Tharp v. Keeter/Schaefer Investments, L.P.

943 S.W.2d 811, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 519, 1997 WL 126800
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 21, 1997
DocketNos. 20806, 20827
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 943 S.W.2d 811 (Tharp v. Keeter/Schaefer Investments, L.P.) 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
Tharp v. Keeter/Schaefer Investments, L.P., 943 S.W.2d 811, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 519, 1997 WL 126800 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

CROW, Presiding Judge.

This is a mechanic’s lien case. The parties are:

Gary L. Tharp (“Plaintiff’), a “metal stud and drywall contractor” doing business as T & T Interiors.

Tri-Lakes Construction & Plastering, Inc. (“Intervenor”), a Missouri corporation.

Keeter/Sehaefer Investments, L.P. (“Defendant”), a Georgia limited partnership.

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The litigation is about work done by Plaintiff and Intervenor during construction of the [813]*813Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza (“Crowne Plaza”) in Branson. At all times pertinent herein, the Crowne Plaza was owned by Defendant.

Two non-parties — a Missouri corporation and an individual — played roles in the events from which this suit arose.

The corporation is identified in Defendant’s amended answer as “Seventy Six Music Country Inn, Inc.” We henceforth refer to it as “Seventy Six.” Seventy Six does business as “Keeter Schaefer Construction” and “K & S Construction.”

The individual is Thomas Wayne Schaefer (“Schaefer”). He is a shareholder in, a director of, and president of, Seventy Six. He is also one of the five limited partners in Defendant.1

On May 18, 1993, Plaintiff signed a contract with “76 Music Country Inn, Inc.” to supply and install sheetrock, steel studs and exterior finishes on the Crowne Plaza. Schaefer signed the contract for 76 Music Country Inn, Inc. as president.

Asked about the “role” of Seventy Six (d/b/a K & S Construction), Schaefer testified Seventy Six “[b]uilt the Crowne Plaza project.” His testimony continued:

“Q Had it conducted other construction projects for your corporation?
A Yes, it had.
Q Okay. Is it still in business as a construction corporation?
A It’s only active when we have a project.
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Q Okay. Is K & S involved in the general construction business for persons other than yourself?
A No.
Q Okay. K & S would be a construction company which would be activated for construction for your corporation’s purposes, is that correct?
A Correct,
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Q [Tjell me how the money would flow from [Defendant] over to [K & S Construction] so that there would be funds to write checks for the workers on the Crowne Plaza project?
A Keeter/Schaefer Investments would basically do a draw request to our bank. It was Continental Bank of Illinois at the time, and they would wire the funds into Keeter/Schaefer Investments, and we would transfer those funds into K & S Construction and write the checks out of K & S Construction.”

This suit began when Plaintiff filed a . two-count petition against Defendant. Count I pled, inter alia, that the contract between Plaintiff and Seventy Six called for Plaintiff to be paid $1,232,816 for the labor and material required by the contract, that during the project additional labor and material were approved in the amount of $117,770, that Plaintiff had completed all of the contract work and the additional work, and that he was owed $110,058.50. Count I prayed for judgment in that sum against Defendant and for enforcement of a mechanic’s lien in that sum on the Crowne Plaza.2

After Plaintiff filed suit, Intervenor entered the case and filed a three-count “cross-claim” against Plaintiff and Defendant. Count I pled, inter alia, that at Plaintiff’s request, Intervenor fiirnished labor and material in constructing the Crowne Plaza, and that Plaintiff owed Intervenor $26,052.09. Count I prayed for judgment against Plain[814]*814tiff and Defendant in that sum and for a mechanic’s lien in that sum on the Crowne Plaza.3

Defendant filed an amended counterclaim against Plaintiff. It pled, inter alia, that Plaintiff had been paid $1,244,878.50 for work performed under the contract with Seventy Six, that Defendant had paid Seventy Six the identical amount for the work performed by Plaintiff, that the amount to which Plaintiff was entitled was only $1,057,605.27 including “overhead and profit,” and that Plaintiff had thus been “overpaid” $187,273.22 by Defendant. The counterclaim prayed for judgment in the latter amount against Plaintiff.

Following a non-jury trial, the court entered judgment: (1) awarding Plaintiff $110,-058.50 from Defendant, with interest at nine percent per annum from July 2,1994, together with a mechanic’s lien on the Crowne Plaza; (2) denying Defendant’s amended counterclaim; (3) awarding Intervenor $20,-513.30 from Plaintiff (but nothing from Defendant), with interest at nine percent per annum from April 23, 1994; (4) denying In-tervenor’s prayer for a mechanic’s lien; (5) denying Plaintiffs Count II; (6) denying In-tervenor’s Counts II and III.

Defendant brings appeal 20806 from that judgment; Plaintiff brings appeal 20827.

We address the appeals separately, starting with 20806. The first of Defendant’s four points relied on is:

“The trial court erred in granting a personal judgment against [Defendant] on Count I of the petition because [Plaintiff] did not have a contract with [Defendant] in that [Plaintiffs] contract was with K & S,

In support of the point, Defendant cites the following passage from Kelderman v. Compton, 740 S.W.2d 391, 392 (Mo.App. E.D.1987): “It is clear that a trial court cannot enter a personal judgment against a landowner in a mechanic’s lien action, except where there is a direct contract with that landowner.”

Plaintiff argues that the above-quoted passage is dictum- As shall appear infra, it is unnecessary to decide whether it is.

In response to Defendant’s first point, Plaintiff asserts:

“The trial court did not err in entering a personal judgment against [Defendant] on Count I of the petition because the evidence supported the conclusion that K & S entered the contract with [Plaintiff] as the agent of [Defendant] in that the evidence presented demonstrated that Thomas Schaefer, who executed the contract with [Plaintiff] on behalf of K & S, was also a limited partner of [Defendant] and was president of the corporate general partner of [Defendant], K & S Properties[ 5] and so acted with express or implied authority of [Defendant] for K & S, over whom [Defendant] exercised control.”

Evidently anticipating Plaintiffs contention, Defendant asserts in its brief: “[Plaintiff] did not plead or argue that [Defendant] [815]*815was the alter ego of K & S and therefore responsible for K & S’ obligations.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
943 S.W.2d 811, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 519, 1997 WL 126800, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tharp-v-keeterschaefer-investments-lp-moctapp-1997.