Babb v. Weemer
California Court of Appeal
225 Cal. App. 2d 546 (1964)
Weemer (defendant) had granted a trust deed on her property to secure a $5,400 loan, then sold the property to the Rosettes without mentioning that trust deed in the grant deed. The Rosettes later sold the property to Babb (plaintiff) "subject to the encumbrances and easements of record," with the purchase price reflecting the roughly $8,975 in existing encumbrances. Babb sued Weemer for breach of the implied covenant against encumbrances in the Weemer-to-Rosette deed, because it hadn't disclosed the earlier trust deed. The trial court ruled for Weemer, and Babb appealed.
Whether a covenant that land is free from encumbrances is a personal covenant that does not run with the land, barring a remote subsequent purchaser from suing on it.