St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City v. May

588 S.W.2d 217, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2531
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 1, 1979
DocketNo. 30304
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 588 S.W.2d 217 (St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City v. May) 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
St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City v. May, 588 S.W.2d 217, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2531 (Mo. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

MANFORD, Judge.

Appeal from trial court judgment for monies claimed due for hospital services. Motion for new trial filed and overruled.

Review of this case is made pursuant to Rule 73.01 and Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30 (Mo. banc 1976). Since this was a court tried case, both the facts and law are subject to the scrutiny of this court. A brief recital of the facts is necessary for disposition of the matter.

On March 31, 1975, appellant was involved in a traffic accident. He was removed from the scene and taken to respondent hospital. It was determined appellant sustained a dislocated hip and abrasions. He remained at respondent hospital until discharged on April 27, 1975.

Appellant was contacted later about the claimed indebtedness for services in the sum of $2,885.83 and appellant refused to pay. This action followed. The petition was in multiple counts of account stated and action on account. The proceedings were initiated in the Magistrate Court, which found for appellant. An appeal was taken to the circuit court, which found for respondent. Upon the trial court’s judgment, no request was made for findings of fact or conclusions of law and there are no such findings or conclusions of record. Appellant proceeded with this direct appeal, alleging the trial court erred in permitting respondent to try a different cause of action, other than that tried before the Magistrate, in the Circuit Court. Appellant also alleged the court erred in finding that appellant promised and agreed to pay for [219]*219services rendered because there was no evidence on that issue; the court erred in finding appellant received services at his special instance because there was no evidence on such issue and finally, the court erred in finding the charges for such services were fair and reasonable because of the failure of proof.

Respondent introduced various documents, including the billing for the services. Harry I. Fransen, an employee of respondent’s for some eleven years and who, at the time of trial was respondent’s accounts manager, testified. Appellant offered only respondent’s corporate certification, verified by the Secretary of State.

Subsequent to the action by the Magistrate and on the morning of trial, respondent requested and was granted leave to amend its petition to delete one paragraph thereof. This resulted in the abandonment of the claim for an account stated.

The first point of error alleged goes to the amended petition. Appellant contends the action by the trial court permitted respondent to proceed on a different cause of action. In support of this question, appellant cites McMahon v. Charles Schulze, Inc., 483 S.W.2d 666 (Mo.App.1972); Snyder v. Gericke, 101 Mo.App. 647, 74 S.W. 377 (1903); Evans v. St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Co., 67 Mo.App. 255 (1896) and § 512.280, RSMo 1969.1

§ 512.280 reads as follows:

“512.280. Same cause of action to be tried in appeal cases. — The same cause of action, and no other, that was tried before the magistrate, shall be tried before the appellate court upon the appeal; provided, that new parties, plaintiff or defendant, necessary to a complete determination of the cause of action, may be added in the appellate court.”2

In rebuttal of appellant’s argument that the permission of the trial court allowed respondent to amend its petition, thus violating § 512.280, respondent cites for the court § 512.300, which reads as follows:

“512.300. Statement of account amended, when. — In all cases of appeal, the bill of items of the account sued on or filed as a counterclaim or setoff, or the statement of the plaintiff’s cause of action, or of defendant’s counterclaim or setoff, or other ground of defense filed before the magistrate, may be amended upon appeal in the appellate court to supply any deficiency or omission therein, when by such amendment substantial justice will be promoted; but no new item or cause of action not embraced or intended to be included in the original account or statement shall be added by such amendment. Such amendment shall be allowed upon such terms as to costs as the court may deem just and proper.” 3

As to point one, relative to § 512.280 from appellant’s view, or § 512.300 from respondent’s point of view, neither statuto[220]*220ry reference is dispositive of the alleged error. These pertinent statutory sections, prohibitive in nature, simply proscribe the practice that a moving party cannot gain advantage of his opponent by substitution of claims. In other words, § 512.280 prohibits trial on one claim and the substitution of another claim upon retrial. § 512.300 is prohibitive in a limited sense, but permits discretion to the trial court for amendment when justice demands it upon actions for account stated. As these statutes relate to the case at hand, neither reaches the action by the trial court and neither serves as a basis to support the allegation of error by the trial court. The simple reason is that the initial petition sounded in account stated and on account. These are separate and distinct causes of action filed against appellant to which he filed his answer.

When the court permitted the amendment, which amounted to a deletion of one cause of action, respondent, from that point on, was prohibited from pursuing that alleged cause of action. The situation would be analogous if the amendment had not been granted and the evidence simply failed to sustain the alleged cause of action. Logic mandates the posture of the respective parties on that particular issue would have remained the same.

This court is not persuaded by case authority cited by appellant. Those cases cited are clearly distinguishable. In McMahon v. Charles Schulze, Inc., supra, substitution of a claim for negligence in lieu of a claim for warranty was correctly prohibited, but that cause is not analogous to the facts of the case herein. Snyder v. Gericke, supra is clearly not controlling because it involved an action on a note by a minor, and amendment of the pleadings was not an issue. Finally, Evans v. St. Louis and San Francisco Railway Co., supra, permitted an amendment which did not change the original claim for the alleged wrongful killing of livestock. The action by the trial court did not provide for a new cause of action or the substitution of a cause of action. Such action did not misinterpret or misapply the law.

Point one is ruled against appellant. It must be so, whether the courts choose to apply § 512.300, which could be done by different construction, or by concluding from the evidence of record no substitution of a cause of action occurred. The evidence herein clearly establishes no substitution of a cause of action occurred.

Points two and three, for purposes herein, are taken up together because they address the same basic question of whether appellant promised, agreed to and at his special instance and request, received medical services from respondent.

As has been pointed out, the record reflects no request for findings of fact and conclusions of law.

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Bluebook (online)
588 S.W.2d 217, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/st-lukes-hospital-of-kansas-city-v-may-moctapp-1979.