Henkel v. City of Pevely

488 S.W.2d 949, 1972 Mo. App. LEXIS 653
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 12, 1972
DocketNo. 34920
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 488 S.W.2d 949 (Henkel v. City of Pevely) 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
Henkel v. City of Pevely, 488 S.W.2d 949, 1972 Mo. App. LEXIS 653 (Mo. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiff appeals from a summary judgment entered in favor of the defendants-respondents, City of Pevely and other public officials of the City of Pevely. The court below granted the motion for summary judgment on the grounds that plaintiff’s petition failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and that there was no genuine issue as to any material fact.

[950]*950The petition was filed on August 9, 1972, by plaintiff, William Henkel, as a citizen, inhabitant, taxpayer, property owner, and representative of all other property owners and taxpayers in the City of Pevely. The petition alleged that pursuant to a purported City Council ordinance and by a purported election on February 22, 1972, the City of Pevely attempted to vote bonds pursuant to a notice. Two propositions were submitted to the voters:

“PROPOSITION NO. 1
“Proposition to issue the bonds of the City of Pevely, Jefferson County, Missouri, to the amount of Seventy Thousand Dollars ($70,000) to provide funds for the purpose of paying part of the cost of acquiring by purchase or construction a waterworks system within and for said City and improving and extending the sewerage system of said City; said systems to be owned exclusively by said City and said bonds to be payable from taxes to be levied upon all taxable, tangible property in said City.
“PROPOSITION NO. 2
“Proposition to issue negotiable combined waterworks and sewerage system revenue bonds of the City of Pevely, Jefferson County, Missouri, to the amount of Two Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars ($230,000) to provide funds for the purpose of paying part of the cost of acquiring by purchase or construction a waterworks system within and for said City and improving and extending the sewerage system of said City; said systems to be owned exclusively by said City and said bonds to be payable solely from the revenues to be derived by said City from the operation of the combined waterworks and sewerage system of said City.”

As to Proposition No. 1, the petition alleged that the issuance of bonds would be unlawful, illegal and beyond the power of the City for the reason that the proposition, the election and the authorizing ordinance are not authorized by statute. As to Proposition No. 2, the petition alleged that it is void and beyond the power of the City because it is indefinite, misleading, and makes no provision for the refunding of existing outstanding bonds. There was an allegation of irreparable harm and injury to plaintiff and the class he represents unless the City was enjoined from selling the bonds authorized by these propositions.

Defendants’ answer denied that plaintiff properly and adequately represents the alleged class. Accompanying the answer was a motion to dismiss on this ground, and also on the ground that the petition failed to state a cause of action. A motion for summary judgment was also filed on the ground that there was no genuine issue as to any material fact and defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

On August 24, 1972, an amended petition was filed, containing an additional count. In count 1, Proposition No. 1 was alleged to be unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional and beyond the power and authority of the City because it is not authorized by statute or by the Constitution. It alleged that it further contains a double, or logrolling proposition, constituting a fraud on the voters; it calls for projects outside the city limits which are indefinite in scope; it is ultra vires and void. In count II, Proposition No. 2 was alleged to be void and illegal because it does not adequately state the purpose for issuing the bonds; it is contrary to the laws and Constitution of Missouri; it contains a double or logrolling, proposition, constituting a fraud on the voters; it is indefinite and attempts to combine funds from Proposition No. 1 bonds; and, the election constitutes a fraud on the voters.

On August 25, 1972, plaintiff addressed 27 interrogatories to the defendants, which were answered on August 28, 1972. Attached to them was a copy of all the proceedings leading up to the submission of [951]*951these propositions to the voters. Defendants also filed an answer to the amended petition. Before the hearing on defendants’ motion for summary judgment, defendants filed an amended answer and a brief in support of the motion. Plaintiff then filed an affidavit in support of his petition and suggestions in opposition to the motion. On September 8, 1972, the court entered an “Order for Summary Judgments for the Defendants” on the grounds that the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and that there was no genuine issue as to any material fact.

From an examination of the court’s ruling it is clear that the trial judge sustained defendants’ motion to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff’s petition failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and also granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment because there was no genuine issue of material fact pleaded. If the trial court was correct in either rulings we must affirm. We find that the trial court properly sustained defendants’ motion to dismiss because the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Civil Rule 55.06, V.A.M.R.

In determining the sufficiency of a petition to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the conclusions of the pleader, unsupported by factual allegations, cannot be taken as true and must be disregarded. Tolliver v. Standard Oil Co., Mo., 431 S.W.2d 159. Likewise, the allegation of conclusions from which it might be inferred that the acts complained of were in excess or outside the authority of the defendants must be disregarded in making the determination of whether a petition states a claim on which relief can be granted. Miller v. Ste. Genevieve County, Mo., 358 S.W.2d 28.

The allegations of the petition here may be compared to those in the case of State ex rel City of Creve Coeur v. St. Louis County, Mo., 369 S.W.2d 184. In that case the petition alleged as a basis for the relief sought the charge that a particular ordinance was “illegal, invalid, void, unlawful, unconstitutional, improper, arbitrary and capricious and of no legal effect for the following reasons * * * ”; following were “reasons” constituting conclusions of the pleaders, such as (b) that “ * * * the attempted enactment of said Ordinance * * * was * * * without basis in law and in fact and represents an abuse of discretion * * * (c) * * * St. Louis County Council acted without authority and in excess of its power and jurisdiction * * * (f) Said Ordinance * * * deprives plaintiff and others of their property without due process of law in violation of the Constitution * * * ”, and other equally general conclusions of law. The court held that it could not consider any of these conclusions in determining whether the petition stated a claim upon which relief can be granted, and dismissed the petition.

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Related

Jordan v. Greene
903 S.W.2d 252 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1995)
Glenn v. Commerce Bank of St. Louis
607 S.W.2d 201 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1980)
Dyer v. General American Life Insurance Co.
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Collins v. Vernon
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Henkel v. City of Pevely
504 S.W.2d 141 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1973)

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Bluebook (online)
488 S.W.2d 949, 1972 Mo. App. LEXIS 653, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henkel-v-city-of-pevely-moctapp-1972.