Edgar v. Ruma

823 S.W.2d 59, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1679, 1991 WL 230064
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 12, 1991
DocketNo. 59648
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 823 S.W.2d 59 (Edgar v. Ruma) 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
Edgar v. Ruma, 823 S.W.2d 59, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1679, 1991 WL 230064 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

AHRENS, Judge.

In this garnishment action, garnishee, American Bank of Rolla, (Bank) appeals from the trial court’s judgment in favor of garnishors Bruce and Mary Ellen Ruma. We reverse.

On February 5, 1990, garnishors obtained a net judgment of $3,634 on their counterclaim against David Lloyd Edgar. On April 6, 1990, garnishors requested a garnishment be served on Bank regarding: “Account in the name of David orPPeggy [sic] Edgar, Account No. 08828978, or any other account which includes the name David Lloyd Edgar or David Edgar.” In its responses to Interrogatories to Garnishee, Bank stated it did not have any property, money or effects of the judgment debtor in its possession or control. The Bank further responded:

David and Peggy Edgar, husband and wife, did have account # 882-897-8 at American Bank of Rolla, f/k/a First State Bank of Rolla. A copy of the account card is attached hereto. The depositors owned the account as tenants by the entirety. Sec. 362.470.5. See Strout Realty, Inc. vs. Henry, 758 S.W.2d 197, 198 (Mo.App., S.D.1988).

The account card attached to Bank’s interrogatory answers stated the account name was “David or Peggy Edgar,” the account was “Joint” and it was dated “4-17-80.”

In their exceptions to Bank’s answers, garnishors asserted that David Edgar’s “previous representations, as well as documents produced by Plaintiff pursuant to a Request For Production of Documents in this matter establish that the account against which [garnishors] have filed their execution, levy and garnishment is Plaintiff’s sole and separate account used for business purposes.” Garnishors also asserted that their motion to add Edgar’s wife in the underlying proceeding had been denied “based upon the representations of Plaintiff and his counsel that said Peggy Edgar had nothing to do with the operation of Plaintiff’s business nor with the funds on deposit in the subject account.” Thus, garnishors argued, “by virtue of the prior representation to this Honorable Court, Plaintiff [David Edgar] should not be permitted to avoid execution, levy and garnishment of his judgment creditors by now asserting that the subject account is a joint account with his wife which is used for business and personal matters.” Garnishee Bank filed its response to the exceptions denying garnishors’ allegations and reasserting its claim that the account was held by the entireties, and was not subject to execution and garnishment by a judgment creditor of only the husband.

A hearing on Bank’s interrogatory answers, garnishors’ exceptions and Bank’s response was held; it appears that no testimony or evidence was presented. Following the hearing, the trial court entered findings of fact, conclusions of law, and judgment. The trial court found that “at the time of oral argument on Defendants’ Motion to Join Person Needed For Just Adjudication, Plaintiff made clear and unequivocal representations to the Court that Peggy Edgar had nothing whatever to do with the operation of Plaintiff’s business or with the funds on deposit in the bank account against which Defendants’ garnishment and execution have now been filed.” The trial court sustained garnishors’ exceptions to Bank’s interrogatory answers, and judgment was entered for garnishors and against Bank in the amount of $3,899.74. The trial court denied Bank’s motion for attorney’s fees.

In its first point, Bank contends the trial court erred in sustaining garnishors’ exceptions to Bank’s interrogatory answers and [61]*61entering judgment against Bank, because “the bank account in question was held as a tenancy by the entirety and as such was not subject to garnishment by a creditor of ' one spouse.” Bank’s second point alleges the trial court’s finding that David Edgar had earlier represented that his wife had no connection with the bank account was “totally without support in the record.” We consider Bank’s first and second points together.

“An execution arising from a judgment against the husband alone ordinarily cannot affect a bank account or other property held by a husband and wife as tenants by the entirety.” Vaughn v. Spitz, 682 S.W.2d 847, 848 (Mo.App.1984). Under Missouri law, bank accounts can be held as tenants by the entirety “where one spouse can draw upon the account if there is ‘an agreement that the money can be paid to either or only one of them’.” Strout Realty, Inc. v. Henry, 758 S.W.2d 197, 198 (Mo.App.1988) (quoting Leuzinger v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 396 S.W.2d 570, 580 (Mo. banc 1965)).

The account card filed with Bank’s interrogatory answers bore purported signatures of David Edgar and Peggy Edgar. The card set forth the following agreement:

“The undersigned joint depositors, hereby agree each with the other and with the above bank that all sums now on deposit heretofore or hereafter deposited by either or both of said joint depositors with said bank to their credit as such joint depositors with all accumulations thereon, are and shall be owned by them jointly with right of survivorship and be subject to the check or receipt of either of them or the survivor of them and payment to or on the check of either or the survivor shall be valid and discharge said bank from liability.” (Emphasis added).

In light of that agreement, the undisputed fact that David and Peggy Edgar are husband and wife, and the absence of any challenge to the authenticity of the signatures on the card, it is apparent the account is held as tenants by the entirety.

As noted in Vaughn, “[creditors may reach funds in the bank account of another if the funds actually belong to the debtor.” Vaughn, 682 S.W.2d at 848. “[I]f the creditor contends that the debtor created an apparent ownership of his property so as to defraud creditors, a garnishment proceeding is an appropriate proceeding to determine if there has been a fraudulent transfer.” Id. Garnishors, however, had the burden of proving facts essential to the garnishee’s liability. Williamson v. Home Ins. Co., 778 S.W.2d 281, 282 (Mo.App.1989). Thus, it was garnishors’ burden to prove their contention that the joint bank account opened almost ten years earlier was David Edgar’s business account in which his wife had no interest.

Garnishors contend that they met their burden. The trial court’s judgment in the garnishment action included a specific finding that:

[A]t the time of oral argument on Defendants’ Motion To Join Person needed For Just Adjudication, Plaintiff [David Edgar] made clear and unequivocal representations to the Court that Peggy Edgar had nothing whatever to do with the operation of Plaintiff’s business or with the funds on deposit in the bank account against which Defendants’ garnishment and execution have now been filed.

Garnishors, however, presented no evidence at the garnishment hearing. Rule 90.13(e) provides that the issues tried shall be those raised by the garnishor’s exceptions and the garnishee’s response. Thus, the trial court’s finding is based solely on unrecorded testimony in a prior proceeding to which Bank was not a party.

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Bluebook (online)
823 S.W.2d 59, 1991 Mo. App. LEXIS 1679, 1991 WL 230064, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edgar-v-ruma-moctapp-1991.