Roberti

The plaintiff commenced an action against the defendants asking damages for the conversion of twenty-six bales of cotton. The defendants appeared and answered and the action was tried in the trial court before the court sitting without a jury. Findings in favor of the plaintiff were filed and a judgment was entered thereon in its favor. From that judgment the defendants have appealed under section 953a of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The plaintiff is a corporation conducting a warehouse at San Pedro. During the latter part of 1922 it had on storage several thousand bales of cotton. The cotton was stored one bale high in tiers and rows in a yard adjacent to a cotton compress. The yard was not fenced and on one side a highway was not far removed. The plaintiff had a watchman on duty to watch the yard. Roberti Bros., the defendants, were engaged in the manufacture of mattresses and had a place of business in Los Angeles. During the months of November and December, 1922, a negro, E. L. McAllister, commenced a series of thefts. Later, after certain investigations had been made, he was arrested for stealing twenty-six bales of the plaintiff’s cotton. He pleaded guilty to a charge of…