History
  • No items yet
midpage
Baldwin v. Black
618 S.W.2d 730
Mo. Ct. App.
1981
Check Treatment
PREWITT, Presiding Judge.

Count I of plaintiffs’ petition requested the court to quiet title in them to a 20 acre tract of land. If that was denied their second count requested compensation for improvements made to the land. Defendant Scott Meredith’s answer and counterclaim denied plaintiffs’ claims, contended that he held title to the land, and prayed that title be quieted in him. Following the trial the court entered a judgment dismissing plaintiffs’ petition, and Meredith voluntarily dismissed his counterclaim.

Plaintiffs contend that the court’s judgment was insufficient because it did not adjudicate title to the land as between the parties. We agree. Although the trial court may have believed that plaintiffs had not established title, their evidence put title in issue and precluded a general judgment of dismissal without determination of title. *731Stottle v. Brittian, 459 S.W.2d 310, 312 (Mo.1970). In an action to quiet title the court is required to adjudicate the respective interests of the parties even though the plaintiff fails to establish his claim of title and even if the defendant does not request an adjudication of title. Id. 459 S.W.2d at 313; Pitts v. Pitts, 388 S.W.2d 337, 339 (Mo.1965); Hillman v. Hedgpeth, 600 S.W.2d 625, 628-629 (Mo.App.1980).

As the cause must be remanded, we believe that the interests of justice will be served by permitting the parties to present to the trial court such additional evidence as they may have which may bear upon their respective claims in order that the court may be fully informed in adjudicating the title between them. See Stottle v. Brittian, supra, 459 S.W.2d at 313; Pitts v. Pitts, supra, 388 S.W.2d at 341; Hillman v. Hedgpeth, supra, 600 S.W.2d at 629. See also Flowers v. Bales, 615 S.W.2d 103 (Mo.App.1981).

The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

All concur.

Case Details

Case Name: Baldwin v. Black
Court Name: Missouri Court of Appeals
Date Published: Jun 25, 1981
Citation: 618 S.W.2d 730
Docket Number: No. 11590
Court Abbreviation: Mo. Ct. App.
AI-generated responses must be verified and are not legal advice.
Your Notebook is empty. To add cases, bookmark them from your search, or select Add Cases to extract citations from a PDF or a block of text.