Winchester

Appeal from a judgment for the plaintiff and from an order denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial.

This is a suit for forcible entry on the plaintiff’s land. The premises in controversy consist of a lot of land situate in the city of Los Angeles, with a six-room dwelling-house thereon. On the record before us there can be no question as to the defendant’s hostile entries upon the land in question on two several occasions and that the entries were without justification, or that the land was owned and in the actual possession of the plaintiff at the time of the defendant’s entries; at which time also it appears that the house was securely locked and the keys in the possession of the plaintiff, except the key of one back door, which was secreted over the door. The first entry was in the absence of the plaintiff through the back door with this key and on the tenth day of June. On the 12th the plaintiff found an agent of the defendant on the premises and, taking from him the key, ordered him off. The defendant then, through his agent, applied to plaintiff for the key, proposing to enter under a pretended agreement for a sale of the land on which a deposit of $100 had been…

I concur in the judgment of the court and in the suggested modification of the judgment of the court below. I place my concurrence, however, upon the ground that it seems to me that the evidence discloses that the defendant did not take forcible possession of the house in question, but that he entered the same without any lawful right so to do, and that there is evidence contained in the testimony of Miss Winchester to uphold the findings and decision of the court to the effect that after this entry without right he held possession of the house by force. The plaintiff testifies: “I did not see Mrs. Becker at the time I was talking to Mr. Becker at the house. He showed me the receipt and stepped out and kept forcing me out of the door onto the porch, and I was standing on the porch and the door was closed when he showed me the check with my signature.” In my opinion, this is sufficient evidence of force to uphold the finding of forcible detainer.

A petition for a rehearing of this cause was denied by the district court of appeal on November 24, 1906, and a petition to have the cause heard in the supreme court, after judgment in the district court of appeal, was denied by the…