De Martin v. Phelan
California Supreme Court
115 Cal. 538 (1897)
- Written by Daniel Clark, JD
Facts
De Martin (plaintiff) was the mother of 13 children and the owner of a tract of land worth approximately $400,000. Phelan (defendant) held mortgages on the land, upon which De Martin owed approximately $200,000. The market value of De Martin’s equity of redemption was approximately $45,000, and Phelan would have willingly paid that amount to obtain it. De Martin was indigent and unable to avoid defaulting on her mortgages. In an effort to obtain De Martin’s equity for the lowest possible price, Phelan posted advertisements for potential foreclosure sales of De Martin’s property. Phelan’s strategy was successful, and De Martin deeded her equity to Phelan for $19,000. Six years later, De Martin learned that Phelan was aware of De Martin’s precarious situation and took advantage of her distress. De Martin also learned that Phelan would have been willing to pay $45,000 for De Martin’s equity. De Martin brought an action seeking to void the transaction. The court ruled that De Martin had failed to allege a cause of action, and De Martin appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Temple, J.)
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