Ross

The assignor of the plaintiff herein held a crop mortgage on a quantity of pink beans. This mortgage was executed by Gussie Leal alone without the signature of her husband, Raul Leal. The defendant, as sheriff, levied upon and took possession of said beans upon a writ of attachment or execution (the record is not clear as to what the writ was) issued in a certain action by the Bank of Italy, a substantial creditor, against Raul Leal, the husband. The sheriff ignored the crop mortgage of plaintiff herein and made no compliance with section 2969 of the Civil Code. The plaintiff herein, claiming the right of possession under the crop mortgage, brought action against the sheriff for possession of the beans. The trial court gave judgment for the defendant upon the ground that the beans were community property of the Leals and that, therefore, the crop mortgage executed by the wife alone was ineffective. From this judgment the plaintiff appeals.

The trial proceeded upon the issue of whether the beans were the separate property of the wife or the community property of the spouses.

The evidence, more in detail, follows: Raul A. Leal had for some time farmed the Righetti ranch under a…