Parkyne v. Churchill

151 S.W. 446, 246 Mo. 109, 1912 Mo. LEXIS 170
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 30, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 151 S.W. 446 (Parkyne v. Churchill) 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
Parkyne v. Churchill, 151 S.W. 446, 246 Mo. 109, 1912 Mo. LEXIS 170 (Mo. 1912).

Opinion

GRAVES, P. J.

By a petition first filed in this canse, plaintiff, in a single count, sought to have the circuit court ascertain and determine her title to two certain blocks in the town of Mountain Grove, Wright county, Missouri. Whilst title was claimed by adverse possession for ten years, the action should be properly denominated one under old section 650. Later the petition was amended by the addition of another count, setting up facts constituting a resulting trust, but followed with a prayer, as under old section 650, to ascertain and determine the interests of plaintiff and defendants in and to the property in dispute. This petition was challenged by demurrer, but this was overruled nisi, and the appealing defendants answered over. That answer reads:

“Now comes the defendant, Laura E. Moody, and by leave of the court first had and obtained files this her separate amended answer to plaintiff’s amended petition herein, and says that she denies each and every allegation therein contained, not herein expressly admitted.
“Defendant, Laura E. Moody, admits that she claims some right, title and interest in and to the real estate described in plaintiff’s petition. She alleges and says that she is the owner and holds the legal title [111]*111to the lands described in plaintiff’s amended petition aforesaid.
“Defendant further alleges and says that she is the sole owner and holds the equitable title to the lands described in the plaintiff’s petition aforesaid.
“For another and further answer and defense to the plaintiff’s action the defendánt says and avers the fact to he that the plaintiff’s action, if any she had, was barred before the filing’ of the original petition in this action, in this that any action that the plaintiff may have had, accrued and existed more than ten years before the filing of the original petition herein, which Statute of limitation defendant especially pleads in bar of the plaintiff’s action.”

No reply appears in the' record, but the cause seems to have proceeded as if the reply had been filed. The judgment, after finding the service of process by publication upon all the defendants named, except Laura E. Moody, and pronouncing a default judgment against them, then proceeds:

“The court further finds all the issues for the plaintiff. Finds that the plaintiff is the owner in fee and in possession of the land described in the petition herein, to-wit, block six and seven in Durham’s Addition to the original town of Mountain Grove. Finds that none of the aforesaid defendants have, any right, title, interest or estate, either in law or equity, in and to the said real estate.
“Wherefore it is considered, ordered and decreed by the court that all of said defendants, to-wit: Joseph A. Dedmon, 8. S. Dedmon, C. G. Dedmon, Elizabeth Durham, E. M. Durham, Adolph A. Durham, Emmett McDurham, lizzie Kennamore, Catherine A. Hull, Samuel Coleman, J. W. Isom and Chas. S. Churchill and the unknown heirs of each and all of the aforesaid defendants and Laura E. Moody, defendant, be and they are hereby divested of any and all right, title, interest and estate, both in law and [112]*112equity, in and to said block six and seven, Durham’s; Addition to the original town of Mountain Grove, and that all right, title, interest and estate be vested and the same hereby is vested and quieted in the plaintiff, Josephine Parkyne. It is further adjudged that the-plaintiff have and recover of and from the defendant, Laura E. Moody, all costs in this behalf laid out and expended. ” ,

It should be noted that the judgment also recited the appearance of Laura E. Moody in person and by counsel. Prom this judgment Laura E. Moody has appealed. Such states the condition of affairs in the trial court. In this court the defendant appealing is met with a motion to dismiss her appeal. The motion is of length, but its effect is to challenge the sufficiency of the abstract filed in this court. Further outline of the case can be properly omitted in the statement, and additional matter be left to the opinion.

I. The motion to dismiss the appeal must be overruled. However defective the abstract of record may be as to other matters, there is a proper abstract of the pleadings and judgment. Under the head of Abstract of Record” appears enough to make the record proper a matter of review by this court, and in such case a motion to dismiss the appeal is never sustained. The question has been so frequently ruled by this-court, that a mere statement of the situation will suffice. The motion to dismiss the appeal is therefore overruled.

II. Refusing to absolutely dismiss the appeal, however, does not-relieve the defendant of all of the difficulties in this court. Respondent’s motion points out many things going to show that we can only consider upon this appeal the record proper. In other words, that all matters of exceptions are precluded from a review here, by reason of defects in the abstract filed. [113]*113Respondent challenges the sufficiency of this record and on such challenge stands. She does not brief the merits of the case. To our mind her objections to the abstract of record are well taken. There is a commingling of record proper and matters of exceptions-to such an extent, that it is impossible to say what is intended for record proper, and what intended as matters of exceptions. It cannot be determined from this abstract whether the motion for new trial was preserved in a bill of'exceptions or not. We have stated above that there is a caption in the abstract of record entitled “Abstract of Record” and under this caption we find the pleadings and the judgment. These matters and a preliminary statement of the case run to and take a part of page 13 of the document called “Statement, Abstract of Record, Brief and Argument of the Appellant, Laura E. Moody.” Following the last sentence of the judgment on said page thirteen, we find:

“To the rendition of which judgment the defendant, Laura E. Moody, then and there objected and excepted.
“Afterwards, to-wit, on the 5th day. of March, 1909, and within four days after the rendition of said judgment, the defendant, Laura E. Moody, filed her motion for a new trial, which motion, omitting caption, is in words and figures as follows.” (Here follows motion in full, which we omit.)

Upon the very heels of this motion for new trial set out in full as above stated we find on pages 14 and 15 of the so-called abstract the following matter:

“Whereupon, the hearing of said motion was continued by consent of the parties until the adjourned March term of this court to be held on the 12th day of May, 1909, when said motion was, by order of the court overruled; to which judgment and order of the court in overruling said motion, the defendant by her counsel then and there duly objected and excepted.
[114]*114“Thereupon, on the same day, the defendant filed her application and affidavit for an appeal to the Supreme Court, which was by the court granted and the defendant given until the first day of August, 1909, to file her bill of exceptions.

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Bluebook (online)
151 S.W. 446, 246 Mo. 109, 1912 Mo. LEXIS 170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parkyne-v-churchill-mo-1912.