The San Francisco call., 1898-12-25
TITLES CLoUDED.
A Curious Case by Which Many
 Property Owners Are Affected.


 very unusual point of law has arisen and been passed upon by the Superior Court whereby the title Is clouded of the Spring Valley Homestead Association, the French and Gilman tract, the College Homestead Associa- tion, the De Boom tract, the Jones Ad- dition and generally upon lots and blocks of land comprising some two hundred acres of land surrounding St Mary's College near the Mission road. The case is an interesting one and Is of material moment to some four hundred property owners who have purchased in that district. The properties involved are valued at about one million dollars. On the 24th of December, 1859, the Islais and Salinas Water Company was incorporated and Francis L. A. Pioche, Henry A. Cobb and Cornelius de Boom, all of whom are now dead, were the trustees in 1860 of the corporation, which was vested with complete title to the two hundred acres of land now cut up in the various lots and blocks of the homesteads above named. All of this property has since January, 1860, been conveyed by deed of the three trustees and the attesting clause reads as fol- lows in all deeds made by the Islais and Salinas Water Company, corporation, viz:
 Tn witness whereof the said The Islais and Salinas Water Company, first party in pursuance of resolution duly passed by all the stockholders of said company, have caused these pres ents to be signed by Francis l.. A. Pioche, Henry A. Cobb and Cornelius de Boom, as trustees. and In the ab- sence of any corporate seal have caused fba r,riuaf SaalS of said trustees tO be hereto affixed.
 "F'. L. A. PIOCHE, Trustee (SeaD.
 I'll. A. COBB, Trustee (SeaD.
 "C. DE BOOM, Trustee (SeaD.
 An action of ejectment in the case of Barney vs. Pforr was brought before Judge Seawell of the Superior Court, who held the deed bad in law. The case was carried to the Supreme Court, which at page 56-59 of IT California affirmed the decision of Judge Seawell. The decision was to the effect that the deeds were bad in law for the reason where the deed purports to be sealed by the private seals of the trustees of a corporation, for the all legged reason that the corporation has no seal, ratification, in the absence of record proof of authority for the deed, cannot be inferred from the delivery of the deed"
 A hearing in bank was denied and thus the flaw in the title was confirmed by the highest court of the State. Re gently a case was brought by parties who, having obtained the legal author ity to sue in the name of the Islais and Salinas Land and Water Company, have filed complaint in action to quiet title to the entire tract of two hundred acres which comprises all of the above named homesteads and tracts. The California Title Insurance and Trust to Ia fOf,a al persons it has insured in these tracts and has at it's own expense arranged to quiet the title of all those covered by its policies, which in this section number over fifty. While the court would probably hold that owners in this section may not be ejected by reason of, in the majority of cases, an occupation of at least twenty years, yet the cloud exists and the difficulty of selling prop erty or of borrowing money upon it is obvious. The point forcibly illustrates the advantage of being secured by a policy of title insurance for "a title per feet of record may be worthless in fact n