Escondido High School District v. Escondido Seminary of University of Southern California

Action to quiet title to block 340 in the city of Escondido, San Diego county. Plaintiff had judgment, from which and from the order denying motion for new trial this appeal is prosecuted. There are numerous defendants, but the appeal is by the regents of the Escondido Seminary and by the University of Southern California only.

Plaintiff and defendants (regents) claim title through a common source, to wit, Escondido Land and Town Company, whose former ownership all parties concede. Defendants’ deed from this company is dated September 18, 1886, and the plaintiff’s deed is dated February SO, 1897, by quitclaim. Plaintiff also claims under a tax deed by the collector of the Escondido Irrigation District in said county, to H. W. Putnam, dated March 3, 1896, for an assessment made in 1894. Putnam conveyed the premises to plaintiff by deed dated January 8, 1897.

Plaintiff offered in evidence the tax deed between William Becker, collector of the Escondido Irrigation District, first party, and II. W. Putnam, second party, purporting to convey block 340 in question. The entire deed is not in the record, but the following recital from it appears: “That said property was assessed in the…

I concur in the judgment solely on the ground that, in my opinion, the Escondido Seminary of the University of Southern California was never the owner of the property, and has no interest in this controversy. All parties derive title from the Escondido Land and Town Company, which conveyed many lots and blocks by number to certain trustees. Block 340, the property involved here, was not thus conveyed, nor was it mentioned in the granting portion of the deed. In the clause following the habendum, in declaring the purposes of the trust, the trustees are directed to sell all the property, save and except block 340, "known as college grounds, .... which shall be reserved as the seat or campus for said seminary,” unless it shall become expedient to erect the buildings on adjacent property. The campus “may be conveyed” to the regents, in trust, for a campus. It is clear that tins property did not pass-by the deed, and had it been included, the trust, as to it, would have been a mere trust to convey, which is void. (Civ. Code, sec. 857.)