Aquatics Unlimited v. Treasure Lake Resort Camping Club, Inc.

719 S.W.2d 117, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4830
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 20, 1986
DocketNo. 14244
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 719 S.W.2d 117 (Aquatics Unlimited v. Treasure Lake Resort Camping Club, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Aquatics Unlimited v. Treasure Lake Resort Camping Club, Inc., 719 S.W.2d 117, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4830 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

HOGAN, Presiding Judge.

This appeal is taken — on a skeletal record — from the entry of a summary judgment for plaintiff Aquatics Unlimited. A chronology is necessary to an understanding of the case.

I

(a)

May 25, 1984 — Plaintiff's petition was filed in the Circuit Court of Taney County.

May 30, 1984 — Service was had on defendant’s registered agent.

June 28, 1984 — An answer was filed by leave of court. The answer, omitting only the name of defendant’s trial counsel, reads: “Comes now the Defendant by its attorney ... and for its answer to the Petition of Plaintiff, enters herewith its general denial and prays to be discharged with its costs.” It is to be noted that plaintiff’s corporate existence was not put in issue by this general denial. United Farm, Agency v. Howald, 263 S.W.2d 889, 893[9] (Mo.App.1954).

September 10, 1984 — Plaintiff filed Interrogatories and a Request for Admissions. The request for admissions faithfully tracks the allegations of the petition, except for the allegation of plaintiff’s corporate existence. That allegation was not in issue. Service by mail was authorized by Rule 43.01(a) and mailing to defendant’s counsel was certified as of 7 September 1984. Under the provisions of Rule 43.-01(c)(2), service was complete on mailing.

September 20, 1984 — The cause was set for hearing on October 3,1984, at 9:00 a.m.

September 26, 1984 — Defendant moved for a change of judge.

September 27, 1984 — By the operation of Rule 59.01(a), every matter of which an admission was requested stood admitted.

February 15, 1985 — Plaintiff’s attorney moved for a summary judgment. The motion specifically advised defendant’s attorney that plaintiff would “rely upon the pleadings and admissions on file.” Proof of service was made by certificate and again under the provisions of Rule 43.-01(c)(2), service was complete on the day of mailing.

February 27, 1985 — The legal file shows a letter addressed to the court, with copy to the defendant’s attorney. The substance of the letter, as it appears in the legal file, is as follows:

“This will confirm our telephone conversation of Tuesday, February 26, 1985, wherein you set for hearing the pending Motion for Summary Judgment filed in the above case. The hearing is scheduled at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 7, 1985.
By a copy of this letter, I am notifying the Clerk’s office and attorney for the defendant ... of the setting_”

March 7, 1985 — The following docket entry appears: “Plaintiff by Attorney Ben Upp. Defendant appears not. Arguments [119]*119and suggestions heard, plaintiffs motion for summary judgment granted as prayed.”

April 4, 1985 — Motion to vacate Summary Judgment. Suggestions to Support Motion. Notice, Affidavit and Motion to enlarge time.

April 5, 1985 — “Respondent’s Motion to set aside summary judgment granted on grounds of insufficient time for notice of hearing on summary judgment. So ordered.”

April 8, 1985 — The following docket entry appears: “Court reconsiders motion to set aside summary judgment in light of fact that said motion was filed only two days before [the] court lost jurisdiction, that opposing counsel had no notice and that [the] court has now talked by phone with both attorneys (by their agreement), the court now finds and orders that the motion to set aside the summary judgment is overruled and the original summary judgment continues in full force and effect. So ordered.”

(b)

The defendant’s second point addresses the dispositive issue on this appeal. As stated, it is: “The trial court erred in entering summary judgment in favor of plaintiff on April 8, 1985, because both that judgment and the preceding summary judgment which it purported to revive were invalid in that no proper notice thereof was given to [the defendant].” We agree with the defendant that Rule 74.04(c) requires that a motion for summary judgment be served “at least ten days before the time fixed for the hearing.” The bare record shows that this rule was complied with. In fact, defendant was twice served with the motion for summary judgment; the first motion was served February 15, 1985, as we have noted, and again on February 18, 1985. The hearing was not held until March 7, 1985, 20 calendar days after the motion was first served on the defendant.

The substance of defendant’s complaint about service is that it did not receive notice of the hearing as it should have. Rule 74.04(c) does not address the question of notice of the hearing if a hearing is required. A motion for summary judgment is ordinarily only a pretrial motion. In State ex rel. Boyer v. Stussie, 592 S.W.2d 269 (Mo.App.1979), the court noted that “Rule [74.04] does not specify how the date for the hearing shall be ‘fixed’ nor does it, as relator points out, mention that the adverse party be noticed of said hearing date.” Id. at 273. The court continued:

“In the absence of any notice requirement in Rule 74, we are of the opinion that the notice requirements of Rule 44.-01(d) must be complied with by reason of the provision in Rule 41.01(a) that Rules 41 through 101 apply to and govern all civil actions in the Circuit Courts of the state. We conclude that written notice of the calling up of the motion for hearing on November 25, 1977, was necessary. ...”

Id. at 273. Neither Pennell v. Polen, 611 S.W.2d 323 (Mo.App.1980), Tobler’s Flowers, Inc. v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, 632 S.W.2d 15 (Mo.App.1982), nor Joseph v. Howell, 607 S.W.2d 799 (Mo.App.1980), deals with the question of notice of the hearing in the absence of a local rule. Local rules may protect the rights of a non-moving party, but the local rules of the 38th Judicial Circuit have not been cited and we decline to inquire sua sponte.

The notice of hearing to which the defendant was entitled in this case was that provided for by Rule 44.01(d) — five days’ notice of the hearing. The defendant concedes that plaintiff's counsel served his letter upon it by mail on March 7,1985, and that “[o]n its face, this would appear to accord Appellant eight days’ notice of the hearing.” However, counsel argues, the exclusion of Saturday and Sunday, March 2 and 3, reduces the notice to six days. Again we agree. We cannot agree that Rule 44.01(e) was applicable; counsel does not state what act or proceeding the defendant had the right to or was required to do after being served with notice of the hearing, and in our opinion there was none. Defendant had adequate notice of the hearing.

[120]*120In any event, counsel argues, these rules are of little significance, inasmuch as it received no notice at all of the judgment entered by the trial court on April 8, save a telephone conference on the date judgment was entered.

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Bluebook (online)
719 S.W.2d 117, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 4830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aquatics-unlimited-v-treasure-lake-resort-camping-club-inc-moctapp-1986.