In Bastajian v. Brown (1941) 19 Cal.2d 209, the plaintiff brought a lawsuit against the defendants to quiet title to real property, based upon plaintiff's claim that two trust deeds and a conveyance to defendants were obtained by fraud and undue influence and that the consideration was inadequate. The case was tried and submitted to the court, and a minute entry was made stating, "Cause heretofore tried and submitted, the court now orders judgment for defendants." (Bastajian, supra, 19 Cal.2d at p. 210.) Defense counsel, who got sick and died a few months later, failed to submit findings of fact and conclusions of law. Almost a year later, plaintiff's counsel submitted findings of fact and conclusions of law and a judgment, which were signed and filed by the trial court. The judgment plaintiff submitted and the court signed, however, stated that the trust deeds were valid in every respect and the property was subject to them, but the conveyance of the property from plaintiff to defendants was invalid as claimed in the complaint; and that if the sums payable under the trust deeds were not paid in six months, plaintiff would no longer have any interest in the property. (Id. at pp. 210-211.) The defendants, through substituted counsel, filed a motion to vacate the findings and judgment on the ground they did not conform to the true judgment rendered by the court. The trial court granted the motion and directed defendants to prepare findings of fact and conclusions of law and judgment in accordance with the decision the court had announced following trial. In its order vacating the findings and judgment, the court stated that it "'intended to pronounce and did pronounce judgment in this action in favor of the defendants upon all of the issues presented, and decreed, among other things, that the deed conveying the premises involved in this action to the defendants Brown was valid and in force and effect and conveyed good title to them, while said Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and said Judgment inadvertently and erroneously contained findings against said defendants and in favor of the plaintiff, and inadvertently and erroneously decreed that said deed be set aside, which was not the judgment of this court; that said Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and said Judgment were signed by this court inadvertently and by mistake, and did not express the intent of this court nor the true judgment rendered herein, and that the signing of the same by said court constituted a clerical mistake.'" (Bastajian, supra, 19 Cal.2d at pp. 211-212.) The Supreme Court held that the trial court had the power to set aside the judgment because the trial court's error in signing the judgment was a clerical, rather than judicial, error. (Bastajian, supra, 19 Cal.2d at p. 214.) The Supreme Court stressed that the trial court's statement that the findings and judgment it signed did not conform to the true judgment rendered, in that the court intended to pronounce judgment in favor of the defendants, "cannot be wholly disregarded nor lightly brushed aside. It was a declaration of a fact that was concealed in the mind of the judge, and no one was in a better position than he to state his true intent. He may have failed to read the findings and judgment before signing them. He may have supposed they were in favor of defendants. His declaration may be construed to so indicate." (Ibid.) The Supreme Court also observed that the record supported the trial court's declaration that the judgment had been signed by mistake, because the minute entry made shortly after trial stated that judgment was ordered for defendants. The Supreme Court noted that "while that minute entry was not the decision or judgment of the court and the opinion thereby expressed was not binding upon the court it must be true that it is evidence of the intent of the court as to the decision, findings of fact and conclusion of law, he intended to ultimately make. It may be inferred therefrom that his intent was the same when he in fact did sign findings, and as those findings were contrary to the intention so expressed, the signing thereof was a clerical error." (Id. at p. 215.)