Eveloff Ex Rel. Eveloff v. Cram

161 S.W.2d 36, 236 Mo. App. 1013, 1942 Mo. App. LEXIS 181
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 6, 1942
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 161 S.W.2d 36 (Eveloff Ex Rel. Eveloff v. Cram) 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
Eveloff Ex Rel. Eveloff v. Cram, 161 S.W.2d 36, 236 Mo. App. 1013, 1942 Mo. App. LEXIS 181 (Mo. Ct. App. 1942).

Opinion

SHAIN, P. J.

— This is an appeal from the judgment of the Circuit Court of Clay County. The appeal is by E. K. Oldenburg; as inter-pleader in a suit wherein Philip Eveloff, by his next friend, Rachael Eveloff, was plaintiff, and Fred Cram, alias Fred Crum, was defendant. The' facts giving rise to this controversy may be briefly stated as follow's:

Fred Cram was a resident of the State.of Minnesota. On the 3d day of December, 1939, he wa's driving his Chevrolet automobile along the highway in Platte County, Missouri, and was involved in an automobile accident resulting in injuries to several persons riding in another automobile on said highway. On December 4, 1939, Rachael Eveloff and Helen Agronofsky, who were two of the persons so injured, filed suits for their personal injuries in the Clay County Circuit Court, and attached the Chevrolet ear then belonging to Fred Cram. After the accident, the Cram car was taken to the Allen Chevrolet Company in North Kansas City, and it was there when the sheriff served the writ of attachment, and the sheriff left said car at the Allen Chevrolet Company. Personal service in the two damage suits was not obtained upon Fred Cram.

After the accident, Mr. Cram got in touch with Interpleader Oldenburg, who was authorized by the Northwestern Casualty Company, *1016 which carried the liability insurance policy on the Cram car, to look after the matter and work out the matters growing out of the accident. Mr. Oldenburg testified that on December 6, 1939, he purchased a new Chevrolet automobile, and traded it to Mr. Cram for his damaged' automobile, Mr. Cram paying the difference of approximately $215, the Northwestern Casualty Company reimbursing Mr. Oldenburg. At the time of this transfer, Cram assigned his Minnesota certificate of title to his ear to Oldenburg. This assignment was filed with the Secretary of State of Minnesota, but so far as the record shows, no certificate of title-was filed or recorded in Missouri. The Cram car, which had been- attached, remained at the Allen Chevrolet Company under the two attachments above referred to.

On February 1, 1940, this plaintiff, Philip Eveloff, a minor, through his next friend, filed suit for personal injuries - arising- out of the same accident, and on proper affidavit, an attachment was issued in his suit and the sheriff attached the Cram car which was located at the Allen Chevrolet Company. Publication was issued and the suit of Philip Eveloff proceeded to trial in the Circuit Court. of Clay County, and on March- 22, 1940, judgment was rendered in, favor of the plaintiff for . $1000, and the court ordered that special execution issue therein. Under , such special, execution, the sheriff levied on the Chevrolet automobile, -posted notice of sale, and oil April 24, 1940, was sold under such special execution for $445. After the deduction of costs and necessary expenses, about which there- is no dispute, there remained in the sheriff’s hands the sum of $238.60, according to plaintiff’s statement, but according to the return made by the sheriff, there was $312.60 in his hands; however, the exact amount is of no importance at this time.

About May 23, 1940, the attachment suits of Rachael Eveloff and Helen, Agronof sky were dismissed and on .the same day, interpleader E. K. Oldenburg filed his petition in the Philip Eveloff case, claiming title to the Cram automobile which had been sold under the special execution, or.to the net proceeds of such sale. On the same day, Oldenburg filed in said court a motion to vacate the entry of satisfaction of the judgment of Philip Eveloff, which satisfaction had been entered by the attorneys for the plaintiff because the sheriff had delivered to them at that time a check for the net proceeds realized from the sale under such special execution. In due time, the plaintiff,’ Philip.-Eveloff, filed answer to the petition of interpleader Oldenburg, and on the issues so made, the cause proceeded to trial before the court, resulting in a judgment dismissing interpleader’s petition and motion to vacate entry of satisfaction of judgment and declaring the sale under the special exécution of April 24, to be upheld and. confirmed and that the net proceeds of said sale -be paid over to the plaintiff. From this judgment the interpleader appeals.

Such other facts as are necessary will be-mentioned in the opinion.

*1017 The appellant (interpleader) under< his Points and Authorities, urges four grounds of error. But before examining the points so raised, we must examine the motion for new trial to determine whether such matters were properly called to the attention of the £rial court. The assignments in the motion for new trial are as follows:

“1. The verdict in said cause'is against the evidence, against the weight of the evidence, and against the law under the evidence.
“2. The verdict was for the wrong party.
“3. The court erred in admitting incompetent evidence offered by the plaintiff; ’ ’

The appellant, in his brief filed herein, under head of “Assignment of Errors” sets forth seven abstract charges of error without assignment of reason, reference to record, or citation of authority. Under Points and authorities, the appellant in four paragraphs proceeds to state in a general way his interpretation of the law as to 'legal title, as to what constituted delivery, and as to the nature of plaintiff’s answer.

Appellant’s assignment of errors is not in accordance with our established rules as to same. However, in the case of Municipal Securities Corporation v. Kansas City, 265 Mo. 252, l. c. 265, the Supreme Court en banc held that, under an assignment in the motion for new trial “that’-the finding is against both the law and the evidence and against the law under the evidence,”, the Court would look to the record to see if there is any substantial evidence in the case, which, when applied to the case made by the pleadings, will as a matfer of law, permit the judgment to stand. This ruling has been followed in a number of cases, some of which are Burns v. School District of Desloge, 50 S. W. (2d) 677; Hoppe v. Boerger, 116 S. W. (2d) 195, and Franklin v. Local Finance Co., 136 S. W. (2d) 112. In this case we will follow the rule as announced by the Supreme Court en banc in Municipal Securities Corporation v. Kansas City, supra. We will overrule the opinion of this court in the case of Whitehead v. Liberty National Bank of Kansas City, 56 S, W. (2d) 833, insofar as it conflicts with the rule above announced.

This case was tried before the court without the aid of a jury, and no declarations of law or finding of facts were requested by either party. The court in its judgment, among other things, found “that the intervenor herein had no legal right, title or interest in or to said-automobilé. ” Therefore, under the state of the record in this case, the only question is whether the judgment can be sustained upon any proper theory. The only evidence is that of the intervenor. He introduced his Exhibit No.

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Bluebook (online)
161 S.W.2d 36, 236 Mo. App. 1013, 1942 Mo. App. LEXIS 181, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eveloff-ex-rel-eveloff-v-cram-moctapp-1942.