Universal Credit Co. v. Story

Decision Date01 May 1939
Docket NumberNo. 6044.,6044.
Citation128 S.W.2d 654
PartiesUNIVERSAL CREDIT CO. v. STORY et al.
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals

Appeal from Circuit Court, Pemiscot County; Louis H. Schult, Judge.

"Not to be published in State Report."

Garnishment proceeding by the Universal Credit Company against O. L. Story, principal defendant, and against Luke Van Ausdall and Jeff Rogers, copartners, doing business under the name and style of Caruthersville Motor Company, garnishees. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendants appeal.

Reversed, and cause remanded.

O. E. Hooker, of Caruthersville, for appellants.

Fred L. Henley and Von Mayes, both of Caruthersville, for respondent.

SMITH, Judge.

This is a garnishment proceeding commenced in the Justice Court of Little Prairie Township, Pemiscot County, on November 23, 1937, by the Constable of said Township, and in which proceeding the garnishees filed their answer denying that they had any money, property or effects of the defendant, O. L. Story, in their possession and denying that they owed the defendant anything. The plaintiff filed its denial to the answer of the garnishees and said cause of garnishment was tried in the Justice Court, judgment rendered against the garnishees and an appeal granted from said court to the Circuit Court of Pemiscot County. Said cause was tried in the Circuit Court upon an agreed statement of facts, which is, caption and signature omitted, as follows:

"It is hereby stipulated and agreed between the plaintiff and the garnishees, by their respective counsel of record herein, that this cause may be taken up and submitted to the Court and the issues made by the pleadings in the garnishment proceedings herein tried and determined by the Court and judgment rendered therein upon the following agreed statement of facts, to-wit:

"It is agreed that the defendant, O. L. Story, owed the plaintiff a balance of $174.00 on the 15th day of Dec. 1936, and on said date garnishees herein sold and delivered to said defendant a certain automobile truck and as part of the consideration thereof defendant then and there delivered to garnishees a certain automobile sedan and in part consideration thereof garnishees agreed with O. L. Story, only to assume and pay the said balance of $174.00, owing from defendant to plaintiff as aforesaid; that at the time of delivery of said automobile sedan by the defendant to the garnishees, garnishees did not receive a certificate of title from the defendant, O. L. Story; however, the subsequent day O. L. Story delivered to garnishees a certificate of title, No. 4009761, issued by the State of Missouri to Frank Rushing, which said certificate of title had prior thereto been assigned to Johnson Motor Company on the 10th day of April, 1936, by Frank Rushing; thereafter, and on the 10th day of April, 1936, the said Johnson Motor Company reassigned this certificate of title to O. L. Story, which said certificate of title the garnishees returned to the said defendant as not complying with the statute. That garnishees have failed to pay plaintiff said balance and the same still remains unpaid and owing to the plaintiff; the defendant, O. L. Story, when he delivered said sedan to garnishees, as aforesaid, did not have any other certificate of title to said sedan except as shown above set out and did not assign the certificate of title to said sedan to garnishees; that while the said sedan was in the possession of the garnishees the same was stolen and carried away and the whereabouts of the same is unknown to all the parties herein; that the garnishees have not offered or tendered said sedan to the defendant at any time, nor the value thereof, and that the defendant has not at any time tendered or offered the automobile truck to garnishees nor the value thereof, or any part; that said certificate of title above referred to, No. 4009761, is hereby agreed to be the only certificate for title, or purported certificate of title delivered by defendant to garnishees and is herewith marked exhibit `A' and made a part of this stipulation and agreement.

"That the garnishees refused to pay the plaintiff or the defendant said balance of $174.00 upon the grounds that defendant had not transferred the title to said sedan to them in the manner required by law, and that by reason thereof said contract was void and they never were the owners of said sedan, and therefore are not liable to pay the plaintiff or the defendant said balance of $174.00 and are not therefore liable to the defendant or the plaintiff for any breach of any contract between them, while plaintiff claims that garnishees are liable to defendant for failure to pay said balance, until they offer to return or tender said sedan to defendant."

The Exhibit A referred to in the above stipulation is a certificate of title issued out of the Secretary of State's Office to Frank Rushing, Cooter, Missouri, dated April 12, 1934, in which it is shown that the vehicle is subject to a lien at that time of $219.80 in favor of J. L. Van Ausdall Motor Company of Caruthersville, Missouri.

The abstract contains the following statement: "The above certificate of title shows an assignment by Frank Rushing to Johnson Motor Company of Steele, Missouri, dated the 10th day of April, 1936, acknowledged before a notary public; and under the heading `Re-Assignment by Registered Dealer Only', there is shown an assignment of this certificate of title by Johnson Motor Company to O. L. Story, and recites a lien in favor of Universal Credit Company of $436.00, and this reassignment is dated April 10th, 1936. Both the assignment and re-assignment of the certificate of title are made on the forms printed on the back of the certificate, and duly acknowledged before a notary public."

There does not appear any assignment or re-assignment to the garnishees from O. L. Story.

It is stated in the abstract that the above stipulation of facts together with the certificate of title with the endorsements thereon, was all the evidence offered in the case.

The case was tried to the Court, without a jury and on the 8th day of August, 1938, the Court rendered the following judgment:

"Now, on this day this cause being again called by the Court for further trial of said cause, having heretofore been...

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8 cases
  • Seward v. Evrard and Cross Town Motors, 27600.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • 1 Julio 1949
    ...Strong Motor Co., 229 Mo. App. 1170, 88 S.W. 2d 419; Droun v. Tough, 38 S.W. 2d 736; Platner v. Bourne, 275 S.W. 590; Universal Credit Co. v. Strong, 128 S.W. 2d 654; Hoshaw v. Fenton, 232 Mo. App. 137, 110 S.W. 2d 1440; Quinn v. Gehlert, 291 S.W. 158; Mathes v. Westchester Fire Ins. Co., N......
  • Seward v. Evrard
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • 1 Julio 1949
    ......(4) The Director of Revenue had the right to give. faith and credit to the Public Acts and Records of the State. of Arkansas, as evidenced by ... v. Tough, 38 S.W. 2d 736; Platner v. Bourne,. 275 S.W. 590; Universal Credit Co. v. Strong, 128. S.W. 2d 654; Hoshaw v. Fenton, 232 Mo.App. ......
  • Moore v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)
    • 15 Julio 1964
    ...627, 212 S.W.2d 93, 94(1, 2); Personal Finance Co. of Missouri v. Lewis Inv. Co., Mo.App., 138 S.W.2d 655, 656(1); Universal Credit Co. v. Story, Mo.App., 128 S.W.2d 654, 656(1, 2); Hoshaw v. Fenton, 232 Mo.App. 137, 110 S.W.2d 1140, 1143(7-9); Boyer v. Garner, Mo.App., 15 S.W.2d 893, 894; ......
  • Mackie and Williams Food Stores v. Anchor Casualty Co., 15060.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
    • 20 Octubre 1954
    ...Isaacson v. Van Gundy, Mo.App., 48 S.W.2d 208; Crawford v. General Exchange Ins. Corp., Mo. App., 119 S.W.2d 458; Universal Credit Co. v. Story, Mo.App., 128 S.W.2d 654. The Missouri Courts have recognized that the application of the foregoing rule sometimes works hardships on innocent part......
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