Campbell 66 Exp., Inc. v. Thermo King of Springfield, Inc.

• Decision Date: 10 March 1978
• Docket Number: No. 10288,10288
• Citation: 563 S.W.2d 776
• Parties: CAMPBELL 66 EXPRESS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THERMO KING OF SPRINGFIELD, INC., Thermo King, Inc., and American Trailers, Inc., Defendants-Respondents.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 776

563 S.W.2d 776

CAMPBELL 66 EXPRESS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THERMO KING OF SPRINGFIELD, INC., Thermo King, Inc., and American Trailers, Inc., Defendants-Respondents.

No. 10288.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Springfield District.

March 10, 1978.

Donald R. Duncan, Turner, Reid & Duncan, Springfield, for plaintiff-appellant.

Raymond E. Whiteaker, Woolsey, Fisher, Clark, Whiteaker & Stenger, Springfield, for defendant-respondent Thermo King of Springfield, Inc.

Frank M. Evans, III, David W. Hall, Jr., Miller, Fairman, Sanford & Carr, Springfield, for defendant-respondent Thermo King, Inc.

James W. Newberry, Schroff, Keeter, Glass & Newberry, P. C., Springfield, for defendant-respondent American Trailers, Inc.

Before STONE, P. J., and HOGAN and FLANIGAN, JJ.

HOGAN, Judge.

This is an action for a declaratory judgment. The trial court has sustained motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiff appeals.

Summarized narratively, and as material here, the plaintiff's petition shows that it holds a certificate of convenience and necessity to operate as a common carrier, presumably by motor vehicle; defendant Thermo King of Springfield, Inc., is a Missouri corporation doing business in Springfield, in Greene County, Missouri. Defendant Thermo King, Inc., is a corporation which has a registered office and agent for service in Minneapolis, Minnesota; defendant American Trailers, Inc., has an office located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Plaintiff alleges that defendants Thermo King, Inc., and American Trailers, Inc., are amenable to outstate service of process.

In April 1969, defendant American Trailers, Inc., agreed to manufacture and sell the plaintiff a semi-trailer equipped with a refrigeration unit. American Trailers, Inc., did manufacture the unit pursuant to its contract, and in performance of its contract arranged or provided for the installation of a refrigeration unit manufactured by defendant Thermo King, Inc. The unit was supplied by defendant Thermo King, Inc., and installed by defendant Thermo King of Springfield, Inc. As so manufactured, the semi-trailer was delivered to the plaintiff in Springfield.

Between December 4 and December 7, 1970, plaintiff transported a shipment of batteries and battery fluid from Joplin, Missouri, to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as plaintiff alleges "under contract between NASA and Grumman Aerospace Corporation." In transit, the refrigeration unit "failed because of defects in its design, defects in its manufacture, and defects in its installation." Because the refrigeration unit failed, the shipment was refused by NASA and Grumman.

Plaintiff further alleged: that when the refrigeration unit was manufactured by defendant Thermo King, Inc., when it was supplied for installation to defendant Thermo King of Springfield, Inc., and when it was installed pursuant to plaintiff's contract with defendant American Trailers, Inc., it was "in a defective condition"; the semi-trailer was put to a use which could reasonably be anticipated, and, at the time the loss or damage occurred, the refrigeration unit was in substantially the same "defective condition" as when it was supplied, installed and sold. Like averments raised the issue of refrigeration unit's fitness for the purpose for which it was sold.

Plaintiff then averred that because of the failure of the refrigeration unit as alleged, plaintiff had "been subjected to" a claim in the amount of $200,223 for damage to the cargo it transported in December 1970; that demand had been made upon the defendants each and severally to assume responsibility for the claim asserted against the plaintiff "and for indemnity," but the defendants had "refused to accept such responsibility." Plaintiff alleged the prerequisites for a declaratory judgment.

Plaintiff then alleged, in substance, that Grumman Aerospace Corporation, "acting in behalf of NASA," made a claim against plaintiff's insurer, which the insurer denied. Copies of correspondence are attached and pleaded as exhibits. Prayer of the petition, essentially, was that plaintiff be exonerated and that the defendants each and severally be held liable in the amount of $200,223. Each defendant filed a motion to dismiss, raising several grounds therefor, including the bar of limitation.

In this court, the appeal has been briefed by the plaintiff and each party defendant. We have read the briefs and they have been helpful, but we shall not set forth and discuss the various arguments advanced. The rule we follow on this appeal, as in other court-tried matters, is that the trial court's judgment or ruling on the motions will be sustained if the result is correct, even though the trial court has assigned an incomplete or erroneous reason for its decision. Spiking Sch. Dist. No. 71, DeKalb County v. Purported "Enlarged Sch. Dist. R-II, DeKalb County," 362 Mo. 848, 859, 245 S.W.2d 13, 16-17(2) (banc 1952); see also Edgar v. Fitzpatrick, 377 S.W.2d 314, 318(12) (Mo. banc 1964). And, it must be borne in mind that while a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, as authorized by Rule 55.27(a)(6), V.A.M.R., serves essentially the same function as a general demurrer, Baysinger v. Hanser, 355 Mo. 1042, 1043-1044, 199 S.W.2d 644, 645-646(1) (1947), and although the general test of the sufficiency of a petition against such a motion is whether the averments, accorded every fair and...