Goodson v. City of Ferguson

345 S.W.2d 381, 1961 Mo. App. LEXIS 622
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 18, 1961
DocketNos. 30803-30805
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 345 S.W.2d 381 (Goodson v. City of Ferguson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Goodson v. City of Ferguson, 345 S.W.2d 381, 1961 Mo. App. LEXIS 622 (Mo. Ct. App. 1961).

Opinion

ANDERSON, Presiding Judge

Plaintiffs in these three cases have appealed from judgments of the trial court dismissing their actions for failure to state a claim upon which the requested relief may be granted. The actions were for declaratory judgments and for injunctions enjoining the City of Ferguson and its Officers from regrading and repaving certain city streets. The appeals were to the Supreme Court, but that Court held it did not have jurisdiction of said appeals and transferred same to this court. The opinion transferring the cases may be found in 339 S.W.2d 841. The issue on this appeal is whether [382]*382the court erred in sustaining defendants’ motions to dismiss. The allegations of the petitions in the three cases are identical, except as to the names of the plaintiffs, and the names of the streets involved. For that reason it was stipulated by the parties that in this court the cases would be briefed and argued together and that the issues raised would be disposed of by one opinion of this court. To resolve the issue before us we will examine the allegations of the petition in case No. 30,804.

Plaintiffs allege that the defendant City is a special Charter .City organized under Article VI, Section 19 of the Constitution of Missouri, V.A.M.S.; that defendant Municipal Contractors, Inc., is a Missouri corporation; that defendant Miller Brothers Excavating Company are to regrade Derinda Avenue and that the other named defendants are members of the City Council.

It is further alleged that plaintiffs are the owners of real property abutting on De-rinda Avenue between Elizabeth and Barat Avenues in said city and bring this action for themselves and as class representatives of other owners of real property abutting on said Derinda Avenue. Attached to the petition as exhibits are copies of Sections 68, 69 and 70 of Article VIII of the Charter of said City, which plaintiffs allege were “in effect at all times material hereto.”

The material portions of Section 68 of said Charter provide that any public improvement, except emergency work or repairs requiring prompt attention, shall be begun by the adoption of a resolution by the council declaring the necessity for such improvement, and when payment is to be made by special tax bills, the resolution shall state the proposed method of making assessments to pay for the improvement, and the estimate of the probable cost thereof.

Section 69 provides that any public improvement, the cost of which is to be paid for in whole or in part by special tax bills, shall be authorized and executed as follows : The Council shall cause its resolution declaring the necessity for such improvement to be published, and shall cause a copy of the resolution to be mailed to each interested resident property owner, and hold a public hearing thereon; if at least eighty percent of the resident property owners, who shall also own eighty percent of the total front feet abutting on the proposed improvement, shall not within ten days subsequent to the date of the public hearing file their protest against the improvement, then the council may by ordinance provide for the improvement. If, however, at least eighty percent of said owners shall within ten days after the date of the public hearing file their protest, the council shall authorize such improvement only by an ordinance passed with the affirmative vote of at least six members of the council.

Section 70 provides that when the Council shall by ordinance find and declare that no valid protests have been filed, said finding and declaration shall be conclusive after the execution of the contract for the improvement, and thereafter no special tax bill shall be held invalid for the reason that a protest sufficiently signed was filed with the city clerk.

The petition alleged that on January 28, 1958, the City Council passed a resolution declaring the necessity of grading and paving Derinda Avenue, with concrete paving 26 feet wide, and that a portion of the cost to the extent of $6.50 per front foot be levied as an assessment in the form of special tax bills against the owners of property abutting both sides of said street; that defendants caused notice of the passage of said resolution, and of the holding of a public hearing thereon on February 11, 1958, to be published and to be mailed to the owners of said property aforesaid; that within ten days after the public hearing there was lodged with the City Clerk protests in writing, by all the resident owners of all the property abut[383]*383ting said street, against making said improvement and assessing the costs thereof against the property abutting Dcrinda Avenue.

It was further alleged that on March 11, 1958, the - City Council passed Ordinance No. 228, which provided for the grading and paving of Derinda Avenue from the east line of Elizabeth Avenue to the west line of Barat Avenue, and for the payment of the costs thereof by special tax bills against the property abutting both sides of the street at a rate not to exceed $6.50 per front foot. A copy of said Ordinance is attached to the petition as Exhibit B.

By paragraph 6 of said petition it is alleged that on July 7, 1959, the City Council passed an ordinance approving the plans and specifications for said repaving and authorizing the defendant City Manager to advertise for bids. Said Ordinance is attached to the petition as an exhibit. It was further alleged that bids were requested by publication in a newspaper, and a bid submitted by defendant Municipal Contractors, Inc. subject to acceptance by the Council. It was then alleged that payment for the work will be made by the issuance to the contractor of special tax bills, which will constitute a lien and cloud upon the title of the real property owned by plaintiffs and those constituting the class represented by plaintiffs, and “That the letting of said bids and the advertisement therefore is invalid and in violation of the terms of the Charter of the City of Ferguson and Article VI, Section 19 of the Constitution of the State of Missouri.”

By paragraph 7 it is alleged “that Ordinance No. 228, as aforesaid, insofar as it authorizes the cost of the paving of Derinda Avenue as aforesaid, to be levied as an assessment in the form of special tax bills against the respective parcels of real property abutting Derinda Avenue as aforesaid, and Sections 68, 69 and 70 of Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Ferguson authorizing the means and methods of the passage of ordinances for the levying of such assessments and the issuance of special tax bills therefor to pay the costs of street paving, and more particularly the passage of said Ordinance No. 228, are unconstitutional, unlawful and void and are in direct contravention of Article VI, Section 19 of the Constitution of the State of Missouri.”

In paragraph 8 it is alleged that Ordinance No. 228 “insofar as it authorizes the cost of the paving of Derinda Avenue as aforesaid to be levied as an assessment in the form of special tax bills against the respective parcels of real property abutting Derinda Avenue as aforesaid, is void and unconstitutional, in that the issuance of special tax bills thereunder against the real property abutting said Derinda Avenue as aforesaid, will deprive these plaintiffs and others whom they represent as a class, of their property, without due process of law, in derogation and contravention of Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution of the State of Missouri, and of Amendment No. V of the Constitution of the United States of America.”

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Related

Sears v. City of Columbia
660 S.W.2d 238 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1983)
Reis v. MERTROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT
373 S.W.2d 22 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1963)

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Bluebook (online)
345 S.W.2d 381, 1961 Mo. App. LEXIS 622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/goodson-v-city-of-ferguson-moctapp-1961.