Evans v. Dockins

• Decision Date: 27 June 1931
• Docket Number: 21455
• Citation: 40 S.W.2d 508
• Parties: WALTER L. EVANS, doing business as EVANS HARDWOOD FLOORING COMPANY, Defendant in Error, v. E. L. DOCKINS and LUCY B. DOCKINS, Defendants in Error, and WILLIAM H. STUBBLEFIELD, Trustee, NICHOLAS MARTIN and BEN MILLER, Jr., Plaintiffs in Error
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

40 S.W.2d 508

WALTER L. EVANS, doing business as EVANS HARDWOOD FLOORING COMPANY, Defendant in Error, v. E. L. DOCKINS and LUCY B. DOCKINS, Defendants in Error, and WILLIAM H. STUBBLEFIELD, Trustee, NICHOLAS MARTIN and BEN MILLER, Jr., Plaintiffs in Error

No. 21455

Court of Appeals of Missouri, St. Louis

June 27, 1931

Error to the Circuit Court, City of St. Louis, Hon. Chas. W Rutledge, Judge.

AFFIRMED.

BECKER Judge. Haid, P. J., and Nipper, J., concur.

OPINION

BECKER

The case before us is an equitable mechanic's lien suit brought under section 3180, Rev. Stat. of Mo. 1929.

Plaintiff below, as lien claimant, made the following defendants in the action: The owner of the property, the original contractor for the owner, other lien claimants, the trustee in two deeds of trust of record as liens against the said property, the named beneficiaries in the two deeds of trust, and the unknown owner or owners of the notes described in and secured by each of the deeds of trust.

At the return term all of the named defendants made default and upon the trial, at the same term, plaintiff dismissed as to the unknown owner or owners of the notes secured by the said deeds of trust and proceeded to prove up his claim. Judgment resulted in favor of plaintiff and against the original contractor, the mechanic's lien of plaintiff was sustained and given priority over the liens of the two deeds of trust. The motion to modify the decree and a motion to set aside the default judgment filed by the defendant, William H Stubblefield, trustee, were unavailing and the defendants in due course sued out a writ of error to this court.

It is here urged that the portion of the decree which makes the mechanic's lien of plaintiff a prior and superior lien to the two deeds of trust is error.

In approaching this question we have in mind that this case is before us on writ of error and we examine it upon the record proper.

Section 3180, Rev. Stat. of Mo. 1929, provides that an equitable action may be brought where there are a number of liens and such action shall be for the purpose of determining, establishing and enforcing the various and respective rights of the parties thereto, and for the purpose of marshaling, applying and distributing the proceeds of the sale of such property that may be ordered and decreed in said action.

Section 3181, Rev. Stat. of Mo. 1929, provides that "all persons * * * having any rights in * * * said property to be affected * * * all as may be disclosed by the proper public records, shall be made parties to said action * * *. Any person * * * having any rights in and to, against or upon said property * * * whose rights are not disclosed at the time of bringing said action by the proper record, shall be bound by the proceedings, orders and judgments in said actions. * * *"

Thus in light of the statute, where there is no notice of other interests, only those whose interests are disclosed by the records are necessary parties. Plaintiffs in error contend, however, that since plaintiff below in his petition set out and alleges "that he has reason to believe and does...