State ex rel. Missouri Highway & Transportation Commission v. Wilson

864 S.W.2d 341, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 689, 1993 WL 146912
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 11, 1993
DocketNo. WD 46619
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 864 S.W.2d 341 (State ex rel. Missouri Highway & Transportation Commission v. Wilson) 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. Missouri Highway & Transportation Commission v. Wilson, 864 S.W.2d 341, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 689, 1993 WL 146912 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

TURNAGE, Judge.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission filed a suit in condemnation to acquire land owned by Myers Oil Company upon which Farley State Bank held a deed of trust to secure a note payable to the Bank. On trial of the exceptions filed by both Myers Oil and the Commission, the court found the value of the property to be less than the commissioners’ award. The Commission sought to have the court enter judgment against the Bank for a part of the deficiency but the court refused. On appeal, the Commission contends that under equitable principles it has a right to seek restitution from the Bank for money which the Bank received from the commissioners’ award after it was paid into court. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.

The Commission filed its petition in condemnation in October of 1985 and named as defendants Myers Oil Company, Osage Outdoor Advertising, Inc., and Farley State Bank. It was alleged that Myers Oil Company was the owner of the property and that Farley State Bank held a deed of trust on the property. Farley State Bank filed an answer stating that it was the owner of a note secured by a deed of trust covering the land sought to be condemned and that the Bank’s lien was prior to and superior to any [343]*343other right of ownership in the land sought to be condemned.

The court appointed commissioners who later filed their report assessing damages at $298,000. Both Myers Oil Company and the Commission filed exceptions. Thereafter, the Commission paid the $298,000 into court.

Shortly after the $293,000 was paid into court, the president of Farley State Bank, who was also the attorney of record for Myers Oil Company, filed a disclaimer on behalf of the Bank in the commissioners’ award. At the same time the attorney filed an application on behalf of Myers Oil to withdraw the sum of $276,700.1 Pursuant to the stipulation of Osage, Myers and the Bank, the court ordered that $276,700 be paid to Myers. Thereupon, Myers was paid $276,700.

On the day following the order to pay $276,700 to Myers, Farley State Bank executed a quit-claim deed to Myers Oil by which the deed of trust held by the Bank on the property being condemned was released.

Almost six years later the Commission took the deposition of Alvin Davis, a statutory trustee of Myers Oil. Davis testified that the corporate charter of Myers Oil Company had been forfeited and the company was no longer in existence. He stated that of the $276,700 paid to Myers Oil from the commissioners’ award, approximately $200,000 had been paid to Farley State Bank.

Trial of the exceptions to the commissioners’ award was set in August of 1991, and as soon as the trial setting was obtained the Commission gave notice to Farley State Bank that if the final award was less than the commissioners’ award that the Commission would look to the Bank to contribute toward payment of the deficiency.

Trial on the exceptions was continued from August 1991 to March 1992, but in August of 1991, the Commission forwarded interrogatories to Farley State Bank seeking information as to the amount paid to the Bank from the commissioners’ award withdrawn by Myers. The Bank filed what it termed to be a special appearance and sought a protective order to relieve it from complying with the discovery request. In November of 1991, the court granted the Bank a protective order. In its order the court stated that by reason of the order of apportionment dividing the condemnation award between Osage and Myers and the issuance of a separate cheek by the clerk of the court to Myers for its share, Farley State Bank was effectively eliminated from the case and was therefore not required to respond to the interrogatories.

On March 2, 1992, trial on the exceptions was held to the court and the court found that the value of the property being taken was $127,500. The Commission tendered a proposed judgment entry to the court finding the value of the property to be $127,500 and ordering a refund to the Commission of $149,200. The Commission further suggested that Farley State Bank and Myers Oil be required to submit evidence as to the amount which each had received from the $276,700 paid into court by the Commission.

The court entered a judgment finding the value of the property to be $127,500 and found that Farley State Bank had previously been eliminated from the case by the protective order. The court entered judgment in favor of the Commission against Myers Oil for the deficiency of $149,200 plus interest. The Commission filed a motion to amend the judgment to include a judgment against Farley State Bank for the amount which it received from the amount paid to Myers Oil from the commissioners’ award. Attached to that motion was a copy of the deposition of Davis reflecting his testimony that Farley State Bank had received $200,000. The court took no action on the motion to amend and by operation of law it was denied.

The Commission contends it was error for the court to refuse to enter judgment against Farley State Bank for a proportionate share of the amount which it received from Myers Oil from the commissioners’ award. The [344]*344Commission founds its claim on State ex rel. State Highway Comm’n v. Morganstein, 588 S.W.2d 472, 477 (Mo. banc 1979), in which the court stated:

[W]e believe remand is necessary to determine the individual liability of the separate defendants for the excess award, and this is so whether or not § 523.053 controls. The obligation to repay the Commission all amounts obtained above the jury award springs from basic principles of equity and fairness which dictate that defendants simply have no right to more than the jury found was due for the property taken. The situation resembles that in which an already-satisfied judgment is reversed on appeal. The successful appellant has the right to restitution of money lost by reason of the erroneous or void judgment. De-Mayo v. Lyons, 360 Mo. 512, 228 S.W.2d 691, 692 (1950). “The proceeding, after the reversal of the judgment, to make restitution, whether by separate suit or motion in the case, is governed by broad equitable considerations. It is a question ex aequo et bono, as in suits for money or property had and received.” Hurst Automatic Switch & Signal Co. v. Trust Co. of St. Louis Co., 291 Mo. 54, 236 S.W. 58, 62 (1921). Of course, equity in such cases holds a defendant liable to repay only that which he may have received of the proceeds, whether directly or beneficially. White v. McCoy Land Co., 101 S.W.2d 763, 765 (Mo.App.1936), aff'd. sub nom. White v. Scarritt, 341 Mo. 1004, 111 S.W.2d 18 (1937). (footnote omitted)

Id. at 476-77[2-5].

Farley State Bank contends that because an order of apportionment under § 523.053, RSMo 1986, was made and it filed a disclaimer of interest in the award that it was eliminated from the case and the court lost jurisdiction of it.

The thrust of the Morganstein holding is that the Commission has the right to obtain restitution for any excess amount finally awarded over the commissioners’ award and this right is rooted in principles of equity and fairness and this is so whether or not § 523.053 had been followed.2

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Bluebook (online)
864 S.W.2d 341, 1993 Mo. App. LEXIS 689, 1993 WL 146912, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-missouri-highway-transportation-commission-v-wilson-moctapp-1993.