126 Mo. App. 544 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1907
The relator, a railroad company, brought this suit against the sheriff of Grundy county to recover damages alleged to have been sustained in consequence of a false return of a summons issued in an action brought by F. M. Brassfield against relator. No appearance was made by relator in that case in the circuit court and default was taken by plaintiff and judgment afterwards was entered in his favor in the sum of $2,000. Relator then sued out a writ of error from this court and attacked the sufficiency of the summons to confer jurisdiction over its person on grounds which now do not concern us. We held them to be insufficient and affirmed the judgment. [Brassfield v. Railroad, 109 Mo. App. 710.] Relator then paid the judgment and bi\ Light this action alleging that the recital in the return made by defendant of the summons that service thereof was made on Harry M'oss “the agent and in charge of the business office of the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Railroad Company ... in the city of Trenton in the county of Grundy and State of Missouri” was false in this: that the said Moss was not the agent of relator nor was the place where he was served a business office within the meaning of the statute. A jury was waived, evidence was heard and judgment rendered in favor of relator from which this appeal is prosecuted by defendant.
Relator is a domestic corporation and, at the time of the institution of the Brassfield action, was operating a railroad through Grundy and other counties of the State. Its main line passed through the north side of the city of Trenton but its station where it transacted all of its business with the public was situated in the central part of the city and was connected with -the main line
Defendant received the papers in the Brassfield suit late in the day, and at about eight o’clock in the evening, went to the city station for the purpose of serving them on the person in charge of that office. Finding it closed, he proceeded to the junction where he found the night operator, Harry Moss, in charge. He served Moss in the office with a copy of the petition and summons and made the return which is the subject of present controversy. Moss delivered the papers the next day to the agent of relator at the city station who, in turn, forwarded them to the legal department. There is evidence tending to show that Moss, though employed only as night operator at the junction office, divided his time between that office and the city station, pursuant to some
The service is to be approved or disapproved according to the construction which should be placed on section 995, Revised Statutes 1899, which in part, is as follows: “When any such summons shall be issued against any incorporated company, service on the president or other chief officer of such company, or in his absence, by leaving a copy thereof at any business office of said company with the person having charge thereof shall be deemed a sufficient service,” etc.
It is immaterial that copies of the summons and petition were expedited into the hands of the proper officer of relator. The only way a defendant can be brought into court to answer a cause of action asserted against him is by notice served in the form and manner provided by statute. If the president or other chief officer had been in the county, service made on any other officer or employee actually in charge of a business office of the defendant in the county would have been insufficient, though the papers had been transmitted at once ■ to such chief officer. It is conceded that the recital in the return that the “president or chief officer of said railroad company cannot be found in my said county” was true and, therefore, the determinative question is, what is the meaning of the terms “any business office” and “person having charge thereof” as used in the stat
The object of all service of process for the commencement. of suit is to give notice to the party proceeded against and any statutory service which reasonably accomplishes that end answers the requirements of natural justice. Unquestionably the legislative branch of government has the power to prescribe the method of giving such notice to corporations doing business in the state, subject only to the rule that the method provided must be one that, with reasonable certainty will result in the actual reception by the corporation of the notice served. Otherwise, a defendant, in many instances, would be deprived of property without due process of law. A statute cannot be said to be unreasonable or to deprive a corporation of any of its fundamental rights which provides for bringing the corporation into court
Turning to the provisions of section 995, it is quite clear the legislature intended, within the limits we have defined, to afford the public every reasonable facility for the prosecution in court of claims against corporations. When the president or other chief officer is absent from the county, service may be made at any business office maintained by the corporation in that county. This does not mean the office where the greatest volume of business is transacted, nor one where the business is of a particular character, but any office where any business affairs of the corporation are conducted is a place where service may be made, when the person in charge thereof may be presumed to be reasonably certain to forward the papers to his superior officer. In the present case, it is conceded that business of the relator was transacted at the office where the papers were served and, in our opinion, it was business of a very important character. The safety of persons and property depended on the fidelity and accuracy of the person in charge of that office in the performance of his duties. His relation to his employer was such that no other inference can be entertained than that any reasonably prudent person in his position would have done just what he did — immediately
In answer to the example which counsel for relator employ to illustrate their argument, we .woxild say that service made on a switchman at his “shanty” would not be good. A switchman is not a person whose duties justify the inference that he would be reasonably certain to transmit the papers and, further, there is no business of any kind conducted in his “shanty.” It is a mere shelter and not a place where any part of his duties is performed.
The authorities cited by defendant in his brief will be found to support the rules we have adopted in the views expressed. We have not disturbed the findings of fact made by the learned trial judge but have disapproved of his conclusions of law, and as we have sufficiently disposed of the case, other questions raised by defendant need not be considered.
The judgment is reversed.