Blue Summit Landfill, Inc. v. Jackson County, s. KCD

• Decision Date: 08 December 1975
• Docket Number: Nos. KCD,s. KCD
• Citation: 532 S.W.2d 484
• Parties: BLUE SUMMIT LANDFILL, INC., Appellant, v. JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri, Respondent. JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri, Respondent, v. Warren HAMILTON, Appellant. 27074, KCD 27075.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 484

532 S.W.2d 484

BLUE SUMMIT LANDFILL, INC., Appellant, v. JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri, Respondent.

JACKSON COUNTY, Missouri, Respondent, v. Warren HAMILTON, Appellant.

Nos. KCD 27074, KCD 27075.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Kansas City District.

Dec. 8, 1975.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer Denied Jan. 12, 1976.

Application to Transfer Denied March 8, 1976.

James L. Swarts, Jack C. Terry, Independence, for appellants.

Stanley Christopher, County Counselor, William D. Cosgrove, Sp. County Counselor, Kansas City, for respondent.

Before SOMERVILLE, P.J., PRITCHARD, C.J., and TURNAGE, J.

TURNAGE, Judge.

These cases were consolidated in the trial court and remain so here.

In one case Blue Summit Landfill, Inc., (Landfill) brought suit against the then County Court of Jackson County. Jackson County as such has been substituted as the defendant. In this suit Landfill sought a declaratory judgment and injunction, seeking a declaration of its rights to operate a landfill pursuant to a permit granted by the Town of Blue Summit, and to enjoin the County from interfering with Landfill in carrying on the operation of a sanitary landfill.

In the suit filed by Jackson County against Hamilton, with Landfill substituted for him, the County sought an injunction to prevent Landfill from continuing the operation of its sanitary landfill.

The facts are not in dispute.

On April 11, 1967, the County Court of Jackson County entered an order incorporating the Town of Blue Summit. Litigation followed in which the validity of this order was attacked with the result that on April 9, 1968, the County Court entered a new order incorporating the town. An appeal to this court resulted in this court holding in In Re Town of Blue Summit, 461 S.W.2d 332 (Mo.App.1970) the order of April 9, 1968, was void, but specifically stating the original order incorporating the Town of Blue Summit on April 11, 1967, remained in full force and effect. This court stated at page 336(3):

'Under the doctrine of res judicata it still stands as a final determination that the town of Blue Summit has been constituted a municipal corporation, and it will so remain until and unless a contrary declaration is made by a court of competent jurisdiction in a direct proceeding in quo warranto instituted for the specific purpose of ousting it from exercising municipal functions. The possibility that the April 11, 1967, judgment may have been erroneous, even on its face, does not render it void or lessen its effect as to res judicata.'

On August 4, 1971, the Board of Trustees of the Town of Blue Summit passed an ordinance granting a permit to Landfill for the operation of a sanitary landfill. Thereafter Landfill paid a fee of $1500 to the Town for a special occupational license for the operation of the landfill, and was to pay a like amount each year of operation.

On November 18, 1971, the Circuit Court of Jackson County entered a judgment declaring the incorporation of the Town to have been made without jurisdiction in the County Court and ousting the Town from any authority or power to act under such incorporation.

The County insists that since the order incorporating the Town of Blue Summit was void all of the acts performed by the City were void, and then urges the permit granted to Landfill was void and Landfill acquired no rights under such permit. The County reasons that since the County requires a special permit to be issued by it for the operation of a sanitary landfill, and Landfill does not have such special permit, then Landfill should be enjoined from further operation in the area where it commenced its landfill.

Landfill, on the other hand, urges that the Town of Blue Summit was a de facto municipal corporation and for that reason the permit issued to it was valid at the time it was issued and having acquired a valid permit is entitled to the status of a non-conforming use as against the County when the incorporation of the Town of Blue Summit was invalidated. The trial court made findings of fact and conclusions of law in which it in effect found the incorporation of Blue Summit was void and the permit issued by the Town to Landfill was void, and therefore, Landfill had no right to continue to operate its sanitary landfill since it did not have a special permit issued by the County.

Even though the Town of Blue Summit was ousted and its incorporation was invalidated, under the holding of this court, quoted above, the existence of the Town would continue until it was ousted in a direct proceeding. When this court held the corporate existence of Blue Summit would continue until ousted in a direct proceeding brought by the State, this constituted the Town of Blue Summit a de facto municipal corporation. 1 McQuillin Municipal Corporations, § 3.45, p. 314.

T...