McFall v. Murray

117 S.W.2d 330, 342 Mo. 737, 1938 Mo. LEXIS 615
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 26, 1938
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 117 S.W.2d 330 (McFall v. Murray) 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
McFall v. Murray, 117 S.W.2d 330, 342 Mo. 737, 1938 Mo. LEXIS 615 (Mo. 1938).

Opinion

FRANK, P. J.

Action to partition certain real estate located in Caldwell County. One James C. Murray owned said real estate during his lifetime subject to a deed of trust securing the payment of a promissory note in the principal sum of $800. Upon the death of James C. Murray the land descended to his seven children or their descendants subject to the lien of said deed of trust.

After the death of James C. Murray, appellant acquired an undivided one-seventh interest in the land from one of the heirs. He also purchased the $800 note secured by the deed of trust aforesaid. Thereafter, on May 11, 1933, he instituted this partition suit, alleging in his petition the interest of each of the parties in said land; that he was the owner of an undivided one-seventh interest therein, describing it; that he was also the owner of the $800 note secured by a first deed of trust on all of said land; that the undivided interest of defendant, John Guy Murray and of defendant, Donald Gray Murray were each encumbered by a deed of trust, second to plaintiff’s first deed of trust.

The petition asked that said land be partitioned but alleged that partition in kind could not be made without great prejudice to the rights of the owners thereof, then prayed that said land be ordered sold, etc.

The separate answer of defendants Donald Gray Murray, John Guy Murray and Cora E. Bowers admitted that the interest of each of the parties in the land was correctly alleged in the petition, and asked that commissioners be appointed for the purpose of making partition of said land in kind.

The separate answer of minor defendants, Mary Louise Murray and Billie Murray, by their guardian ad litem, was a general denial.

On March 24, 1934, at the March Term, the court rendered an interlocutory decree in partition. The interlocutory decree together with plaintiff’s exceptions to the report of the commissioners in' partition is abstracted by plaintiff as follows:

Interlocutory Decree.

“By which said interlocutory decree the court found, ascertained and determined the rights of the parties in and to said real estate described in said amended petition and found said real estate and the interest of all parties to said action in and to said real estate to be subject to the deed of trust, $800.00 (and interest thereon), and that the same was owned by plaintiff and was a first and valid lien on such real estate. Also found that plaintiff was the owner of the notes and deed of trust, which was a lien on the interest of Donald Gray Murray in such real estate and found that the land was *740 susceptible to a division in kind and ordered that partition be made and appointed three commissioners to make partition and division :o£ said real estate among the parties thereto.
“Said report of the commissioners in partition did allot and set ■off to plaintiff about twenty acres of the tract to. be partitioned, and set off to the other parties in said action all the remainder of said land. No mention was made or provision made in said report with respect to the deeds of trust held by plaintiff which were a lien on all of said real estate.
" “On the 6th day of July, 1934, plaintiff filed in said court his exceptions to said report of said commissioners, objecting and excepting thereto for numerous reasons, among others, that said report ignored and did not take into consideration the several’ deeds of trust and encumbrances mentioned and set forth in the interlocutory decree and allots to the defendants all the real estate except 18.93 acres allotted to plaintiff, free and clear of all of the encumbrances found by the court in said interlocutory decree to be valid and subsisting liens.”

Thereafter, plaintiff, ignoring the proceedings thus far had in the partition suit, requested the trustee to foreclose his $800' deed of trust. The deed of trust was foreclosed by the trustee named therein, and said land was sold by him at publie auction on July 30, 1934. Plaintiff was the highest bidder for said land at said sale, for the sum •of $1,325, and said land was struck off and sold to hini at that price. Thereupon, a trustee’s deed was executed conveying the lands to plaintiff, and said deed was thereupon recorded in the office of the -Recorder of Deeds of Caldwell County.

Thereafter, on December 3, 1934, certain- óf the defendants filed a motion in the partition suit asking that the sale of the land under .plaintiff’s deed of trust be set aside and 'cancelled because’said sale was void for the reasons alleged in defendants’ said motion.'

Thereafter, on February 14, 1935, plaintiff tendered to the court for filing a written dismissal of his partition suit. The court directed the clerk not to file same.

Thereafter, on the same day plaintiff filed a written application praying the court to grant him permission to dismiss the partition suit and pay the costs thereof, which application the court thereupon denied.

Thereafter, on the same day plaintiff filed answer to defendants’ motion to set aside the sale under plaintiff’s deed of trust. In said answ’er plaintiff first asserted that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain said motion or grant any relief thereunder, then pleaded to the merits of the motion, alleging among other things, his reason^ why the sale under the deed of trust was valid and why the trustee’s *741 deed conveyed a good title to all of tbe land to plaintiff, and praying' that defendants’ motion be dismissed.

The court heard the issue presented by defendants’ motion and plaintiff’s answer thereto. Evidence pro and eon was offered by the parties. On March 27, 1935, the court sustained defendants’ motion and adjudged and decreed that the sale had under plaintiff’s-deed of trust be set aside, and that the trustee’s deed executed pursuant to said sale conveying the land to plaintiff be cancelled and for naught held.

Thereafter, on application of plaintiff, an appeal was granted to this court from the judgment of the court on defendants’ said motion.

It is settled law that parties may bring to the attention of the court by amended or supplemental pleadings facts occurring after-the institution of the suit which are pertinent to the issues made by the original pleadings. [Reyburn v. Mitchell, 106 Mo. 365, 16 S. W. 592; Ward v. Davidson, 89 Mo. 445, 1 S. W. 846; Bush v. Block & Titus, 193 Mo. App. 704, 187 S. W. 153; Nave v. Adams, 107 Mo. 414, 17 S. W. 958; Cohn v. Souders, 175 Mo. 455, 75 S. W. 413.] As’ illustrative of this holding we quote from Reyburn v. Mitchell, supra, the following:

“We do not think the court committed error in permitting the amendment to the petition, making it correspond to the changes which had occurred since the commencement of the suit, nor in allowing new parties who had become interested in the property to be brought in. Amendments are favored, and should be liberally allowed in furtherance of justice. [R. S. 1879, secs. 3568, 3572.] ”

In Bush v. Block, supra, the same question was at issue. In the disposition of the question, the court said:

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Bluebook (online)
117 S.W.2d 330, 342 Mo. 737, 1938 Mo. LEXIS 615, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcfall-v-murray-mo-1938.