Court Opinion

ID: 9638555
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 15:46:49.304716+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:07.735337
License: Public Domain

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING OR TRANSFER
PER CURIAM.
The executors of the estate of Ardeis Myers filed a Motion for Rehearing of this case, contending that this court erred in finding that Trimble Manor Farm, an entity which received a $17,500 check from the proceeds of the condemnation award, was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Myers.
It is well established that on appeal, the Court of Appeals must defer to the trial court’s findings of fact unless they are against the weight of evidence. Atkinson v. Be-Mac Transport, Inc., 595 S.W.2d 26, 28[3] (Mo.App.1980). In this case, the trial judge found that except for $2,000, all of the proceeds of the check awarded for the condemned property were used to benefit Mr. and Mrs. Myers jointly. Subsumed in this finding is a finding that the payment of $17,500 to Trimble Manor Farm benefited Mr. and Mrs. Myers jointly.
The only point in the transcript at which the $17,500 check to Trimble Manor Farm is discussed is in the course of direct examination by the Highway Commission’s counsel of Nancy Hudson, who had served as Mr. Myers’ bookkeeper. In the course of the examination, counsel questioned Mrs. Hudson regarding each disbursement that was made from the proceeds of the award. When he reached the entry regarding the $17,500 check to Trimble Manor Farm, the following exchange took place:
Q All right. Now, the next item, Mrs. Hudson, you note is a payment of — it is a check for $17,500, and you show it as being paid to Trimble Manor Farm; is that correct?
A That’s correct.
Q Mrs. Hudson, do you know who owned Trimble Manor Farm as of 2/25/71?
A The property was owned by A.J. and F.E. Myers.
Q That is the land, the farm itself?
A That’s correct.
There was evidence that Mr. Myers and his son operated Trimble Manor as partners, but as the above excerpt reveals, Mrs. Hudson made no mention of that partnership on the only occasion that she was questioned regarding the check at issue.
The above evidence supports a finding that Mr. and Mrs. Myers benefited equally from the $17,500 expenditure to *491Trimble Manor Farm. Thus, this court must defer to the trial court’s overall finding that Mr. and Mrs. Myers benefited jointly from the use of the condemnation award.
The rule requiring that this court defer to the trial court’s findings of fact applies even in cases in which the trial court is reversed on its application of the law. In reviewing a court-tried case, the Court of Appeals must reverse the trial court’s judgment if it is based on an erroneous application of the law. Morris v. Travelers Insurance Company, 546 S.W.2d 477, 488[9] (Mo.App.1977). In Morris, the court reversed the trial court on its application of the law, but deferred to the trial court’s findings of fact. 546 S.W.2d at 479. Applying that rule to this case, the trial court’s finding that Mr. and Mrs. Myers benefited jointly from the use of the award must be deferred to by this court, in spite of the fact that this court reversed the judgment on the basis of the trial court’s application of the law.
The motion for rehearing is overruled and the motion to transfer is denied.