Grattan

On December 9, 1954, the United Machinery Engineering Corporation, a machine shop operated by Sam Saso and Clarence Tindall, executed a chattel mortgage to secure the payment of a promissory note for $16,803.20 three years from date with interest of 6 per cent per annum to the plaintiffs. The mortgage was duly recorded on December 16, 1954. The plaintiffs also became the owners of some of the other machinery of the corporation by virtue of a bill of sale dated April 20, 1955. United Machinery was the tenant of two buildings on the premises owned by the defendant at 965 Chestnut Street in San Jose. On about April 20, 1955, United Machinery in default under the chattel mortgage and owing past due rent, ceased operations. The defendant instituted a suit for back rent against the president of the corporation, Sam Saso, and attempted to attach the machinery remaining on the premises. While the attachment proceeding was pending, the defendant, upon hearing from his neighbors that Sam Saso was carrying away machinery by the truckload, replaced the lock of the building with a lock of his own, thus excluding all others from the premises. The property was never attached by the defendant. On…