Citations
- 12 Cal. App. 2d 537
Full opinion text
THE COURT.
This action was brought for the purposes of securing the rescission of a contract for the sale of a lot on one of the beaches of Los Angeles County, upon the ground of fraudulent representations. The trial court found for defendants on all issues, and refused to grant a rescission, and plaintiffs now appeal from the judgment. ¡
Of the twelve points urged for reversal of the judgment, nine are based upon the insufficiency of the evidence to support the findings. Two of such points are listed under errors of law, but in effect, they also attack the findings upon the ground of insufficiency. The other point is based upop error in giving judgment for defendants, and in refusing | plaintiffs’ motion for new trial. It is a fair statement to say that the entire attack made upon the judgment arises out of the insufficiency of the evidence.
One of the defenses set up in the answer was that plaintiffs were barred by their laches from rescinding the transaction, and we shall first dispose of that issue opl fact.
Section 1691 of the Civil Code requires the party entitled to rescind “to rescind promptly, upon discovering the facts which entitle him to rescind”. Whether or not the defrauded party has rescinded “promptly” will depend upon all the circumstances of the particular case, and is, of course, 4 question primarily for the trial court. (French v. Freeman, 191 Cal. 579 [217 Pac. 515, 519].) “As held generally, the question of the existence of laches is one to be determined primarily by, and must be left largely to the trial court.” (Akers v. Hufford, 128 Cal. App. 146 [16 Pac. (2d) 802].) “The question of laches is, in the first instance, largely one for the determination of the trial court, and its conclusion will not be set aside by an appellate court if it finds reasonable support in the evidence.” (McMahon v. Grimes, 206 Cal. 526 [275 Pac. 440], citing numerous cases.) Is there sufficient evidence in the record to justify the finding that plaintiffs failed to rescind promptly? We belief that an inquiry into the factual structure of the case must lead to an affirmative answer.
On July 10, 1929, plaintiffs and defendant, Title Insurance and Trust Company, entered into a written contract, whereby the former agreed to purchase, and the latter agreed to sell, a lot on the beach of the Pacific ocean in Los Angeles County. The property lies between the state highway and the beach, the rear line being bounded by the highway. The description of the lot gives a width of 30 feet. There is no definite length to the lot in number of feet, it being described as “lying between the center line of the Malibu Road . . . and the ordinary high-tide line of the Pacific Ocean”. Prior to the date of the sale to plaintiffs, the owners of the tract had erected a number of groynes along the beach. According to the testimony of the one the engineers a “groyne” is defined by the engineering department as a steel framework extending into the ocean to increase the beach and make it broader. There were four groynes along the beach where this lot is situated, varying in length from 151 feet to 202 feet. Although plaintiffs rely upon a number of representations made prior to the execution of the contract, they all arise out of the statement made by the seller as to the effect of the groynes in increasing the length of the lot. Plaintiffs testified that the seller represented to them that the effect of the groynes would be to increase the depth of the lots to between 200 and 300 feet. It may be pointed out that when the lots were purchased, the distance from the rear line of the lot to the high-tide line was some 80 or 85 feet. Thus, if the groynes had the effect which it is contended the seller represented, the lot would increase in depth over two to three times.
The finding of fact upon laches arising out of failure to rescind promptly upon discovery of the facts which are the basis of the foregoing representation is as follows: “The court finds that plaintiffs did become fully aware of the fact that the lot which they had contracted to purchase on July 10, 1929, was not being appreciably built up or increased in depth as the result of the maintenance of said groynes or otherwise, at least within one year from said date, but nevertheless they made no complaint and took no action toward rescinding or otherwise seeking redress for more than two years thereafter. On the contrary, the court finds that in truth and in fact while said groynes did tend to stabilize the shore, they did not have the effect of building up or adding to the depth of the lot in any appreciable degree, and the fact that they did not have that effect and would n