De Mallagh v. De Mallagh

Action to declare a trust. The court below gave judgment for the plaintiff, and the defendants appeal. The facts as shown by the record are as follows:—

In 1877 the plaintiff, who was a Spanish woman, not understanding the English language, owned two pieces of real property, one of which was a ranch of five hundred acres, and the other a lot in San Luis Obispo. Both of these were mortgaged, and the interest was eat-, ing up the property. In this condition of affairs she conveyed the property to her son David, at his suggestion, in order to enable him to manage the same and try to effect a sale. The court finds, and we think the evidence shows, that no consideration was paid for this deed, and that David was the agent of his mother with respect to the property. He did not succeed in effecting a. sale, and the property was sold under foreclosure proceedings to the persons who held the mortgage. It was claimed, however, in behalf of the mortgagor, that the proceedings on the foreclosure sale were void, and the plaintiff and her other children continued in possession of the property, David managing the same and disposing of the produce of the ranch, and receiving the money arising…