149 Mo. 650 | Mo. | 1899
This is an action in ejectment to recover an eighty acre tract of land in Lincoln county. The
The record entries of the proceedings thereafter had in the case, as shown by the transcript filed herein, are as follows, omitting caption and immaterial matters:
Mandate of Supreme Court “filed in vacation, December 11th, 1893.”
“April 4th, 1894,” “9th day of spring term,” “continued.”
“Oct. 9th, 1894,” “2d day of fall term,” “plaintiff by leave of court withdraws his application for a change of venue in this cause,” and on .the same day “plaintiff presents his bond for costs”......“which said bond is by the court approved and ordered filed.”
“And afterwards on the 19th day of December, 189.5, it being the 10th day of the fall adjourned term, 1895, the following further proceedings were had in said cause, to wit:
“Now here on this day come the parties to this suit by their attorneys, and all matters and things herein contained being submitted to the court of the following described lands, to wit: "West half of the northeast quarter of section 15, township 49, range 2 east, containing 80 acres. The court after hearing all the evidence in the cause, and argument of counsel, renders a verdict in favor of defendant for the possession of the following described premises, situated in Lincoln county, Missouri, to wit, the west half of the northeast quarter of section 15, containing 80 acres. It is ordered and adjudged by the court that defendant have and recover of plaintiff and G-eorge Crossland and Tames M. Lewis, as his*654 sureties, Ms costs ,and charges herein incurred, and that he have execution issued therefor.”
Afterwards on the same day, plaintiff by his attorneys “file motion for new trial in words and figures as follows, to wit: (setting out motion); and on the same day “now here on this day come the parties to this suit by their attorneys and the motion heretofore filed for a new trial being taken up and submitted to the court is by the court continued.” “And afterwards, to wit, on the 23d of March, 1896, it being the first day of spring term, 1896, the following further proceedings were had in said cause, to wit: Now here on this day come the parties to this suit by their respective attorneys and the motion for a new trial heretofore filed being taken up and submitted to the court is by the court overruled. Affidavit for appeal filed. Appeal granted. Bond approved. Bill of ■exceptions to be filed in 30 days after end of term.”
“Afterwards, to wit, on the 2nd day of April, 1896, 9th day of spring term, the plaintiff filed with the clerk of the circuit court of Lincoln county, his affidavit for appeal, in words and figures as follows, to wit:” (then follows a copy of the filing of the affidavit, and appeal ‘bond, a copy thereof, and its approval in open court on the same day).
The next entry is as follows: “And afterwards, to*wit, on the 5th day of May, 1896, in vacation, the plaintiff filed his bill of exceptions in words and figures as follows, to wit,” and then follows the bill of exceptions, duly authenticated by the judge on the fourth of May, 1896, with the following subscription: “"We agree to the foregoing bill of exceptions, April 20, 1896,” signed by the attorneys for both sides.
If this contention could be sustained the defendant would then have to be put in the same short harness with the plaintiff, with a result anything but beneficial to him, since “the record proper” which shows a judgment in his favor, shows also a good petition for, the plaintiff and no defense thereto by demurrer, answer, or otherwise, and the judgment thereon should have been for the plaintiff instead of for the defendant who had nothing to rest a judgment upon in his favor, and the consequence would be a reversal. But the position is untenable. Surely, there can be no sound rule of law requiring a bill of exceptions to be reviewed in order to determine whether or not the matters therein contained may be reviewed. The contention seems to receive support, however, from the opinion of the majority of the court in Holt v. Simmons, 14 Mo. App. 450, in which a number of decisions of this court are cited. The f alacy of the position, however, is well exposed in the dissenting opinion of Thompson, J., in that case, who failed to find any support for it in the cases cited by the majority, and in which he well says: “The only person who can certify the rulings of the court made in the progress of the cause, so that they can be noticed in an appellate court, is the judge himself. It therefore follows that matters of exception must be certified by him in a bill of exceptions, for the reason that such matters are not already certified by him on the minutes. But matters which are certified by him on the minutes