Everett

This is an appeal from a judgment quieting title to certain property in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, specifically a strip of land immediately southwest of La Brea and Hollywood Boulevard which formerly was used by the Pacific Electric Railway for railroad purposes following a condemnation proceeding in 1899 giving that company's predecessor a right-of-way thereover. Such right-of-way or easement (35 feet in width) having been abandoned in 1954 or 1955, the trial court was called upon to determine whether respondents owned the underlying fee to the strip of property by reason of certain deeds from the original owner to their predecessors in interest. Having found that they did and having further determined that respondents were not guilty of laches in asserting their claims, the trial court’s conclusions in such regard are challenged by the present proceeding. There are also subsidiary contentions which will be discussed hereinafter.

The common predecessor of all parties to this litigation was one Lizzie T. Hay. As far back as 1893 she was the owner of more than 100 acres which were subdivided in that year as the Formosa Tract and later subdivided (in 1906) as the J. F.…