Hill

Plaintiff recovered a judgment for the purchase money which he had paid upon a contract for the purchase of a ten-acre almond orchard. The contract was rescinded for fraudulent concealment inducing plaintiff to consent to a substitution in his contract of a prune orchard for the almond orchard. Defendant appeals, claiming chiefly that the evidence is insufficient to prove fraud and that it shows such laches upon the part of plaintiff in discovering the fraud as to bar his action.

The facts disclosed by the evidence and findings are as follows: In September, 1919, plaintiff, who then resided in Chicago, entered into a written contract with defendant to purchase the north ten acres of lot 38, Associated Almond Orchards, Independence No. 1, near Paso Robles, California. The contract called for monthly installments of purchase price which were paid as they fell due. It required the corporation to plant the land to almond trees, to cultivate and care for the same and pay all taxes for four years. It contained covenants for the protection of the buyer in case of illness or death. It provided also for a development fund to be held by a trustee who would also hold the title to the land.…