Pfunder

The judgment, from which defendants appeal, covers eighty per cent of the value ($500) of a tractor, which was sold by the sheriff in execution of a judgment against the respondent’s husband.

It is conceded that the tractor as originally purchased by respondent’s husband was community property of the husband and wife. It was found by the court that said tractor had been purchased under a sales contract, in the name of the husband, and that eighty per cent of said purchase price was paid by the plaintiff with her separate earnings. Said earnings were deposited in a joint bank account of the plaintiff and her husband, and that account was checked upon in making the payments for the tractor. The remaining twenty per cent of the purchase price “was paid out of community funds belonging to plaintiff and her husband.” The court found, also, that until seized by the sheriff the tractor had remained “in joint possession” of the plaintiff and her husband.

Section 168 of the Civil Code says: “The earnings of the wife are not liable for the debts of the husband.” In this case the wife had earned certain money by her personal industry. That money went into the joint bank account, and was…