Richmond Teachers Credit Union v. James F. Waters, Inc.
| Decision Date | 23 June 1960 |
| Citation | 5 Cal.Rptr. 716,182 Cal.App.2d 110 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
| Parties | RICHMOND TEACHERS CREDIT UNION, a non-profit corporation, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. JAMES F. WATERS, INC., Defendant and Respondent. Civ. 19060. |
Ralph Bancroft, Robert E. Halsing, San Francisco, for appellant.
Everett S. Layman, San Francisco (Kenneth S. Carey, Everett S. Layman, Jr., Arthur J. Lempert, San Francisco, of counsel), for respondent.
Appellant Richmond Teachers Credit Union, filed this action to recover damages for the respondent's alleged trespass as a bailee to an automobile which appellant claimed as the chattel mortgagee and to obtain a declaration of rights under a prior judgment obtained by the appellant against its mortgagor, one Mae Moore, who had purchased the automobile from the respondent under a conditional sales contract. Mae Moore is not a party to this action.
The matter was first tried in 1955 and judgment entered in favor of the appellant on January 20, 1956. Thereafter, on respondent's motion, a new trial was granted. The parties entered into a stipulation of facts, retrial was had in December, 1958, and judgment entered in favor of the respondent on December 19, 1958. This appeal is taken from that judgment.
The trial court found the following material facts: on October 17, 1952, Mae Moore bought from the respondent Waters a new DeSoto Firedome four door sedan under a written conditional sale contract. The total price of $4,119.96 plus a time differential charge was to be paid as follows: the trade-in value of a used Nash automobile; a check for $525.50; $1,440 in 12 monthly installments; and a final payment of $2,080 on October 26, 1953.
Miss Moore was given possession of the vehicle on that day or the day following. She then went to the appellant's office and obtained a loan of $3,200 on her promissory note and a chattel mortgage on the DeSoto. The same day, Mrs. Basford, the appellant's secretary, called the respondent and spoke to the salesman who had sold the car to Miss Moore. At that time, the loan to Mae Moore had not been approved by the appellant's loan committee. Appellant agreed to notify the respondent when the loan was approved and to send the check directly to defendant's Mr. Simpson.
On October 22, plaintiff issued its check in the sum of $3,200 payable to the order of Mae Moore and James F. Waters, Inc. The check bore the following printed notation on its face: 'Endorsement of this check evidences payment in full of items hereunder set forth.' Beneath the word 'Date' was written the following: '10/24/1952'; beneath the printed word 'Description' was written 'pay in full DeSoto,' followed by the serial number of the automobile. Mrs. Basford placed the check in an envelope addressed to the respondent and gave the envelope and check to Mae Moore with instructions to deliver the check to Mr. Simpson, the respondent's credit manager.
On Saturday, October 25, 1952, Mae Moore presented the check to the defendant in San Francisco. Respondent's cashier attempted to contact the appellant but was unable to do so because appellant was closed. Mae Moore endorsed the check and delivered it to respondent's cashier; the check was then endorsed by the respondent.
Respondent disbursed the $3,200 as follows: $1,420 was applied to the unpaid principal balance due on the DeSoto, $525.50 was applied to Mae Moore's check which had been given in part payment and which had been returned by the bank; $96.33 was paid on an old account which Mae Moore owed to Waters and $1,158.17 was paid to Mae Moore by check. Thereafter, on November 29, 1952, Mae Moore refinanced the DeSoto at the Bank of America which paid the balance due to the respondent Waters, who thereupon transferred the certificate of ownership to the Bank of America.
On December 7, 1952, appellant commenced an action in the Superior Court of Contra Costa County against Mae Moore on the promissory note which was in default. In this action, the appellant procured the issuance of a writ of attachment and upon locating the automobile, Mae Moore's interest therein was attached by the appellant. Possession of the automobile was taken by the sheriff of the City and County of San Francisco. The sheriff notified the appellant of the third party claim on behalf of the Bank of America, appellant obtained possession of the automobile and between February 7, 1953, and May 2, 1953, plaintiff sold the automobile for the sum of $2,800. On May 2, 1953, appellant obtained a judgment against Mae Moore in the Contra Costa County action.
The trial court found that the appellant did not at any time have the possession or the right to the possession of the DeSoto automobile; that the respondent was not an involuntary bailee of said automobile and did not commit a trespass as a bailee. The court also found it was not true that Mae Moore was insolvent and unable to pay the Contra Costa County judgment and that it was not true that the respondent assisted Mae Moore in refinancing the automobile with the Bank of America. The court then concluded that the appellant, not having the right to possession, had no standing to sue on any count of trespass or conversion; that the loss herein was caused by Mae Moore; that the appellant by whose negligence it happened must be the sufferor; and that in the Contra Costa County action, the appellant made an election of remedies which constituted a bar to the instant proceeding.
Appellant challenges only the findings and conclusions relating to its election of remedies in the Contra Costa County action as a bar to this action. Appellant argues that these findings are not supported by the evidence and that it is not barred in this proceeding as it had 2 independent causes of action, one on the note and one for conversion.
As pointed out above, appellant challenges only some of the findings and states that all other findings and conclusions of law are immaterial. Appellant has, therefore, waived any claim that the remaining findings are unsupported by the evidence. People ex rel. Department of Public Works v. McCullough, 100 Cal.App.2d 101, 223 P.2d 37. If one finding supported by substantial evidence will sustain the trial court's judgment, it will be presumed that the trial court predicated its judgment upon such finding and questions relative to other findings become immaterial on appeal. Brewer v. Simpson, 53 Cal.2d 567, 2 Cal.Rptr. 607; Horney v. Horney, 118 Cal.App.2d 679, 682, 258 P.2d 555; Mershon Co. v. Pachmayr, 88 Cal.App.2d 901, 199 P.2d 687. There is ample evidence in the record to sustain the finding that appellant did not have possession or the right to possession, the conclusion that appellant had no standing to sue is sustained. Thomsen v. Culver City Motor Co., Inc., 4 Cal.App.2d 639, 41 P.2d 597.
Appellant also does not challenge the finding that its negligence caused the loss in the instant case, so the judgment is amply sustained on that basis. Shammas v. Boyett, 114 Cal.App.2d 139, 249 P.2d 880. It was stipulated that the appellant began the Contra Costa County action with full knowledge of how its check had been disbursed by the respondent. The record also indicates that before beginning this action, the appellant knew that the automobile had been refinanced through the Bank of America and that the appellant would not get the certificate of ownership. When appellant attached the Moore automobile, it abandoned its lien, under the rule stated in Wingard v. Banning, 39 Cal. 543, 549 as follows:
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Waffer Internat. Corp. v. Khorsandi, B114443
...defendants (respondents on this appeal). In making this ruling, the trial court relied on Richmond Teachers Credit Union v. James F. Waters, Inc. (1960) 182 Cal.App.2d 110, 5 Cal.Rptr. 716. Richmond has never been cited in any other reported decision, possibly because its statement of facts......