State ex rel. McHarevo Development Corp v. Lasky

569 S.W.2d 273, 1978 Mo. App. LEXIS 2778
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 6, 1978
DocketNo. 39410
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 569 S.W.2d 273 (State ex rel. McHarevo Development Corp v. Lasky) 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
State ex rel. McHarevo Development Corp v. Lasky, 569 S.W.2d 273, 1978 Mo. App. LEXIS 2778 (Mo. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

SNYDER, Judge.

Relator McHarevo Development Corporation petitions for a writ of prohibition against respondent judge of the circuit court of St. Louis County, seeking to prohibit respondent from proceeding further to [274]*274consider cause # 378,090, styled: Ladue-In-nerbelt Bank and Trust Company, Plaintiff v. McHarevo Development Corporation, et aL, Defendants. Preliminary writ made absolute.

This is the second petition for a writ of prohibition filed in this cause. An earlier writ of prohibition requested by the three individual defendants only was made absolute in State ex rel. Hails v. Lasky, 546 S.W.2d 512 (Mo.App.1977).

The original suit for a money judgment was brought by Ladue-Innerbelt Bank and Trust Company, successor to Pine Lawn Bank and Trust Company, against the McHarevo Development Corporation and Carl Hails, Frank J. McDowell and L. J. Mueller as individuals.

The claim against relator McHarevo is based on its alleged failure to fulfill the terms of a contract between relator and J.M.C. Investments, Inc., under which relator was appointed exclusive agent to collect certain rentals on St. Francois County real property for J.M.C. and to remit to other parties, from the sums collected, mortgage payments, real estate taxes and insurance premiums. The balance, if any, was to be sent to plaintiff Ladue-Innerbelt in discharge of J.M.C.’s obligation as maker of a promissory note in the face amount of $300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Dollars) held by Ladue-Innerbelt.

The petition alleged that the individual defendants owed Ladue-Innerbelt contract sums which relator owed and failed to pay. The claim against the individual defendants was based on a written “Guarantee of Indebtedness of Corporation, etc.”, signed by them as majority stockholders of relator.

Summons were issued and returns of service made as to the individual defendants, but no return of service was ever made as to relator, although respondent asserts that because defendant Hails was the registered agent of relator corporation, service on him as an individual constituted valid service on relator.

Separate motions to dismiss filed by the three individual defendants based on a claim of improper venue were overruled by the trial court, after which the individual defendants filed the first petition for a writ of prohibition with this court. Our preliminary writ of prohibition in that case was made absolute on March 15,1977. State ex rel. Hails, supra. It prohibited the respondent judge from proceeding further in the cause entitled Ladue-Innerbelt Bank and Trust Company v. McHarevo Development Corporation, et ah, # 378,090.

On March 17, 1977, Ladue-Innerbelt voluntarily dismissed without prejudice its cause of action against individual defendants Hails, McDowell and Mueller. On June 9, 1977 respondent, in spite of the absolute writ of prohibition which had been issued by this court, ruled on and denied relator’s motion to set aside the court’s order of default and inquiry which had been entered as of May 18, 1976 prior to the filing of the first petition seeking prohibition. This second petition for a writ of prohibition was then filed on June 24, 1977.

Our former writ of prohibition was broad enough to prevent the respondent trial judge from proceeding further in this cause of action even though it was dismissed as to the individual defendants. Respondent’s theory is that a different situation exists now that the individual defendants are out of the case and the sole remaining defendant is the relator corporation. In truth, the applicable venue statute when the corporation and the individuals were co-defendants was § 508.010, RSMo 1969, whereas § 508.-040, RSMo 1969 controls now that relator is the sole defendant. State ex rel. Hails, supra; State ex rel. Columbia Nat. Bank of Kansas City v. Davis, 314 Mo. 373, 284 S.W. 464 (Mo.banc 1926). Because of the change in the applicable venue statute and because the question remaining as to proper venue would be unresolved if we were to rule that our prior writ of prohibition remains fully in effect as to the entire cause, and with the further belief that perhaps the former writ was over broad, we will consider the issues raised in this second prohibition petition.

[275]*275Relator argues that Ladue-Innerbelt is only an incidental third-party beneficiary of the contract, not a creditor beneficiary, and hence lacks the standing to sue on the contract. We will consider this issue since it may be raised in future litigation.

Respondent has not spoken to this point in his brief. Nonetheless, we rule against relator and hold that Ladue-Innerbelt has standing to sue as a third-party creditor beneficiary.

It is a well-settled principle of law that a contract between parties upon a valid consideration may be enforced by a third party when entered into for his benefit even though he is not named in the contract nor privy to the consideration. Beattie Mfg. Company v. Gerardi, 166 Mo. 142, 65 S.W. 1035 (1901). Crone v. Stinde, 156 Mo. 262, 55 S.W. 863 (1900) [adopted by court in banc, 156 Mo. 262, 56 S.W. 907 (Mo.banc 1900)]; Bank of Corning v. Consolidated School District No. 6 of Atchison County, 225 Mo.App. 821, 37 S.W.2d 982 (1931); Black and White Cabs of St. Louis, Inc. v. Smith, 370 S.W.2d 669 (Mo.App.1963).

Relator cites Stephens v. Great Southern Savings & Loan Ass’n, 421 S.W.2d 332 (Mo. App.1967) and Mertens v. MGR, Inc., 507 S.W.2d 433 (Mo.App.1974) for definitions of donee, creditor and incidental beneficiaries, the three classes of third-party beneficiaries of contracts. The court in Mertens adopted the definitions in the Restatement of Contracts, § 133, including, at pages 435-6:

(b) a creditor beneficiary if no purpose to make a gift appears from the terms of the promise in view of the accompanying circumstances and performance of the promise will satisfy an actual or supposed or asserted duty of the promisee to the beneficiary, or a right of the beneficiary against the promisee which has been barred by the Statute of Limitations or by a discharge in bankruptcy, or which is unenforceable because of the Statute of Frauds;

Ladue-Innerbelt is not a donee beneficiary because obviously J.M.C. did not intend to give anything of value to the bank. Ladue-Innerbelt does fit the definition of a creditor beneficiary. There is an actual duty of the promisee, i. e. J.M.C., to the beneficiary, Ladue-Innerbelt, to pay the amount due on the promissory note signed by J.M.C. and payable to the bank.

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Bluebook (online)
569 S.W.2d 273, 1978 Mo. App. LEXIS 2778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-mcharevo-development-corp-v-lasky-moctapp-1978.