Kelley v. Owens

Citations

• 3 Cal. Unrep. 507
• 30 P. 596

Syllabus

<p>Fraud—Shifting of Burden of Proof.—Plaintiff .asked that an agreement made by her to convey land to defendant for stock in an iron and steel company be canceled, alleging that defendant induced her to make the contract by representing that a new method had been discovered for the cheap manufacture, at a great profit, of a superior quality of fine steel and iron, for which invention a caveat had been filed, and that this company had been formed for the manufacture of steel under this process; which representations plaintiff alleged to be false, and known by defendant so to be. Held, that as these were negative allegations, but little was necessary to shift the burden of proof to the party having the best opportunities for knowledge of the facts, and that testimony of an expert that the process, as given in the caveat, would not produce steel, was sufficient to place on defendant the burden of proving the truth of the representations made by him.1</p> <p>Fraud—Evidence in Defense.—In such case, if the representations made by defendant were false, he cannot show that plaintiff did not rely on them by evidence that plaintiff investigated the matter for herself, and expressed herself as fully satisfied, when such investigations consisted merely in asking information from persons to whom she was referred by defendant, and who knew and could know nothing of the process, except what they were told of it by him.2</p> <p>Fraud—Evidence of Other Frauds.—Where fraud in the purchase or sale of property is in issue, evidence of other frauds of like character, committed by the same parties, at or near the same time, is admissible.2</p>