Rowell v. Killion

538 S.W.3d 346
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 26, 2017
DocketWD 80564
StatusPublished

This text of 538 S.W.3d 346 (Rowell v. Killion) 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
Rowell v. Killion, 538 S.W.3d 346 (Mo. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Thomas H. Newton, Judge

Ms. Donna Rowell appeals a Platte County circuit court judgment granting the Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange's motion to intervene and motion to set aside the judgment. We reverse.

Facts & Procedure

Appellant, Donna Rowell, filed a petition for damages against Raymond Killion, III, whose negligence caused a car accident resulting in Ms. Rowell's injuries. A bench trial was held on August 19, 2016. The court entered its judgment on the same date in favor of Ms. Rowell in the amount of $208,137.14. Ms. Rowell filed a receipt and acknowledgment of payment after she received $1,000.00 in partial payment from Mr. Killion.

Respondent, Automobile Club Inter-Insurance Exchange (Auto Club), filed a post-judgment motion to intervene on September *3487, 2016. The hearing on the motion was held on October 7, 2016. The trial court, via docket entry, granted the motion to intervene on October 14, 2016.

The Auto Club then filed a motion to set aside the judgment on October 28, 2016. A hearing on the motion was held on December 16, 2016. The trial court granted the motion to set aside the judgment on January 3, 2017.

Ms. Rowell filed her motion to denominate as a judgment the court's order granting the motion to set aside on January 10, 2017. On February 3, 2017, the trial court entered its judgment granting the motion to set aside. Ms. Rowell filed her notice of appeal on March 13, 2017.

Legal Analysis

In the first point, Ms. Rowell argues that the Auto Club should not have been allowed to intervene because the trial court lost jurisdiction and authority thirty days after the August 19, 2016, judgment was entered.

Intervention is permitted by Rule 52.12(a) as a matter of right or by Rule 52.12(b), which provides for intervention by permission of the court. A trial court's decision regarding intervention as a matter of right will be affirmed unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law.

Johnson v. State , 366 S.W.3d 11, 20 (Mo. banc 2012). Three rules work together to govern interventions.1 First, Rule 52.12, which provides:

(a) Intervention of Right . Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) when a statute of this state confers an unconditional right to intervene or (2) when the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action and the applicant is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede the applicant's ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant's interest is adequately represented by existing parties.
(b) Permissive intervention . Upon timely application anyone may be permitted to intervene in an action: (1) when a statute of this state confers a conditional right to intervene; or (2) when an applicant's claim or defense and the main action have a question of law or fact in common; or (3) when the validity of a statute, regulation or constitutional provision of this state, or an ordinance or regulation of a governmental subdivision thereof, affecting the public interest, is drawn in question in any action to which the state or governmental subdivision thereof and the state or governmental subdivision or an officer, agency or employee thereof is not a party, the court may in its discretion notify the chief legal officer of the state or governmental subdivision may in the discretion of the court be permitted to intervene, upon proper application.
(c) Procedure . A person desiring to intervene shall serve a motion upon all parties affected thereby. The motion shall state the grounds therefor, and shall be accompanied *349by a pleading setting forth the claim or defense for which intervention is sought. The same procedure shall be followed when a statute of this state gives a right to intervene.

The second rule is Rule 75.01, which states:

The trial court retains control over judgments during the thirty-day period after entry of judgment and may, after giving the parties an opportunity to be heard and for good cause, vacate, reopen, correct, amend, or modify its judgment within that time. Not later than thirty days after entry of judgment the court of its own initiative may order a new trial for any reason for which it might have granted a new trial on motion of a party, and every order granting a new trial shall specify the grounds therefor. After the filing of notice of appeal and before the filing of the record on appeal in the appellate court, the trial court, after the expiration of such thirty-day period, may still vacate, amend or modify its judgment upon stipulation of the parties accompanied by a withdrawal of the appeal.
The thirty-day period after entry of judgment for granting a new trial of the court's own initiative is not shortened by the filing of a notice of appeal but is terminated when the record on appeal is filed in the appellate court.

And finally, Rule 81.05(a) states:

(a) Finality as Affected by After-Trial Motions . For the purpose of ascertaining the time within which an appeal may be taken:
(1) A judgment becomes final at the expiration of thirty days after its entry if no timely authorized after-trial motion is filed.
(2) If a party timely filed an authorized after-trial motion, the judgment becomes final at the earlier of the following:
a. Ninety days from the date the last timely motion was filed, on which date all motions not ruled shall be deemed overruled; or
b. If all motions have been ruled, then the date of ruling of the last motion to be ruled or thirty days after entry of judgment, whichever is later.
(3) The filing and disposition of such motions has the same effect on time for appeal in all cases whether or not the motion has any function other than to seek relief in the trial court.

The Auto Club relies on the holding in Frost v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. , 813 S.W.2d 302 (Mo. banc 1991) ( Frost II ). In Frost , the plaintiffs were injured in a car accident caused by an uninsured motorist. Frost v. White , 778 S.W.2d 670, 671 (Mo. App. W.D. 1989) ( Frost I ). Liberty Mutual provided the uninsured motorist insurance for the rental car that the plaintiffs were driving at the time of the accident.

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Related

Johnson v. Brown
154 S.W.3d 448 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2005)
Frost v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
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220 S.W.3d 758 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2007)
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Frost v. White
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366 S.W.3d 11 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2012)
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461 S.W.3d 867 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2015)
Franklin Allen v. Wayne Bryers, Atain Specialty Insurance Company
512 S.W.3d 17 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2016)
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Bluebook (online)
538 S.W.3d 346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rowell-v-killion-moctapp-2017.