Welfare Federation Act Committee of 1000 v. Richardson

1955 OK 51, 281 P.2d 428, 1955 Okla. LEXIS 416, 28 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 69,181
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 1, 1955
Docket36360
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1955 OK 51 (Welfare Federation Act Committee of 1000 v. Richardson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Welfare Federation Act Committee of 1000 v. Richardson, 1955 OK 51, 281 P.2d 428, 1955 Okla. LEXIS 416, 28 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 69,181 (Okla. 1955).

Opinion

CORN, Justice.

Consideration of the question herein presented requires no extended statement of matters disclosed by the transcript. The appeal results from a judgment rendered in plaintiff’s favor in an action brought to recover back wages, liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees, allegedly due by reason of defendant’s violation of the minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act-of 1938, amended 1949, 29 U.S.C.A. .§ 201 et seq. The decision in this case will be dispositive of three related, cases consolidated for briefing and presentation in this court.

The case was tried upon the amended petition wherein defendant corporation was m'ade an additional party defendant by appropriate order. Plaintiff alleged defendant, Óra J. Fox, conducted numerous activities, including publication and mailing of “The Welfare News”, and mailing of letters of solicitation throughout Oklahoma and neighboring states, for the ostensible, purpose of disseminating news and collecting funds to promote a pension movement for the benefit of aged persons; operations were carried on under various names, i. e., “The Welfare Federation”, “The Welfare Federation, Inc.”, and “The Welfare News”, although defendant, Ora J. Fox, actually was the executive officer and in control of each organization; employees were carried on the books kept in the name of “Welfare Federation, Inc.”, whereas the only valid corporation relating to activities and publication of paper by Fox was the *430 corporate defendant; in the course of business Fox mailed magazines, papers and letters soliciting contributions both in Oklahoma and other states, and in response thereto received contributions by mail, all of which were turned over to Fox without plaintiff knowing where such contributions were used or applied; by mailing such letters and publications outside this state Fox was engaged in interstate commerce; the principal portion of plaintiff’s wages were paid in cash, based upon a SO cent hourly rate for her services, whereas the law required a minimum wage of 75 cents per hour. Plaintiff asked judgment for $272.18 back wages, an equal amount as liquidated damages and $250 attorneys’ fees.

After the corporation was made a party both defendants moved to make the amended ' petition more definite and certain'. Thereafter defendants abandoned such motion and filed answer specifically denying all allegations, and particularly that either was engaged in interstate commerce, or that plaintiff had rendered services of any character entitling her to benefits of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Plaintiff replied by general and specific denial of the answer and upon these issues the case was set for trial.

The case was stricken from the trial docket numerous times, but eventually the matter was tried to the court without a jury. At the close of all the evidence defendants renewed their demurrers to plaintiff’s evidence, which previously had been overruled, and moved for judgment upon the grounds of insufficiency of the evidence. The trial court sustained the demurrer and motion and dismissed the action as to the defendant Fox. The trial court overruled the corporation’s motion, permitted amendment of plaintiff’s petition to conform to the proof, establishing the exact amount of her claim based upon time worked, and fixed her recovery at $758.50, and attorneys’ fees at $200.00, and rendered judgment against the corporate defendant.

After motion for new trial had been overruled defendant gave notice of appeal, and the court granted time within which to make and serve casemade and for execution of supersedeas bond. The time granted was allowed to expire without defendant either perfecting the appeal or superseding the judgment.

October 10, 1953, writ of execution was issued under this judgment and the sheriff levied upon real property belonging to the judgment debtor. The levy of execution was in behalf of this plaintiff, and three other judgment creditors as noted heretofore whose claims arose in the same manner as that of plaintiff, and against whom separate appeals have been lodged.

Defendant moved to quash, vacate and recall the execution, and upon denial of such motion defendant gave notice of appeal. Stay of execution was granted pending appeal, conditioned upon defendant executing supersedeas bond in double the-amount of the judgment. The appeal from the trial court’s order is by transcript. None of the evidence adduced at the trial upon the merits is before this Court on appeal.

In seeking reversal of the trial court’s order denying the motion to vacate the execution defendant argues the single proposition that examination of the judgment roll discloses the judgment rendered against the corporate defendant is void upon its face. The entire argument may be summarized in the following manner. The petition in a case is a part of the judgment roll. Inspection of the judgment roll herein reveals that the petition failed to allege that plaintiff was employed by the defendant corporation, or that defendant was engaged in interstate commerce. Thus the judgment entered was void as being outside the issues, upon a matter not submitted to the court for determination, and subject to being vacated at any time. See Standard Savings & Loan Ass’n v. Anthony Wholesale Grocery Co., 62 Okl. 242, 162 P. 451, L.R.A.1917D, 1029; Pettis v. Johnston, 78 Olk. 277, 190 P. 681. While recognizing that the substance of defendant’s argument has been stated as the law in this jurisdiction innumerable times, such argument is inapplicable to the present situation.

Neither do we deem it necessary to consider at length the arguments offered in support of the trial court’s order, since *431 proper disposition of this appeal rests en-. tirely upon an established principal of law unremittingly adhered to since territorial days. This principle is that where appeal to this court is by transcript and none of the evidence is before us, the judgment rendered must be presumed to have been responsive to the evidence introduced, and the pleadings treated as having been amended to conform to both the evidence and judgment. See Mulhall v. Mulhall, 3 Okl. 304, 41 P. 109; Raymer v. First Nat. Bank of Berwyn, 184 Okl. 392, 87 P.2d 1097, and cases therein cited; Baltimore American Ins. Co. v. Hoover, 205 Okl. 697, 240 P.2d 744.

In McDougal v. Rice, 79 Okl. 303, 193 P. 415 it is pointed out that any attempt to evade, avoid or deny the force and effect of a judgment in some incidental proceeding not provided by law for the express purpose of striking at the judgment constitutes a “collateral attack.” Paragraph 2 of the syllabus of that case states :

“The district courts of this state are courts of general jurisdiction, and their judgments cannot be collaterally attacked unless the record affirmatively shows want of jurisdiction, and every fact not negatived by the record is presumed in support of the judgment, and where the court is one having power to •grant the relief sought, and having the parties before it, the fact that the petition defectively states a cause of action, or fails to state it, does not make the judgment void on collateral attack; there being no' connection between jurisdiction and sufficient allegations.”

Nothing would be gained by further analysis and discussion of the rule.

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Related

Smith v. Smith
579 P.2d 841 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1978)
Crain v. Farmers United Cooperative Pool
1970 OK 134 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1970)
Shoup v. Mayerson
1969 OK 72 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1969)
Gilkes v. Gilkes
1964 OK 28 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1964)
Haskett v. Turner
1955 OK 329 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1955)
Welfare Federation Act Committee of 1000 v. Rhodes
1955 OK 52 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1955)
Welfare Federation Act Committee of 1000 v. Ring
1955 OK 53 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1955)
Welfare Federation Act Committee of 1000 v. Davenport
1955 OK 54 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1955)

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Bluebook (online)
1955 OK 51, 281 P.2d 428, 1955 Okla. LEXIS 416, 28 Lab. Cas. (CCH) 69,181, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/welfare-federation-act-committee-of-1000-v-richardson-okla-1955.