THE ESTATE OF LENA CARTER PINCHUM, BY AND THROUGH CHRISTINE GEE, EXECUTRIX v. PAULINE BROWN; CLAUDIA BUSH; UNKNOWN HEIRS OF CLAUDIA BUSH; ROOSEVELT DAVIES; UNKNOWN HEIRS OF ROOSEVELT DAVIES; ROBERT DOUGLAS AVERITT; EUGENE AVERETT; ALL OTHER UNKNOWN HEIRS OF TOM CARTER; DAVID BRAME; ROBERT L. CUMBEE; WILLIAM T. WILLIAMS, INC.; HERNDON PARTNERS, LLC; STEVE B. BOREN; AND LISA BOREN
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RENDERED:
SEPTEMBER 5, 2003; 10:00 a.m.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
Commonwealth Of Kentucky
Court of Appeals
NO. 2002-CA-001119-MR
THE ESTATE OF LENA CARTER PINCHUM,
BY AND THROUGH CHRISTINE GEE, EXECUTRIX
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM CHRISTIAN CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE JOHN L. ATKINS, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 00-CI-00617
v.
PAULINE BROWN; CLAUDIA BUSH;
UNKNOWN HEIRS OF CLAUDIA BUSH;
ROOSEVELT DAVIES; UNKNOWN HEIRS
OF ROOSEVELT DAVIES; ROBERT
DOUGLAS AVERITT; EUGENE AVERETT;
ALL OTHER UNKNOWN HEIRS OF TOM
CARTER; DAVID BRAME; ROBERT L.
CUMBEE; WILLIAM T. WILLIAMS, INC.;
HERNDON PARTNERS, LLC; STEVE B.
BOREN; AND LISA BOREN
APPELLEES
OPINION AND ORDER
DISMISSING
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE:
EMBERTON, CHIEF JUDGE; BAKER AND JOHNSON, JUDGES.
BAKER, JUDGE:
The Estate of Lena Carter Pinchum by and through
Christine Gee, Executrix, brings this appeal from an April 30,
2002, summary judgment of the Christian Circuit Court.
We
dismiss as interlocutory.
In its April 30, 2002, summary judgment, the circuit
court specifically held:
The exceptions to the Commissioner’s
report are overruled. The plaintiffs’
motion for summary judgment is sustained for
the reasons stated by the court at the
conclusion of the hearing. All other
motions for summary judgment are denied.
The true owners of this property are the
heirs of John Carter, in proportions and
shares as yet undetermined. To the extent
that this order disposes of the principal
issue of the case, it is final and
appealable. Other matters await further
proof and the court intends to retain
jurisdiction over these issues even if an
appeal is filed. (Emphasis added).
Where a judgment adjudicates one or more claims but
less than all the claims in an action, the judgment is
interlocutory and may not be appealed.
Ky. R. Civ. P. 54.02;
see Peters v. Board of Education, Ky., 378 S.W.2d 638 (1964).
Here, the summary judgment only resolved the issue of ownership,
specifically reserving the additional issues of proportions and
shares for further adjudication; hence, the summary judgment is
clearly interlocutory, as the circuit court specifically
intended to retain jurisdiction over all unresolved issues.
The circuit court, however, may transform a judgment
into a final one by including the recitals that there is no just
cause for delay and this is a final order.
-2-
See Derby Road
Building Company v. Louisville Gas & Electric Company, Ky., 299
S.W.2d 122 (1957).
It is well-established that both recitations
must be included in the judgment in order that it be final and,
thus, appealable.
See Vance v. King, Ky., 322 S.W.2d 485
(1959).
In the case at hand, the circuit court only included
the recitation that the judgment was final but failed to include
the recitation that there was no just cause for delay.
In the
absence of such recitation, the April 30, 2002, summary judgment
remained interlocutory.
Id.
Upon the Court’s own motion, it is hereby ORDERED that
the appeal is DISMISSED as being interlocutory.
ALL CONCUR.
ENTERED:_September 5, 2003
_/s/_Matthew J. Baker________
JUDGE, COURT OF APPEALS
BRIEFS FOR APPELLANT – ESTATE
OF LENA CARTER PINCHUM:
BRIEF FOR APPELLEES – PAULINE
BROWN AND ROBERT D. AVERETT:
John J. Chewning
CHEWNING & CHEWNING
Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Darryl T. Owens
Louisville, Kentucky
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