Ladd v. Forsee

• Decision Date: 12 June 1901
• Citation: 63 S.W. 831,163 Mo. 506
• Parties: LADD v. FORSEE.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

63 S.W. 831

163 Mo. 506

LADD v. FORSEE.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

June 12, 1901.

SPECIAL JUDGE — APPOINTMENT.

Under Rev. St. 1889, § 3327, providing that the parties to an action may agree on a special judge; and section 3323, that when the judge is disqualified a special judge may be elected or agreed on, proceedings before a special judge, agreed on when the regular judge is present and in no manner disqualified, are void.

Appeal from circuit court, Chariton county; C. B. Crawley, Special Judge.

Action by Julia A. Ladd against S. S. Forsee. From a judgment for defendant, plaintiff appeals. Reversed.

Kinley & Kinley, for appellant. R. B. Garnett and S. P. Forsee, for respondent.

MARSHALL, J.

This is an action in ejectment to recover the N. ½ of lot 71 in Carlton Place, an addition to Kansas City. The petition is in the usual form. The answer is in four parts: (1) A general denial; (2) a plea that the plaintiff is not the real party in interest; (3) the pendency of a prior ejectment suit between the same and other parties for the recovery of the same premises; (4) an outstanding title, superior to plaintiff's, — with a prayer for the cancellation of the plaintiff's deed, as a cloud upon the title of such owner of the outstanding title. The reply is a plea of res adjudicata as to the matters set out in the defendant's fourth plea, but the alleged owner of the outstanding title is not averred to have been a party to the action wherein such matters are claimed to have been adjudicated. The suit was begun in Jackson county, and the venue afterwards changed to Chariton county. The case came on for trial on January 19, 1898, during the regular January term, 1898, of the Chariton circuit court. Hon. W. W. Rucker was at that time the regularly elected and qualified judge of that court, and had been, and was then, engaged in holding said term of said court, and continued so to do during the whole of said term. But, pursuant to a practice that formerly obtained in that and perhaps other circuits, without disqualifying Judge Rucker in any manner, the parties, by agreement among themselves, selected C. B. Crawley, a member of that bar, as special judge. He qualified as such special judge, and tried the case. After hearing the evidence at the January term, the special judge took the case under advisement, and at the adjourned July term, 1898, during the session of the court which the regular judge was holding, rendered a judgment for the...