Matthews

This is an action for the recovery of money placed on a wager by the plaintiff and one William Matthews in the custody of the defendant as a stakeholder.

The complaint, in substance, alleges that, on the fifteenth day of September, 1912, at the town of Penngrove, in Sonoma County, the plaintiff and said William Matthews deposited with the defendant as wagers the sums of five hundred dollars and one hundred dollars, respectively, said sums, .with other moneys wagered against them, to be held by the defendant as a stakeholder with the mutual understanding between the parties and instructions to the defendant that the moneys so held should be paid to the winner of a certain “wrestling” contest, to take place at said town of Penngrove, on the said fifteenth day of September, 1912, between the plaintiff and one George McLeod; that on said day, at about the hour of 3:30 p. m., said wrestling match wás started, but that before the same was finished or completed, it was stopped by one John Lopus, a deputy sheriff of Sonoma County, because such contest involved an infraction of the law, (Pen. Code, sec. 337a, as amended in 1911—see Stats. 1911, p. 4) ; that immediately upon the stopping…