Bank of Poplar Bluff v. Casey

231 S.W.2d 851, 241 Mo. App. 292, 1950 Mo. App. LEXIS 331
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 10, 1950
StatusPublished

This text of 231 S.W.2d 851 (Bank of Poplar Bluff v. Casey) 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
Bank of Poplar Bluff v. Casey, 231 S.W.2d 851, 241 Mo. App. 292, 1950 Mo. App. LEXIS 331 (Mo. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

BLAIR, J.

This case involves the right 6f respondents to maintain an injunction suit to prevent appellant from removing certain property, alleged by appellant to be personal, property, from Lot Thirteen (13) in Block One (1), etc., located in the city of Poplar Bluff, Butler County, .Missouri.

A petition was filed in the Circuit Court of Butler County, Missouri, on July 7, 1948, by Respondent Bank of Poplar Bluff, a Corporation. It afterwards appeared that respondents Guy Cruce and Imal Coral Cruce claimed some interest in the particular property, by reason of a purchase by them of the described real property from respondent Bank, subject to its deed of trust thereon, and their names were added as .plaintiffs in an amended petition.

On April 12, 1949, defendant, now appellant, filed his answer, to such amended petition. The trial. court entered its findings and judgment on August 9, 1949. Defendant filecl his motion for a new trial in proper time. The trial’ court overruled defendant’s motion for new trial on September 13, 1949. Such defendant filed his notice of appeal to .this Court on September 21, 1949. The time for pre[300]*300paring and filing the transcript on appeal was afterwards extended. The case is thus before us for consideration.

Both appellant and respondents agree that this Court, and not the Supreme Court, has appellate jurisdiction. The amount involved is well within the appellate jurisdiction of this Court; but we arev not bound by the consent of the parties to the appellate jurisdiction of this Court, if the Supreme Court actually has -such appellate jurisdiction. In that event, it would be our duty to transfer the case to the Supreme Court, notwithstanding such consent. Lammering v. Gerhardt (Mo. Supreme Court) 229 S. W. 338, and cases cited.

The Supreme Court has exclusive appellate jurisdiction where the title to real estate is in issue, regardless of the amount involved. Article V, Section 3, of the 1945 Constitution. So the question for us to decide is whether or not the title to real estate' is involved in this case, regardless of the agreement' of appellant arid respondents that appellate jurisdiction is in this Court and not in the Supreme Court.

In Hilton v. The City of St. Louis, 129 Mo. 389, l. c. 391, Judge Macfarlane, speaking for the Supreme Court, said:

“The constitution does not declare that the jurisdiction exists if a question of'title is involved in the trial, but that the case tried must involve the title. We take the provision to mean that the title to real estate must, in some way, be affected by the judgment to be rendered on the entire case as made by the pleadings and evidence. This seems to be the view this court has uniformly taken. Bobb v. Wolff, 105 Mo. 52; Blondeau v. Sheridan, 103 Mo. 134; Bailey v. Winn, 113 Mo. 161; State ex rel. v. Rombauer, 124 Mo. 598.”
This rule has apparently been followed by the Supreme Court ever since the.ease, above cited. Fischer v. Johnson, et al. 139 Mo. 433, 41 S. W. 203; Schroer v. Brooks, (Mo. Supreme Court) 200 S. W. 1068. The case of Gray v. Worst, 129 Mo. 122, has been overruled.

We therefore must rule that the title to real estate is not involved in this case, regardless of whether or not the items claimed by appellant were part of the real estate at the time he secured possesr sion of the real estate, or were previously or at any subsequent time separated from such real estate, as a part thereof.

Among other things, the trial court found as follows:

“The Court further finds that John Robertson bought the real estate described in plaintiff’s petition and in evidence from one Ed West and moved there in August of 1947 and on November 3, 1947, he and his wife executed a note secured by a deed of trust on said property to the plaintiff, Bank of Poplar Bluff, which was recorded in the office of Recorder of Deeds on the same date.
“The Court.further finds that at the time of the note and deed of trust to the plaintiff Bank of Poplar Bluff, said plaintiff’s [301]*301agent inspected the real estate described in the petition in evidence and that there was then attached thereto one furnace, one furnace blower, one furnace stoker, furnace pipes, electric water cooler, fluorescent electric lights, equipment, fixtures and switches, all of which have been described in evidence and are in issue in this cause and which are the same items included in the chattel mortgage aforesaid to the Robertson Motor Company and later assigned to the Butler County Finance Company; that the furnace was attached to a concrete base with stoker attached and stoker coal in the coal bin; that pipes from the furnace had been inserted through floors and walls to reach their destination for the purpose of supplying heat; that the fluorescent light fixtures were attached to the ceiling at places used in the conduct of the affairs of a garage building and the electric water cooler was installed in a filling station located on said property and adjacent to the garage building.
“The Court further finds that John Robertson doing business as the Robertson Motor Company used the real - estate and buildings there on as a garage and automobile sales building and filling station in conjunction therewith; that he moved into said properties in the fall and operated all of it and that the furnace, stoker, blower, fluorescent light fixtures, equipment and switches and the electric water cooler were attached and annexed to the property and by their use adapted, to the uses of said real estate and by the actions and use of John Robertson, then the owner, intended to be fixtures to .the realty. ’ ’

Further in its findings of fact, the trial court said:

“The Court further finds that the plaintiff Bank of Poplar Bluff foreclosed their deed of trust March 31, 1947, and on June 2, 1948 sold the real estate in question to Plaintiffs, Guy Cruce and Imal Coral Cruce and took a deed of trust to secure the unpaid balance of the purchase price.
“The Court further finds that the defendant has no interest in and has not acquired any interest in and to the furnace, furnace blower, the furnace stoker, the furnace pipes, fluorescent electric lights, equipment, fixtures and switches and electric water cooler. ’ ’

Whether the items here involved were a part of the real estate, or were at one time separated therefrom and were the personal property of John Robertson, does not- involve the determination of the title to real estate, under the cases cited. If such items were a part of the real estate and were not personal property, such fact only determines the rights thereto of the parties in the suit, and does not involve title to the real estate itself.

Our task then, is to determine whether or not the trial judge was justified, under the evidence, in making the findings he did make.

While it is our duty, in an equity case, to decide the case according [302]*302to the law and - the1-evidence in the case, and to reach our own conclusions thereon, we may not set aside the judgment of the trial court, unless such judgment is clearly erroneous, and due regard should always -be given to the opportunity of the trial court to judge of the credibility of. the witnesses, who testified in the trial.

Civil Code, Mo. R.S.A. Sec. 847.114 (d) ; Lowe v. Lowe, 229 S. W. (2d) 7, l. c. 13; A. A. Electric Machinery Co. v.

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Related

Lowe v. Lowe
229 S.W.2d 7 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1950)
St. Louis Union Trust Co. v. Busch
145 S.W.2d 426 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1940)
Camden Fire Ins. Ass'n v. Yarborough
229 S.W. 336 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1921)
Blondeau v. Sheridan
103 Mo. 134 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1890)
Bobb v. Wolff
105 Mo. 52 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1891)
Bailey v. Winn
20 S.W. 21 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1892)
Gray v. Worst
31 S.W. 585 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1895)
Hilton v. City of St. Louis
31 S.W. 771 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1895)
Fischer v. Johnson
41 S.W. 203 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1897)

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Bluebook (online)
231 S.W.2d 851, 241 Mo. App. 292, 1950 Mo. App. LEXIS 331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-of-poplar-bluff-v-casey-moctapp-1950.