Questions considered on appeal - disposition by court - damages - executions.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 512.160
in effect512.160. Questions considered on appeal — disposition by court — damages — executions. — 1. Apart from questions of jurisdiction of the trial court over the subject matter and questions as to the sufficiency of pleadings to state a claim upon which relief can be granted or a legal defense to a claim, no allegations of error shall be considered in any civil appeal except such as have been presented to or expressly decided by the trial court.
2. No appellate court shall reverse any judgment, unless it believes that error was committed by the trial court against the appellant, and materially affecting the merits of the action.
3. The appellate court shall examine the transcript on appeal and, subject to the provision of subsections 1 and 2, award a new trial or partial new trial, reverse or affirm the judgment or order of the trial court, or give such judgment as such court ought to have given, as to the appellate court shall seem agreeable to law. Unless justice requires otherwise the court shall dispose finally of the case on appeal and no new trial shall be ordered as to issues in which no error appears.
4. Upon the affirmance of any judgment or order, or upon the dismissal of any case, the appellate court may award to the respondent such damages not exceeding ten percent of the amount of the judgment complained of as may be just, and when such judgment shall be affirmed for part of the sum of which judgment was rendered by the trial court, such part of said judgment shall bear lawful interest from the date of the rendition of the original judgment in the trial court.
5. The appellate court, upon the determination of any case on appeal, may award execution to carry the same into effect, or may remand the case, with the decision, to the trial court from whence the cause came, and such determination shall be carried into execution by such trial court.
(L. 1943 p. 353 § 140) (1986) An appeal which amounts to nothing more than a request that the court of appeals substitute its judgment for that of a trial court is held frivolous. An assertion on an appeal of a position diametrically opposite of one taken at trial is held frivolous. Swanigan v. Crochett, 713 S.W.2d 41 (Mo.App.).
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=512.160Fetched: 10/17/2026