Stewart v. Jones

58 S.W.3d 926, 2001 Mo. App. LEXIS 2110, 2001 WL 1402701
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 13, 2001
DocketNo. 24152
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 58 S.W.3d 926 (Stewart v. Jones) 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
Stewart v. Jones, 58 S.W.3d 926, 2001 Mo. App. LEXIS 2110, 2001 WL 1402701 (Mo. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

JOHN E. PARRISH, Judge.

Donald R. Stewart and Steven Stewart (plaintiffs) brought a two-count action against Kirk R. Jones, Janice M. Jones, Spokane Highlands Water Co., Inc., and Spokane Highlands Development, Inc. (defendants). Count I is an action for breach of contract directed to two one-page writings attached to and made part of Count I by incorporation by reference. Count II is an action to set aside certain stock sales agreements, resignations of plaintiffs as officers and members of boards of directors of Spokane Highlands Water Co., Inc., and Spokane Highlands Development, Inc., and for an accounting of assets of the named corporations “that have been sold, assigned, mortgaged or transferred by defendants and for all corporate monies expended and debts incurred ... from and after October 20, 1994.” Defendants Kirk R. Jones and Janice M. Jones filed a two-count counterclaim. It was subsequently dismissed and is not part of this appeal.

The trial court severed plaintiffs’ Count II for separate trail. Following trial of Count II, the court ordered judgment entered for defendants. The trial court found the documents in question had been executed “with full knowledge of their meaning and effect, and that good and valuable consideration existed for the promises, agreements and obligations made by plaintiffs.” It directed, “As to Count I of plaintiffs’ Petition, the issues raised therein are to be submitted to a Master under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 68.”

The master conducted an evidentiary hearing and filed his report declaring plaintiffs should take nothing on Count I.1 The master’s report was filed September 26, 2000. Plaintiffs filed objections to the report October 23, 2000. The trial court [928]*928entered judgment March 7, 2001, without having conducted a hearing on plaintiffs’ objections. The judgment includes the findings:

1. The Court finds that there was a two count [sic] Petition ... filed in this action and that the Court has heretofore entered judgment on Count II of the said Petition in favor of the Defendants and against the Plaintiffs and that said judgment stands now as a final judgment.
2. That the Court has heretofore ordered that Count I of the Petition be tried to a Special Master pursuant to Rule 68.01. The Court has now received the Report of the Special Master and has received objections to the said Report by the Defendants. The Court has also received a transcript of the proceedings before the Special Master. The Court finds that the Special Master has found that all Plaintiffs should take nothing by way of Count I of Plaintiffs Petition for Damages and that the costs of the proceedings be split equally between Plaintiffs and Defendants. The Court hereby adopts the Report of the Special Master.
3. Accordingly, it is hereby the judgment of this Court that the Plaintiffs take nothing by way of Count I of their Petition for Damages and that judgment is herewith entered in favor of the Defendants and against the Plaintiffs on Count I.
4.The Court orders the Master to submit a statement for his services to the Court and that, upon approval of same, the Plaintiffs are to pay one-half of the Master’s fee and costs and the Defendants are to pay one-half of the Master’s fee and costs.

The reference to the judgment previously entered on Count II is to a writing dated and filed February 7, 2000, that, after identifying the parties who appeared and their attorneys, declared:

As to Count II of plaintiffs’ Petition, the Court finds that on October 20,1994, plaintiffs and defendants entered into certain agreements and signed certain documents, copies of which were attached to plaintiffs [sic] Petition as Exhibits B, C and D and were also admitted into evidence herein. THe [sic] Court finds that said documents and agreements were executed at the law offices of David Appleby in Ozark, Missouri; that plaintiffs knowingly and voluntarily signed said documents and agreements with full knowledge of their meaning and effect, and that good and valuable consideration existed for the promises, agreements and obligations made by plaintiffs in said documents and agreements. The Court, therefore, finds that said documents and agreements are valid and should not be set aside. [2]

That finding was followed with language ordering judgment “rendered in favor of [929]*929defendants and against plaintiffs on Count II of the Petition with respect to plaintiffs’ request that the documents referred to therein be set aside.”

Plaintiffs appeal. Points I and II are directed to plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim, Count I. Point III is directed to Count II, the action to set aside the documents identified in the petition. The part of the judgment directed to Count I is reversed and remanded with directions. The part of the judgment directed to Count II is affirmed.

This court first addresses Point II. Point II asserts the trial court erred in adopting the master’s report and entering judgment on Count I without holding a hearing on plaintiffs’ objections to the report. Rule 68.01(g)(3) directs:

If no objections are filed, the court may adopt the report. If objections are filed, or the court proposes action other than adoption of the report, the court, after hearing, may adopt the report or may modify it or may reject it in whole or in part or may receive further evidence or may recommit it with instructions .... [Emphasis added.]

Plaintiffs cite no Missouri case in which the consequence of a trial court’s failure to conduct a hearing on objections filed to a master’s report have been addressed. This court’s independent research disclosed no such case. However, Kieffer v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 873 F.2d 954, 956 (6th Cir.1989), In re Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific R.R. Co., 739 F.2d 1169, 1172 (7th Cir.1984), and In re Wonderbowl, 424 F.2d 178, 180 (9th Cir.1970), discuss this issue with respect to a federal court rule with requirements the same as Rule 68.01(g)(3).

Rule 53(e)(2), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, imposes the same requirement with respect to conducting a hearing following filing of a master’s report as does Missouri Rule 68.01(g)(3). Federal Rule 53(e)(2) requires parties to an action in which a master has filed a report to be given notice of the filing of the report. It permits any party “[wjithin 10 days after being served with notice of the filing of the report” to “serve written objections thereto upon the other parties.” The federal rule provides, as does Missouri Rule 68.01(g)(3), that the court in which the master’s report is filed, “after hearing,” may modify the report, reject it in whole or in part, receive further evidence, or recommit the report to the master with instructions.

Kieffer, In re Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific R.R. Co. and In re Wonderbowl

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 S.W.3d 926, 2001 Mo. App. LEXIS 2110, 2001 WL 1402701, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stewart-v-jones-moctapp-2001.