agreed upon were that plaintiff was the lawful husband of Grace Burke at the time of her death; that she died August 16, 1962; that the real property consists of lots 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 of Moxley and Potter's Subdivision No. 1, in the County of Tulare, as per map recorded in book 11, page 3 of maps in the office of the county recorder of said county; that James F. Stevens' interest in the property was at issue by reason of an asserted termination of joint tenancy by the decedent; that there was an issue of estoppel by reason of representation and a third issue of laches. The pretrial conference order also states that plaintiff contended that on the death of the joint tenant, Grace Burke, complete title to the land vested in him, but that defendant contended that by reason of the decree of distribution in the estate of Grace Burke he is the owner of a remainder interest in the real property, subject to plaintiff's life tenancy, and that because plaintiff represented that he owned only a life tenancy he is estopped now to deny it and also that plaintiff has been guilty of laches in failing to bring his action in timely fashion.
The case was tried by the court sitting without a jury; the trial judge decided that the joint tenancy which had existed in the real property between plaintiff and decedent, Grace Burke, was terminated by her execution of a deed through her attorney in fact, Robert Natzke, who was also her attorney at law and later executor of her estate, to Mr. John P. Moran and a succeeding deed from Mr. Moran to the decedent, Grace Burke. This secret plan to terminate the joint tenancy was hatched pursuant to a letter from Mrs. Burke to Mr. Natzke dated October 2, 1960, and the later power of attorney given to Mr. Natzke by her for this purpose. The trial judge decided that the two deeds, one to Mr. Moran, the other from Mr. Moran to decedent, were effectively delivered, even though accomplished secretly, and that they terminated the joint tenancy. The court held that the intent of the grantor was to abolish said joint tenancy at once by the execution of the deeds; the trial judge also held that even if the deeds were not effective, the plaintiff was estopped by his conduct and his inducement of the defendant, James F. Stevens, to act upon, and spend money as a result of, the belief that the joint tenancy had been terminated, and also that no legal reason was shown for the delay in bringing the action and that the defense of laches was valid.
The court found that Grace Burke wrote the letter to her attorney directing that he prepare a power of attorney for her execution, naming him as her attorney in fact, and directing him to terminate the joint tenancy by which she and the plaintiff held title to the real property; that on October 2, 1960, she executed the power of attorney and delivered it to Mr. Natzke; that on October 5, 1960, Natzke, as her attorney in fact, executed and delivered a quitclaim deed conveying her entire interest in the property to John P. Moran; that on October 6, 1960, John P. Moran in turn executed and delivered a quitclaim deed conveying said interest in the property to Grace B. Burke; that acting on the advice of her attorney, she intended immediately to terminate the joint tenancy through the execution and delivery of said quitclaim deed by her attorney in fact and the new deed of Mr. Moran to herself; that the deeds were effectively delivered and that their execution and delivery terminated the joint tenancy under which she and her husband had previously owned the land; that by letter dated October 2, 1960, she stated that her consideration for terminating the joint tenancy was to be able to dispose of her interest in the real property by will, since the plaintiff as co-joint tenant had indicated that he would dispose of the property upon her death as he saw fit, if she should die first; although the plaintiff co-tenant was not informed of the termination of the joint tenancy, there was no requirement for such notice in the absence of fraud; that no fraud existed; that she died testate on August 16, 1962; that the will was filed and admitted to probate, and that by its terms an undivided one-half remainder interest in the real property was devised to ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Hockett v. Larson
...540, 543 (Iowa Ct.App.1983) (joint tenancy in personal property); see generally 32 Iowa L.Rev. 539 (1947). See Burke v. Stevens, 264 Cal.App.2d 30, 70 Cal.Rptr. 87, 91 (1968) (conveyance in secret); Klouda v. Pechousek, 414 Ill, 75, 110 N.E.2d 258, 261-62 (1953) (conveyance in secret). In t......
-
Seltzer v. Seltzer
...A.C.A. 30, 36.2 Involving property held by a husband and wife as joint tenants and cited in Meyer (p. 34, fn. 3) is Burke v. Stevens, 264 Cal.App.2d 30, 70 Cal.Rptr. 87; it appearing that there was a conveyance by the wife of her interest without the knowledge and consent of the husband, th......
-
Lonergan v. Strom
...and the consent of the other tenants is not required. Register v. Coleman, 130 Ariz. 9, 633 P.2d 418 (1981); Burke v. Stevens, 264 Cal.App.2d 30, 70 Cal.Rptr. 87 (1968) (deeds to and from straw party that were intended to destroy a joint tenancy were effective to do so despite the secrecy w......
-
Crowther v. Mower, 930446-CA
...destroys the joint tenancy, and a joint tenant need not notify the other tenant or record the conveyance. See Burke v. Stevens, 264 Cal.App.2d 30, 70 Cal.Rptr. 87, 90-91 (1968) ("It was unnecessary in connection with the execution of such a deed that there should be notification to the othe......