Pryor

Plaintiff brought the action to recover a commission as broker for the sale of defendant’s land. The case was tried by the court without a jury, and plaintiff had judgment, from which defendant appeals.

The trial court found that “on or about the 3rd day of March, 1921, the Defendant by the written agreement hereinafter referred to, employed the Plaintiff to find a purchaser for, and to sell for the Defendant, certain real property, described as follows: Ten acres of land adjoining the ‘Chisholm Ranch’ near Windsor in Sonoma County, California, which said real property was at that time in the possession of Defendant, and agreed to pay plaintiff for his services, and as his compensation for finding a purchaser for said land, and making a sale thereof, a commission of five per cent for the purchase price accepted by the defendant for said real property from a purchaser found by said Plaintiff.”

The contract which was offered by plaintiff to support such finding was as follows:

The proof of the foregoing contract was established by parol evidence, the original contract having been lost, it having been returned to the defendant (seller) and he failing to produce the same at the…