Twedell v. Town of Normandy

581 S.W.2d 438, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2331
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 17, 1979
DocketNo. 39512
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 581 S.W.2d 438 (Twedell v. Town of Normandy) 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
Twedell v. Town of Normandy, 581 S.W.2d 438, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2331 (Mo. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

STEPHAN, Presiding Judge.

This is an appeal by Donald L. Twedell from a circuit court order dissolving an injunction, originally entered in 1953, whereby the Town of Normandy in St. Louis County had been enjoined from taxing or otherwise exercising municipal control over Twedell’s property.

In March 1950, the trustees of Normandy, purportedly following the then prescribed annexation procedures, filed a petition in the County Court of St. Louis County asking that the boundaries of the town be extended to include the Twedell property, an unincorporated and unplatted tract of some eleven to twelve acres contiguous to Normandy. On May 26, 1950, the County Court issued its order approving such annexation, and pursuant to that order Normandy levied taxes and imposed unspecified municipal restrictions on the Twedell property in the years 1950 through 1953. In February 1953, Twedell filed a petition for injunction in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, asking the court to declare the annexation illegal and void and to enjoin the defendant Town of Normandy and its trustees from exercising municipal authority over the land in any manner. Twedell claimed that the annexation was accomplished in direct violation of § 80.030, RSMo 1949,1 which specified the procedures to be followed by a town or village in extending its boundaries, providing, however:

“that no tract of ten acres or more of any unplatted or unsubdivided land used for farming, gardening, horticultural or dairying purposes shall be included in a town by such extension of boundaries without consent of the owner of such tract.”

In November 1953, the circuit court entered its Finding and Decree, finding inter alia, that the property was used “exclusively for farming, gardening and horticultural purposes for the profit and livelihood” of Twe-dell, both at the time of the proposed annexation in 1950 and at the time of the trial in 1953; and that defendant Town of Normandy had at no time obtained Twedell’s consent to such annexation. The court therefore permanently enjoined Normandy and its named trustees and their successors from levying any license or tax on the land [440]*440or from exercising any municipal control over it “until such time as the use and character of Plaintiff’s property shall justify the inclusion of said property within the boundaries of the Defendant, Town of Normandy, according to the Laws of the State of Missouri.”

In January 1976, the Town of Normandy and its current trustees filed a motion in the circuit court to modify the 1953 decree, alleging that the “land in question is no longer used for farming, gardening and horticultural purposes, but is now the site of a geriatric medical center and nursing home” and requesting a declaration that Normandy had authority to levy taxes on and exercise control over the land. Twe-dell’s motion to dismiss this motion, on the grounds that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to modify a permanent injunction of some twenty-three years duration or to grant the relief requested, was overruled. A hearing on Normandy’s motion to modify was held; and, on July 7, 1977, the trial court entered an order which reads in part as follows:

“This court finds that Plaintiff’s use of his property is now such as to justify its inclusion within the Defendant Town of Normandy, and Defendant is hereby permitted to levy, assess and collect all lawful municipal taxes, to license, and to exercise all lawful municipal authority and control over the Plaintiff’s property, both real and personal.”

Twedell appeals, claiming that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to modify a permanent injunction that had been in existence for over twenty-three years; that the court misinterpreted the 1953 circuit court decree; and that Normandy did not sustain its burden of proving a substantial change in the use of Twedell’s land. For reasons hereinafter set forth, we hold that the trial court had jurisdiction to modify the decree, that its finding as to the use of the land is supported by substantial evidence but is now of no particular import, and that the modification does not effect the annexation of the Twedell property to the Town of Normandy. Accordingly, we reverse.

Twedell’s argument to the effect that the trial court had no jurisdiction in 1977 to modify the 1953 decree is bottomed on the general principle that a trial court loses control over judgments thirty days after entry. Rule 75.01. However, that rule and the many cases cited in appellant’s brief articulating it do not obtain in the case of a permanent injunction which, as here, is based on a condition subject to change. In such cases, courts must retain jurisdiction to vacate or modify the terms of the injunction in order to avoid unjust or absurd results when a change occurs in the factual setting or the law which gave rise to its existence. See United States v. Swift & Co., 286 U.S. 106, 114, 52 S.Ct. 460, 76 L.Ed. 999 (1932); Milk Wagon Drivers Union v. Meadowmoor Dairies, Inc., 312 U.S. 287, 298, 61 S.Ct. 552, 85 L.Ed. 836 (1941); Thompson v. Hodge, 348 S.W.2d 11, 13 (Mo. App.1961); 43A C.J.S. Injunctions §§ 280, 281. In this case, the permanent injunction issued because the court found that the tract of land was of such size, use and character as contemplated by the above quoted provision of § 80.030 and that the owner had not consented to its annexation by the Town of Normandy. Indeed, the decree itself speaks in terms of “permanently” enjoining the town “until such time as the use and character of Plaintiff’s property shall justify the inclusion of said property within the boundaries of the Defendant, Town of Normandy, according to the Laws of the State of Missouri.” (Emphasis added.) Thus, the trial court in 1953 recognized that the reasons which warranted the injunction were not immutable and that annexation at some future date was a possibility.

As noted, in the 1953 case as well as in the hearing on the motion to modify, the principal issue litigated was whether the property in question was used for any of the purposes enumerated in § 80.030 — farming, gardening, horticultural or dairying— so as to require for annexation the consent of the owner. Substantial evidence was adduced at the 1977 modification hearing to the effect that a major use of the property [441]*441at that time was as a site for a large geriatric center and nursing home as well as two residences and that a relatively small portion of the property (certainly less than ten acres) was occupied by fruit trees and a garden area. However, we need not detail this evidence for the reason that since October 13, 1963, the use to which land is put in St. Louis County does not determine whether the consent of its owner is required in order for a municipality to annex it. Curiously, both parties have ignored or overlooked the fact that on the last mentioned date, §§ 71.860 through 71.920 went into effect and what impact these sections have on this case. These sections, not § 80.030, set forth the procedure for annexation “in any first class county which has adopted a constitutional charter for its own local government,” e. g. St. Louis County.2 No exemptions appear in these sections for tracts of land owned by one who does not consent to annexation.

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Bluebook (online)
581 S.W.2d 438, 1979 Mo. App. LEXIS 2331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/twedell-v-town-of-normandy-moctapp-1979.