Leonis v. Lazzarovich

Citations

• 55 Cal. 52

Syllabus

<p>Married Woman —Mistake — Reformation of Deed.—A Court of Equity cannot reform the deed of a married woman.</p> <p>Id.—Conveyance—Acknowledgment. — A married woman can only be divested of lier real estate in the mode prescribed by statute; and the certificate of acknowledgment, (required by §§ 1186 and 1191 Civil Code) are as much an essential part of the execution of the deed as her signature.</p> <p>Mistake—Findings—Conflict of Evidence.—To reform a deed on the ground of mistake, the evidence must be clear and convincing, making out the case to the entire satisfaction of the Court, and not loose, equivocal or contradictory, leaving the mistake open to doubt. Held, accordingly, that it might be seriously doubted, in view of the substantial conflict in the testimony, whether a finding of mistake was justified, but the decision placed upon another ground.</p>