Wutzke

Defendant Bill Reid Painting Service, Inc. (Reid) appeals from a judgment which declared void a forged deed of reconveyance and rendered Reid’s deed of trust interest in the real property formerly owned by plaintiff Mary M. Wutzke (Wutzke) subordinate to the deed of trust held by Wutzke. We affirm.

Facts

In January 1980, Wutzke sold to Sterling and Joan Miller a parcel of residential real property in Sacramento for $65,000; she received from the Millers an $8,000 down payment and a promissory note in the amount of $57,000 secured by a first deed of trust on the property. The Millers designated Mid-Cal Escrow Company (Mid-Cal) as trustee on the deed of trust; Wutzke was not made aware that Mid-Cal had been formed and was owned by the Millers. The trustee was authorized to reconvey the trust property only when the note it secured had been paid in full. That deed of trust was recorded February 4, 1980.

On February 21, 1980, Sterling Miller executed and caused to be recorded a deed of reconveyance which transferred unencumbered title to the property to himself and his wife; the document falsely represented that Mid-Cal had received from Wutzke, the beneficiary, “a written…