Mercantile Bank & Trust Co. v. Vilkins

712 S.W.2d 1, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 3960
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 15, 1986
DocketNo. WD 36855
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 712 S.W.2d 1 (Mercantile Bank & Trust Co. v. Vilkins) 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
Mercantile Bank & Trust Co. v. Vilkins, 712 S.W.2d 1, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 3960 (Mo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

PRITCHARD, Presiding Judge.

This is the second appeal by appellant in which it sought to recover costs of collection including reasonable attorney fees in the amount of $197.29. See Mercantile Bank and Trust Company v. Vilkins, 675 S.W.2d 673 (Mo.App.1984). Trial of the present case was to a jury which returned a verdict for respondent, judgment being entered thereon.

On January 5, 1982, appellant filed suit against respondent on his $33,000 installment promissory note, praying for judgment of the principal balance, accrued interest, and costs of collection, including attorney’s fees, the latter being a provision of the note. The facts stated in the first opinion are that respondent maker paid off the note, but the facts here indicate that respondent gave his attorney two checks for insurance proceeds and a small amount of cash to pay the note balance and interest. His attorney took the checks and cash to appellant’s attorney telling him that respondent would pay the principal balance and interest, but not any costs of collection or attorney’s fees. Appellant’s attorney took the checks and cash to its banking offices on March 4, 1982, and either gave them to a bank officer or took them to the “commercial loan cage”. Because of an improper endorsement, the checks could not be processed for four days, and on March 8, 1982, the checks and cash were applied to the note for principal and interest, reducing the balance to zero. This stamp was placed on the face of the note: “Mar 8 1982 PAID MERCANTILE BANK AND TRUST COMPANY KANSAS CITY MO.” The note marked “paid” was delivered by mail to respondent’s attorney, but it was later redelivered to appellant’s counsel, and was admitted into evidence as Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1.

Faced with the fact that the note was marked “paid” and delivered to respondent’s attorney, appellant undertook to prove that there was a mistake or error in marking it paid and delivering the instrument to respondent’s attorney, i.e. that there was no intent to discharge respondent from his liability for payment of collection costs and a reasonable attorney’s fee. William Green was appellant’s Vice President in the Commercial Loan Department at the time respondent’s installment loan was accelerated, but he had left the bank at the time the note was stamped “paid”. He had no idea how the “paid” mark got on the note. Suzanne Dimmel Glass, who was the officer in charge of Credit Review at the time, did not see the note being stamped “paid”, did not know who stamped it, or what instructions they might have had. She testified that the stamp was affixed by mistake or error, but the note is returned to the borrower when the amounts are paid in full. The minutes of the meeting of appellant’s Board of Directors on March 9, 1982, recite that respondent’s loan was “paid in full on 3/5/82”.

For appellant, Instruction No. 6 was given: “Your verdict must be for plaintiff if you believe: First, plaintiff took legal action to collect the $33,000.00 promissory note; and Second, plaintiff thereby incurred costs of collection, including reasonable attorney’s fees, unless you believe plaintiff is not entitled to recover by reason of Instruction No. 7.”

Instruction No. 7, which appellant contends was erroneously given, is: “Your verdict must be for defendant if you believe: Plaintiff, in stamping the note ‘paid,’ accepted payment of all principal and accrued interest in full payment and dis[3]*3charge of all obligations of defendant under the promissory note, including ‘costs of collection’ and ‘reasonable attorney’s fees.’ ”

In L.E. Lines Music Co. v. Brittell, 30 S.W.2d 781[1] (Mo.App.1930), it was held that where a maker is in possession of a note marked “paid”, a presumption of payment is raised, but “this was not an absolute presumption, but one which might be rebutted by showing a mistake of fact, or that the delivery of the note and indorsement thereon was made without authority.” See also the cases involving “paid” stamps on promissory notes: Household Finance Co., Inc. v. Watson, 522 S.W.2d 111 (Mo.App.1975); and Pentagon Federal Credit Union v. Edwards, 571 S.W.2d 679 (Mo.App.1978). Appellant procurred the note from respondent’s attorney, had it admitted into evidence, then proceeded with evidence for the purpose of rebutting the presumption of payment arising from its being marked “paid” and its delivery to respondent’s attorney. Appellant was entitled to present its case in that manner, but the result is stated in JD v. MD, 453 S.W.2d 661, 663[4, 5] (Mo.App.1970), to be: “When a rebuttable presumption arises, the person against whom the presumption operates is confronted with a rule of law which casts upon him the burden of producing substantial evidence to controvert the presumed fact [Terminal Warehouses of St. Joseph, Inc. v. Reiners, Mo., 371 S.W.2d 311, 316(4)] (Mo.1963), and upon the introduction of such substantial evidence, the existence or nonexistence of the fact once presumed is to be determined from the evidence as if no presumption had ever been operative in the case.” See also the there footnoted cases of Duff v. St. Louis Mining & Milling Corp., 363 Mo. 944, 255 S.W.2d 792, 793-794[1] (Mo. banc 1953); State v. Brown, 446 S.W.2d 498, 500[4] (Mo.App.1969); and Campbell v. Fry, 439 S.W.2d 545, 548[1] (Mo.App.1969).

Because appellant introduced evidence to rebut the presumption of payment which was initially in the case, the presumption was no longer existent as evidence. The underlying facts that the note was marked “paid” and delivered to respondent’s attorney, were, however, still in the case as was appellant’s evidence from Ms. Glass that the “paid” stamp was affixed by mistake or error. That conclusion-ary testimony was the only indication that the stamp was placed on the note through mistake or error, “but the note is returned to the borrower when the amounts are paid in full.” Ms. Glass further testified that she did not see the note being stamped “paid”, she did not know who stamped it, or what instructions that person might have had. The minutes of appellant’s board meeting recite that respondent’s loan was paid in full on 3/5/82.

Atop of the foregoing evidence is the testimony of appellant’s counsel, Mr. Beck, who testified for it on direct examination: He was first contacted by appellant on September 17 or 18, 1981, to contact Insurance Company of North America, on a claim for loss of a 1979 Kenworth tractor, which secured the note. Apparently, other claims were pending against the insurance company, and about December 21, 1981, Mr. Beck felt it was necessary to take legal action against respondent, so a petition was tiled, answer was filed, and for appellant a motion for summary judgment was filed. Before the time to respond to the latter motion, respondent’s then attorney, Mr. David Taylor, came to Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
712 S.W.2d 1, 1986 Mo. App. LEXIS 3960, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mercantile-bank-trust-co-v-vilkins-moctapp-1986.