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Walker v. Jo6/1/1999
This slip opinion is subject to revision and may not reflect the final opinion adopted by the Court.
Missouri Court of Appeals Western District
Appeal From: Circuit Court of Jackson County, Hon. Jack E. Gant
Opinion Vote: AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART. Smart P.J., and Hanna, J., concur.
Opinion:
Defendants-Appellants Pamela Jo and Karl Hanke appeal from the trial court's judgment in favor of Plaintiff-Respondent, Joseph E. Walker, on his claims for conversion, false imprisonment, punitive damages and injunctive relief. The Hankes claim the trial court erred: 1) in finding that they converted $180,000 belonging to Mr. Walker because the money was a gift to Pamela Jo; 2) in refusing to dismiss Karl from the lawsuit because insufficient evidence supported the claims against him; 3) in refusing to admit evidence as to Mr. Walker's failure to pay certain creditors because, they alleged, he fraudulently transferred the money to Pamela Jo to avoid those creditors; 4) in granting injunctive relief to Mr. Walker because the award of money damages was an adequate remedy at law; 5) in finding in favor of Mr. Walker for false imprisonment because he was not intentionally restrained; and 6) in awarding punitive damages because there was no evidence of malice.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On November 25, 1995, Mr. Walker called his daughter, Pamela Jo Hanke, to tell her he was getting a divorce from his current wife. At his request, Pamela Jo came to North Carolina, where Mr. Walker lived, and brought him back to her home in Kansas City, Missouri. Because of a medical condition, Mr. Walker could not walk and needed assistance. Although Mr. Walker did not get along well with Pamela Jo's husband, Karl Hanke, he moved in with the Hankes the following month, and he gave his daughter power of attorney to handle his business affairs.
Not long after Mr. Walker began living with his daughter, he received approximately $30,000 in his divorce settlement, $25,000 of which he placed into a joint account in his and his daughter's name. Mr. Walker used part of the money he received in the divorce settlement to convert the Hankes' lower level into an apartment in which he could live.
On March 18, 1996, Mr. Walker was involved in a serious automobile accident. Pamela Jo was at her father's bedside and helped nurse him back to health. After a lengthy hospital stay, Mr. Walker returned to live with the Hankes. At his request, some of the remaining funds from his divorce settlement were used to remodel the Hankes' home to make it handicap accessible. This enabled him to enter and leave through a separate wheelchair accessible entrance in the yard. At Mr. Walker's request, the Hankes also put a fence with a gate around their yard.
Pamela Jo continued to care for her father, and took an active role in proceeding with his personal injury lawsuit, including finding her father a personal injury lawyer, Pat Starke. In November 1996, Mr. Walker settled his personal injury claim for approximately $900,000. According to Mr. Walker's attorney, Mr. Starke, Mr. Walker was directly paid only $243,000; the remainder of the settlement proceeds were used to pay Mr. Walker's attorney's fees and expenses as well as to pay off other bills. This included payment of Mr. Walker's medical bills from St. Joseph's hospital pursuant to an agreement which Mr. Starke had worked out with the hospital. Because Mr. Walker was concerned that IRS tax liens might exist against him, Mr. Starke also checked to see whether any such liens existed, and determined that they did not at the time of the settlement.
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