Cal. Codes » Civil Code
California Codes

Cal. Civil Code § 2224 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CA-LEGleginfo.legislature.ca.gov JustiaCode on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

One who gains a thing by fraud, accident, mistake, undue influence, the violation of a trust, or other wrongful act, is, unless he or she has some other and better right thereto, an involuntary trustee of the thing gained, for the benefit of the person who would otherwise have had it.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 97 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1881–2026 · leading case: M&F Fishing, Inc. v. Sea-Pac Ins. Managers, Inc., 202 Cal. App. 4th 1509 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
M&F Fishing, Inc. v. Sea-Pac Ins. Managers, Inc., 202 Cal. App. 4th 1509 (Cal. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “Civil Code section 2224 addresses when a person is deemed to be an “involuntary trustee” and has nothing to do with prejudgment interest.”
Teselle v. McLoughlin, 173 Cal. App. 4th 156 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009). “*177 Civil Code section 2224 sets forth the basis for the imposition of a constructive trust: “One who gains a thing by fraud, accident, mistake, undue influence, the violation of a trust, or other wrongful act, is, unless he or she has some other and better right thereto, an…”
Cline v. Reetz-Laiolo, 329 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (N.D. Cal. 2018). “Code § 2224 ("One who gains a thing by fraud, accident, mistake, undue influence, the violation of a trust, or other wrongful act, is, unless he or she has some other and better right thereto, an involuntary trustee of the thing gained, for the benefit of the person who would…”
Murphy v. Am. Gen. Life Ins., 74 F. Supp. 3d 1267 (C.D. Cal. 2015). “(3) Constructive and Resulting Trust Claims (a) Legal Standards Cal. Civ.Code § 2224 provides that: “[o]ne who gains a thing by fraud, *1281 accident, mistake, undue influence, the violation of a trust, or other wrongful act is, unless he or she has some other and better right…”
Higgins v. Higgins, 11 Cal. App. 5th 648 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017). “” Civil Code section 2224 provides, “One who gains a thing by fraud, accident, mistake, undue influence, the violation of a trust, or other wrongful act, is, unless he or she has some other and better right thereto, an involuntary trustee of the thing gained, for the benefit of…”
Optional Capital, Inc. v. DAS Corp., 222 Cal. App. 4th 1388 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014). “” (Civ. Code, § 2224.) “The case law explains that in order to create a constructive trust as defined in section 2224, three conditions must be satisfied: the existence of a res (property or some interest in the property); the plaintiff’s right to that res; and the defendant’s…”
Xerox Corp. v. Apple Comput., Inc., 734 F. Supp. 1542 (N.D. Cal. 1990). · cites it 2× “14 In Count VI, Xerox alleges that Apple has been unjustly enriched, and seeks a constructive trust under Cal.Civ. Code § 2224 requiring Apple to account for its benefits and pay them over to Xerox.”
Kraus v. Willow Park Pub. Golf Course, 73 Cal. App. 3d 354 (Cal. Ct. App. 1977). “” An involuntary trust was properly imposed in the present case, not because of the intention of the parties but because the person holding title to property, having wrongfully come into possession, whether by mistake or otherwise, would profit by a wrong or would be unjustly…”
Majewsky v. Empire Constr. Co., Ltd., 467 P.2d 547 (Cal. 1970). · cites it 4× “(Civ. Code, § 2224.) The majority opinion recognizes that a person wrongfully using another's money to acquire property could be found a constructive trustee of the property to prevent unjust enrichment ( ante, p.”
A & M Records, Inc. v. Heilman, 198 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 425 (Cal. Ct. App. 1977). “(Civ. Code, § 2224; Church v. Bailey, 90 Cal.”
Javor v. State Bd. of Equalization, 527 P.2d 1153 (Cal. 1974). · cites it 2× “*798 Our opinion was grounded on the following general principles: "Civil Code section 2224 provides: `One who gains a thing by fraud, accident, mistake, .”
Copley v. Copley, 126 Cal. App. 3d 248 (Cal. Ct. App. 1981). “Nor is the constructive trust remedy available as a justification for the relief granted, for that remedy involves impressing the constructive trust on the original trust property or its product when it is in the hands of another (Civ. Code, § 2224; see 7 Witkin, Summary of Cal.”
Show all 97 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.