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GRUY ASS. INC. v. BIG E OIL CO

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Five
Apr 27, 2004
133 S.W.3d 541 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004)

Opinion

No. ED 83977

April 27, 2004

Appeal from the Circuit Court of St. Charles County, Honorable Nancy L. Schneider.

Randall D. Grady, Clayton, Missouri, for Appellant.

Anthony D. Linson, St. Charles, Missouri, Ernie Flota-Pro-Se; Alton, Illinois, for Respondent.



H.J. Gruy Associates, Inc. (Appellant) filed suit against multiple defendants under the Illinois Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act. Big E Oil Company (Respondent) filed a motion to dismiss asserting that the statute of limitations had expired on Appellant's claim. The trial court granted Respondent's motion to dismiss and dismissed Appellant's petition with prejudice. Appellant appealed. Because the order dismissing Appellant's petition is not denominated a judgment as required by Rule 74.01(a), we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

All rule references are to Mo. R. Civ. P. 2003, unless otherwise indicated.

Under Section 512.020, an appeal is only allowed from a final judgment of the trial court. In a civil case, a judgment must be expressly denominated "judgment" to be appealable. Rule 74.01(a); Peet v. Randolph, 103 S.W.3d 872, 875 (Mo. App. E.D. 2003). In designating the writing a "judgment," it must be clear from the writing that the trial court is calling the document or docket sheet entry a judgment. City of St. Louis v. Hughes, 950 S.W.2d 850, 853 (Mo. banc 1997).

All statutory references are to RSMo 2000, unless otherwise indicated.

This Court must determine its jurisdiction sua sponte. Bryant v. City of University City, 105 S.W.3d 855, 856 (Mo. App. E.D. 2003). If this Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain an appeal, it should be dismissed. Id. Here, the order dismissing Appellant's petition is not denominated a judgment. As a result, there is no final, appealable judgment. SLJ v. RJ, 101 S.W.3d 339, 340 (Mo. App. E.D. 2003).

We issued an order directing Appellant to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed. Appellant has failed to file a response.

In City of St. Louis v. Hughes, the Missouri Supreme Court stated that "[t]he requirement that a trial court must 'denominate' its final ruling as a 'judgment' is not a mere formality. It establishes a 'bright line' test as to when a writing is a judgment." 950 S.W.2d at 853; See also, Brooks v. Brooks, 98 S.W.3d 530, 532 (Mo. banc 2003). The order dismissing Appellant's petition must be denominated a judgment or this Court lacks jurisdiction. Jon E. Fuhrer Co. v. Gerhardt, 955 S.W.2d 212, 213 (Mo. App. E.D. 1997).

We dismiss the appeal for lack of a final, appealable judgment.

LAWRENCE E. MOONEY, J. and GEORGE W. DRAPER III, J., concur.


Summaries of

GRUY ASS. INC. v. BIG E OIL CO

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Five
Apr 27, 2004
133 S.W.3d 541 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004)
Case details for

GRUY ASS. INC. v. BIG E OIL CO

Case Details

Full title:H.J. GRUY ASSOCIATES, INC., Appellant, v. BIG E OIL COMPANY and ERNIE…

Court:Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Five

Date published: Apr 27, 2004

Citations

133 S.W.3d 541 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004)

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