In Re Petition of Dejarnett v. Tickameyer

40 S.W.2d 686, 328 Mo. 153, 1931 Mo. LEXIS 390
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJune 24, 1931
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 40 S.W.2d 686 (In Re Petition of Dejarnett v. Tickameyer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Petition of Dejarnett v. Tickameyer, 40 S.W.2d 686, 328 Mo. 153, 1931 Mo. LEXIS 390 (Mo. 1931).

Opinion

*155 FRANK, J.

This proceeding to vacate a public road originated in the County Court of Pettis County. The county court by order entered of record vacated the road. Appellants, who style themselves as remonstrators, appealed to the circuit court. On motion of respondents the circuit court dismissed said appeal. From the order dismissing the appeal, appellants bring the case here.

The statute, Section 10634, Revised Statutes 1919 (now Sec. 7837, R. S. 1929) outlines the procedure to be. followed in vacation of a public road, viz.:

“Any twelve freeholders of the township or townships through which a road runs may make application for the vacation of any such road or paid of the same as useless, and the repairing of the same an unreasonable burden upon the district or districts; the petition shall be publicly read on the first day of the term at which it is presented, and the matter continued without further proceedings until the next term. Notice of the filing of such petition and of the road sought to be vacated shall be posted up in not less than three public places in such township or townships, at least twenty days before the first day of the next term of the court, and a cops’’ of the same shall be personally served on all the persons residing in said district whose lands are crossed or touched by the road proposed to be vacated in the same manner as other notices are required to be served by law; and at the next regular term the same shall again be publicly read on the first daj1' thereof. If no remonstrances be. made thereto, in writing, signed by at least twelve *156 freeholders, the court may proceed to vacate such road, or any part thereof, at the cost of the petitioners; . . . ”

The record shows that the provisions of this statute ivere complied with. On the first day of the February 1927 Term of the county court, respondents, being tAA'elve freeholders of Cedar Township in Pettis Couifiy, filed with the county court of said county, a petition seeking the vacation of the road in question. The petition Avas publicly read on that day and the cause was continued without further proceedings until the next term. Notice was duly given in accordance with the provisions of the statute. On the first day of the May 1927 Term of the county court the petition was again publicly read and the cause was taken up and considered and the court rendered the folloAving judgment:

“Now the County Court of Pettis County, Missouri, being open and in session takes up the matter of closing a road in Cedar Township as prayed for in a petition filed by W. D. Steele and J. A. De-Jarnette, et al. Said road having its beginning and termination as .follows: Beginning at the Sedalia and Longw'ood road about 100 feet east of the bridge over Cedar Creek and running thence; in a northwesterly direction along the north side of Cedar Creek about forty rods, thence in a ivesterly direction betiveen the lands of J. A. DeJarnette and W. ID. Steele about one-half mile to within one foot of the west line of the east one-half of section 22, township 46, range 21, Pettis County, Missouri.

‘ ‘ The court finds that the said petition was filed and publicly read in open court on the first day of February Term thereof and ordered filed until the first day of May Term of County Court of Pettis County, Missouri, and finding that the proof of notices had been posted in three public places in said tOAvnship at least twenty days before the beginning of the May Term of Court and that a copy of same AA’as personally seiwed on all persons residing in said district whose lands are crossed or touched by the road proposed to be vacated. And iioav on this second day of May, being the first day of said May Term of Court, 1927, the petition Avas again publicly read in open court and the court finding that no remonstrance having been filed thereto and finding further that the said road is useless and the repairing of same would be an unreasonable burden upon the district; THEREFORE, it is ordered by the court that said road be closed or vacated as prayed for in said petition. ’ ’

On application of appellants an appeal was granted from this judgment to the circuit court.

The right of appeal is purely statutory and exists only in cases specified or reasonably implied by the statute. As we interpret the statute providing for an appeal from the judgment of a county e'ourt vacating a public road, appellants were not entitled to an ap *157 peal in this ease. This statute, Section 7837, Revised Statutes 1929 reads:

“In all eases wherein it is sought to vacate a public road for any purpose by petition as now provided by law, there shall exist the right of appeal from the order and judgment so vacating any public road, from the county court to the circuit court by any party in interest in common as remonstrators, or as an individual affected thereby in any manner, . . (Italics ours.)

This statute provides that two classes, of persons shall have the right of appeal, (1) any party in interest in common as remonstra-tors, and (2) any party in interest as an individual affected in any manner by the judgment vacating the road. We interpret the first clause of the statute as meaning that any freeholder residing in the township through which the road runs, who has remonstrated against the vacation of the road, shall have the right of appeal from the judgment vacating the road, regardless of the character of injury he would sustain by such vacation. This is so because this' clause of the statute gives remonstrators the unqualified right of appeal as remonstrators, although their interest be in common and not special or peculiar to themselves. Evidently the lawmakers intended by the second clause of the statute to give the right of appeal to any individual resident of the township, although not a remonstrator, who would sustain a special injury different from what the public at large would sustain by the vacation of the road. We interpret the words of the statute, “As an individual affected thereby in any manner,” toi mean a person who is individually affected iiv any manner by the vacation of the road and not a person Who is affected in common with the general public. To hold that the Legislature intended that any individual who would be affected in any manner by the vacation of the road should have the right of appeal would give every freeholder of the township the right of the appeal, regardless of whether or not he remonstrated against the vacation of the record, because every freeholder of the township Would be affected, to the extent at least, that they would be deprived of the right to use the road. If the second clause of the statute gives every freeholder of the township the right of appeal, then the Legislature could have had no purpose in enacting the first clause of the statute which gives remonstrators only the right of appeal. All provisions of the statute should be considered in determining the meaning of any particular portion thereof, and effect given to every part of the statute where it is possible to do so. We construe the statute as giving the right, of appeal to any qualified remonstrator or to any person, although not a remonstrator, who would be individually

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Bluebook (online)
40 S.W.2d 686, 328 Mo. 153, 1931 Mo. LEXIS 390, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-petition-of-dejarnett-v-tickameyer-mo-1931.