Savings Trust Co. of St. Louis v. Skain

131 S.W.2d 566, 345 Mo. 46, 1939 Mo. LEXIS 485
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedSeptember 5, 1939
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 131 S.W.2d 566 (Savings Trust Co. of St. Louis v. Skain) 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
Savings Trust Co. of St. Louis v. Skain, 131 S.W.2d 566, 345 Mo. 46, 1939 Mo. LEXIS 485 (Mo. 1939).

Opinion

*49 ELLISON, J.

On July 29, 1938, Division 2 of the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis made an order authorizing R. W. Holt, Commissioner of Finance in charge of the liquidation of the Savings Trust Company of St. Louis (hereinafter called the respondent) to sell certain of the bank’s real estate to the appellant for $37,000, less the amount of certain cash adjustments; and further authorizing the respondent to pay $755 broker’s commission each to the Joseph F. Dickmann Real Estate Company and the Glick Real Estate Company. This order is hereinafter referred to as the sale order of July 29.

On the same day and pursuant to said sale order the respondent through his special deputy, J. S. Lockett, executed a contract for the sale of said real estate to the appellant and accepted a payment from her of $1000 to apply on the purchase price. Shortly thereafter he received $1000 more. About a month later on August 26 the same court made another order in the same cause at the same term, on its own motion, vacating said sale order of July 29, without notice, hearing or findings of fact, and in the absence of appellant and her counsel. For that reason she contended below and contends here that the order was void, or at least the trial court arbitrarily and oppressively abused its discretion. This second order is hereinafter called the vacating order of August 26.

While, as we have just stated, the trial court’s reasons for making the vacating order of August 26 were not set out in its record, nevertheless they are shown in the abstract filed here. They were founded on the belief or suspicion that the sale of the real estate was the result of fraudulent collusion between the appellant, or her broker, the Glick Real Estate Company, and the broker for the respondent, the Joseph F. Dickmann Real Estate Company, whereby the real estate was sold for less than its fair market value. But that question on its merits is not involved on this appeal. The determinative issues are: (1) the proper interpretation of the statutes, sale order and sale contract; (2) the rights of the appellant thereunder; (3) the status of the Commissioner of Finance as a liquidating officer under the statutes; (4) and the power of the court to make orders of the kind assailed without notice or hearing.

The abstract states that the appellant signed a sales contract and presented it to the respondent’s deputy, Mr. Lockett, as a proposal *50 to purchase the real estate. On the same day he filed his petition in the circuit court recommending the approval by the court of the sale and praying an order authorizing him to accept the offer. After hearing evidence, the abstract says, the court on the same day entered said sale order of July 29, providing: “that E. W. Holt, as Commissioner of Finance of the State of Missouri, be, and he is, authorized for and on behalf of the Savings Trust Company of St. Louis to sell for $37,000 in cash, less the sum necessary to adjust rents, interest, taxes, insurance and other items to date of sale, to Margaret Skain,” the real estate above mentioned. The respondent through his deputy, Lockett, thereupon accepted the first installment of the purchase price and signed the sale contract. One of the terms thereof was that the sale be consummated on or before September 30. It also recited that the property “is this day sold” to appellant.

About two weeks later on August 12, the respondent filed a motion to set aside the sale order. The motion was not based on any alleged infirmity in the proceedings theretofore had, or on any lack of authority in the deputy Commissioner to sign the sale contract; but simply stated certain facts pointing to collusion between the Click Company and the Dickman Company. It is unnecessary to set them out in this opinion, other than to say the motion detailed, among other things, certain maneuvers and private conferences between the representatives of the two companies in and about the courtroom at the very time the sale order of July 29 was made, and also certain shifting and withdrawal of bids, as well as a failure of the Dickman Company to report advantageous bids. It charged on partial investigation and belief that appellant’s offer of $37,000 was less than the fair market value of the property, and that a man named Sam Michelson had offered $38,500. Appellant concedes for the sake of argument that if the allegations of the motion were sustained by proof the court might be justified in setting aside the sale.

Bight days later, on August 20, appellant filed her answer to respondent’s said motion to set aside the sale order of July 29. The answer alleged that the contract of sale between her and respondent’s deputy was made in good faith, after authorization by the court; that by it the respondent sold the real estate to her; that she had'fully complied with the contract and paid $2,000 to respondent’s deputy thereunder; that she was ready, able and willing to perform the rest of the contract; and generally denied all the allegations of respondent’s motion. Six days thereafter the court of its own motion entered the vacating order of August ‘26.

After the lapse of three days on August 29, appellant filed her motion to set aside the vacating order of August 26. It alleged the prior proceedings, including the filing of respondent’s motion of August 12 to set aside the sale order, and of appellant’s answer thereto.' Next it alleged these pleadings raised an issue of fact and law *51 of which the court was fully advised; that the court also knew the parties expected and intended to present evidence thereon and to obtain its decision; but that notwithstanding, the court entered the vacating order of, August 26 without notice or hearing .and in the absence of the parties.

The motion (of August 29) then charged said action of the court was illegal, invalid, unwarranted and oppressive because the appellant acquired a vested interest in the real estate by • virtue of the sale, which could not be taken away except -upon the conditions applicable to a breach of contract by a private individual; that she could be deprived of her interest in the property only by a proceeding to which she. was a party, and then only after notice to her and an opportunity to be heard; that the court acted without jurisdiction and -in excess of its jurisdiction, in making said vacating order of August 26; that if the court had a discretion it abused that discretion wantonly, oppressively, wrongfully and illegally in making said vacating order.of August 26 as, aforesaid; that appellant was thereby deprived of the gains of her own industry and of her property without due process of law and equal protection of the law, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and Sections 4 and 30 of the Constitution of Missouri.

- On August 30 the court heard evidence on appellant, ’s motion of August 29 to set aside the vacating .order of August 26. All the foregoing motions and.orders were introduced in evidence. It was admitted 'that shortly after the case was put at issue by the filing of respondent’s motion of August 12 and appellant’s answer thereto of August 20, counsel for respondent requested the court to set the case for an early hearing so evidence could be introduced and a decision rendered before the expiration of the term. (The next term would convene on September 12. Laws 1931, p.

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131 S.W.2d 566, 345 Mo. 46, 1939 Mo. LEXIS 485, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/savings-trust-co-of-st-louis-v-skain-mo-1939.