Talkington v. Schmidt

242 S.W.2d 150, 219 Ark. 333, 1951 Ark. LEXIS 517
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJuly 9, 1951
Docket4-9550
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 242 S.W.2d 150 (Talkington v. Schmidt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Talkington v. Schmidt, 242 S.W.2d 150, 219 Ark. 333, 1951 Ark. LEXIS 517 (Ark. 1951).

Opinion

Paul Ward, J.

This is an action brought, originally in Chancery Court but later transferred to Circuit Court, by appellee on a foreign judgment rendered in the Circuit Court of Saint Louis, Missouri, which granted to her on December 22, 1932, a divorce from her husband, appellant, and at the same time awarded to her $5 a week for the support of their daughter, Bobbie Jean Talking-ton, who became twenty-one years of age December 19, 1948. Twenty-one years is the age for majority under Missouri Revised Statutes of 1949, § 457-010. Appellee, after admitting the application of the ten years statute of limitations and after entering a remittitur correcting a typographical error in the judgment of the court, now contends that she is entitled to judgment for $5 a week, with interest as hereafter mentioned, for ten years immediately prior to November 9, 1949, the date the original complaint was filed in Chancery Court, less the time between December 19, 1948 (when the daughter became of age) and November 9, 1949. In other words, appellee seeks judgment for accumulations between November 9, 1939, and December 19, 1948, with interest thereon at six per cent to January 8, 1951. On the latter date the lower court gave appellee judgment in accordance with the above in the amount of $3,350.61, which judgment was to bear interest at six per cent per annum. The remittitur referred to above reduces the judgment 'by the sum of $42.57. After appellant’s motion for a new trial was overruled lie prosecutes this appeal and raises many interesting questions which we now proceed to discuss.

The original complaint (captioned “Action on Foreign Judgment”) alleges the Saint Louis divorce, the weekly award and non-payment thereof, the facts relative to Bobbie Jean Talkington, and that a copy of the decree of divorce was attached as ‘ ‘ Exhibit A. ’ ’ After answer appellee, on April 29, 1950, filed an amended complaint, captioned “Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint” which contained substantially the same allegations as the original complaint but added that Robert Leslie Talking-ton was duly served with personal summons in the Saint Louis case. Service of summons was issued on the original complaint but not on the amended complaint. Appellant answered the amended complaint without mentioning the lack of service.

As stated above the cause of action was transferred to Circuit Court, but over the objections of appellant, and after the pleadings were completed and certain motions disposed of the court permitted appellee to call as her witness one George Bridges, Deputy Circuit Clerk for Clay County, and through him to introduce in evidence certified copies of all the papers, including decree and summons, in the Saint Louis divorce case. These documents had however been formerly introduced as evidence and used in an action which this appellee had brought in the Clay County Chancery Court in 1937 against this appellant wherein she sought and recovered judgment for weekly payments accruing under the Saint Louis decree up to that time.

Appellant, in his pleadings, by motion for a new trial, and by timely objections, has saved and now urges the following grounds for a reversal of the lower court.

First. That the cause should have been transferred to the Chancery Court and that it was error to allow Bridges to testify after the cause was submitted on the pleadings. We see no merit in either of these contentions. This was a suit on a foreign judgment for a sum of money alleged to be due and no equity question was involved. There is nothing in the record to indicate the case was to be or was submitted on the pleadings and it was proper to allow the introduction of competent testimony.

Second. That the suit brought by appellee in 1937 to collect weekly payments is res judicata of this action. This could not be true because the payments sought to be collected here had not accrued in 1937. It is not sought here to collect any payment accruing prior to November 9,1939.

Third. Appellant pleaded mil tiel record contending, (a) that before appellee could rely on a foreign judgment it was not only necessary to introduce and prove the foreign judgment but also all proceedings, including proof of service, upon which that judgment was based, and (b) that it was error to allow the introduction of the files in the 1937 suit. It is not suggested that the 1937 files did not contain (as exhibits) all the necessary papers to support the Saint Louis judgment or that they were not properly verified and exemplified according to the provisions of the United States statutes. We think appellant cannot be sustained on either contention. We know of no rule of law that prevents properly verified and exemplified documents from being introduced at one trial just because they have been previously introduced in another trial. Also it is not questioned that appellee attached, as ‘ ‘ Exhibit A, ’ ’ to her complaint a copy of the decree of the Saint Louis court and, in our opinion, that was sufficient. The rule is well stated in Am. Jur., Yol. 31, page 352, § 858, as follows:

“In an action on a judgment rendered by a court of general jurisdiction of record, it will be presumed that the judgment was legally obtained, and that the court which rendered the judgment, had jurisdiction of the cause and of the parties in the original action, where such jurisdiction is not disproved by extrinsic evidence or by the record itself. Until the contrary appears, there is also a presumption in an action on a judgment that the judgment remains in full force and unsatisfied.”

Of course the introduction of these documents presented evidence which appellant had the right to rebut had he chosen to do so.

Fourth. It is insisted that the Saint Louis judgment is not a final judgment because the court, as shown by the decree, had a right to change it. In the absence of any proof to the contrary it will be assumed that the weekly payments continued, unchanged and unpaid until Bobbie Jean became of age. It is stated, § 859 of the above cited volume of American Jurisprudence that the plaintiff suing on a judgment does not bear the burden of proving* the judgment has not been satisfied. The Saint Louis court had no power to change payments that had already accrued on December 19, 1948, when Bobbie Jean became twenty:one years old. In Nelson v. Nelson, 282 Mo. 412, 221 S. W. 1066, the Supreme Court of Missouri said:

“If not otherwise impelled thereto, we would be constrained to hold for reasons of public policy alone that the courts of this state have no power to revoke or modify an installment of alimony which has accrued prior to the making of an application therefor.”

In Schneider v. Schneider, 273 S. W. 1081 (Missouri), the St. Louis Court of Appeals said:

“It does not, however, give the court the power to annul or modify the judgment retroactively. The judgment in respect to past due and unpaid installments, is a fixed debt, and the wife has therein a property right which vests as the installments accrue.”

Fifth. Appellant earnestly and ably insists that the Amended Complaint filed April 26, 1950, superseded the original complaint filed November 9, 1949, and consequently this would shorten the time for which appellee could recover. In support he cites Waters-Pierce Oil Company v. Bridwell, 103 Ark. 345, 147 S. W.

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Bluebook (online)
242 S.W.2d 150, 219 Ark. 333, 1951 Ark. LEXIS 517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/talkington-v-schmidt-ark-1951.