Locke v. Woodman

240 S.W. 498, 210 Mo. App. 90, 1922 Mo. App. LEXIS 184
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 1, 1922
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 240 S.W. 498 (Locke v. Woodman) 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
Locke v. Woodman, 240 S.W. 498, 210 Mo. App. 90, 1922 Mo. App. LEXIS 184 (Mo. Ct. App. 1922).

Opinion

ARNOLD, J.

This is an appeal from the action of the trial court in overruling garnishees’ motion to re-tax costs and allowance to garnishees for trouble and expenses. The garnishment proceeding out of which this controversy arose was incident to and auxiliary of a judgment obtained in an attachment suit brought in Audrain county against defendants who are residents of the Dominion of Canada. A small fund in Audrain *92 county was attached and ¡the garnishees (a firm of attorneys in St. Louis; appellants herein), were duly summoned and their objections to the jurisdiction were finally disposed of in State ex rel. v. Barnett, 193 Mo. App. 36, 180 S. W. 458. In the meantime, to-wit January 5, 1916, plaintiffs in their attachment suit obtained judgment in the sum of $13,517.50, against the property of defendants.

Plaintiffs filed a general denial to the garnishees ’ answer to the interrogatories and the garnishees filed reply to such denial. On the issues thus made the garnishment proceedings were tried, resulting in a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiffs for the full amount of the fund, viz., $6974.62. An appeal was taken by the garnishees to the St. Louis' Court of Appeals, where the judgment was reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial. [Locke, et al. v. Woodman, et al., 216 S. W. 1006.]

When the cause was taken back to the circuit court of Audrain county a change of venue was granted to Howard county where a trial resulted in a verdict and judgment, on May 7, 1920, in plaintiffs’ favor for only that part of the fund over which there was no controversy, to-wit, $1805.59, which with interest amounted to $2311.45, thereby upholding the claim of garnishees to $5,000 of the fund as attorney’s fee, and $169.03 for costs and expenses incurred, by them in the course of their employment as such attorneys.

On May 10, 1920, plaintiffs filed their motion for a new trial which was overruled by the court on May 28, 1920, and judgment was entered on the same day against the garnishees. Plaintiffs thereupon filed another motion for a new trial which was overruled and plaintiffs then took an appeal to this court .from the order and judgment of the trial court. This court affirmed the judgment on November 8, 1920, and thereafter on November 20, 1920, the mandate of this court affirming said judgment was transmitted to the trial court. [Locke et al. v. Woodman, et al., 225 S. W. 352.]

*93 On January 1, 1921, the garnishees filed an application to retax costs and for allowance for trouble and expenses in the circuit court of Howard county, and the same was set down for hearing on January 18, 1921. Plaintiff resisted said application on the ground that the court had no power to hear and determine'said motion under the form of mandate then on file in said court. The said motion for allowance, on January 28, 1921, was presented to the court and testimony was heard thereon tending to prove the amount due the garnishees, but no decision was rendered on said motion, the court awaiting briefs and suggestions of counsel.

After the hearing on said motion and before a decision was rendered thereon, the garnishees, desiring to have the first mandate recalled and the order of affirmance modified, so that the circuit court of Howard county could consider the matter of an allowance to them for trouble and expense of said litigation, filed in this court on February 1, 1921, a motion to that effect. This motion was opposed by plaintiffs.

On February 11, 1921, this court entered an order recalling the mandate and took under advisement the question of the modification of .the opinion and on March 5, 1921, rendered the following opinion, per curiam:

“We have carefully considered the suggestions in support of and in opposition to the respondents’ motion to modify our opinion and judgment, and entertain the view that the motion should be sustained. [Sections 1867, 1868, R. S. 1919; Keating v. American Refrigerator Co., 32 Mo. App. 293, 298; Cope v. Shoemate, 139 Mo. App. 4, 8.]
‘ ‘ The motion is, therefore, sustained and the opinion and judgment is modified so as to affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause to that court to the end that it may act upon garnishees’ motion for allowance for such expenses and trouble in answering as arose after their acknowledgment of the amount due from them was made and which plaintiffs would not accept. ’ ’

*94 The said opinion, together with the mandate, was duly filed in the circuit court of Howard county. On May 18, 1921, that court, having before it the testimony offered prior to that date and the opinion and mandate of this court, heard further arguments on said motion, and thereupon said motion was overruled. On the same day, the garnishees filed a motion for a new trial which the court overruled on June 2, 1921. The garnishees appeal, and in their assignments of error, charge: 1. That the court erred in not retaxing costs accruing after garnishees’answer was filed against the plaintiffs. 2. The court erred in denying garnishees’ right to recover expenses in defending the case. The garnishees assert that when the case was here on motion, this court settled all questions on this appeal except the amount to be allowed.

We cannot accept this as reflecting the ruling of this court in the per curiam opinion. Witness the language of the opinion:

“The motion is, therefore, sustained and the opinion and judgment is modified so as to affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand the cause to that court to the end that if may act upon garnishees’ motion for allowance of such expenses and trouble in answering as arose after their acknowledgment of the amount due from them was made and which plaintiffs would not accept.”

Prom this language it is clear and unmistakable that it was not the intention of this court to determine the rights of the garnishees under the motion. The only purpose of the reference was to remand the cause, to the end that the trial court might “act upon garnishees’ motion. ’ ’

Further it may be observed that the ruling of this court in affirming the judgment of the lower court referred only to the merits of the cause, and by no shade of meaning can this action be construed as rendering res ad judicata the question presented in garnishees’ motion to retax costs. Our ruling is against garnishees’ contention on this point.

*95 Under points and authorities, garnishees contend that where plaintiff does not recover more than the garnishee admits is due, the garnishees are entitled to recover costs and compensation to cover trouble and expenses.

20 Cyc. 1121, states the general rule that “where the garnishee is discharged upon issue joined, and where upon issue joined judgment is rendered against him for no more than the amount he admitted to be due, he is entitled to costs; ... In several jurisdictions, however, where the garnishee puts in an answer, it is within the discretion of the court to allow, or deny costs to the garnishee. ” [Citing Wolff v. Bank of Commerce, 10 Mo. App. 586.]

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Bluebook (online)
240 S.W. 498, 210 Mo. App. 90, 1922 Mo. App. LEXIS 184, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/locke-v-woodman-moctapp-1922.