Bragg

This is an action brought by Robert Bragg, as one of the executors of the last will and testament of his daughter, Mary Jane Bragg, deceased, against Rebecca Bragg Martenstein, another of his daughters, and the coexecutor of the will of his said deceased daughter, to recover damages for the alleged wrongful conversion of certain stocks, the property of the decedent during her lifetime. The case was tried before the court with a jury; upon the conclusion of the testimony and upon motion of the defendant, the court directed the jury to return their verdict in defendant’s favor, and it is the alleged error of the court in so doing which presents the chief question for consideration upon this appeal.

The facts of the case are practically undisputed, and are chiefly derived from the testimony of the plaintiff himself. They show that the plaintiff was the father of a family of fourteen children, among whom were five daughters, of whom the deceased, Mary Jane Bragg, was the eldest. For many years Mary Jane Bragg was a teacher in the public schools of San Francisco, during which time she accumulated considerable property, about forty thousand dollars worth of which was invested in the…