Hydesburg Common School Dist. of Ralls County v. Rensselaer Common School Dist. of Ralls County

• Decision Date: 11 October 1948
• Docket Number: o. 40714
• Parties: The Hydesburg Common School District of Ralls County, Missouri, Et Al., Respondents, v. The Rensselaer Common School District of Ralls County, Missouri, Appellant
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

214 S.W.2d 4

The Hydesburg Common School District of Ralls County, Missouri, Et Al., Respondents, v. The Rensselaer Common School District of Ralls County, Missouri, Appellant

o. 40714

Supreme Court of Missouri, Second Division

October 11, 1948

From the Circuit Court of Ralls County, Civil Appeal, Judge Roy B. Meriwether

Appeal Transferred

OPINION

Tipton, P.J.

The parties to this appeal are four common school districts of Ralls County. We are confronted with the question of our jurisdiction raised sua sponte.

Both appellant and respondents state in their briefs that this court has jurisdiction of this appeal because each of these four school districts is a political subdivision of the State within the meaning of Section 3 of Article V of our present Constitution. This section reads: "The supreme court shall have exclusive appellate jurisdiction * * * in all civil cases where the state or any county or other political subdivision of the state * * * is a party." This section is almost identical with Section 12 of Article VI of our Constitution of 1875 and, therefore, our ruling in reference to the Constitution of 1875 should be followed.

"We have definitely and positively ruled that a school district (such as the real party in interest herein) does not fall within the meaning of the clause 'political subdivision of the state,' as used in section 12, article 6, of the Constitution, and therefore that we have no appellate jurisdiction of a cause by reason of the single fact that a school district is a party to such cause. School District v. School District, 238 Mo. 407, 141 S.W. 1111; School District v. Boyle, 182 Mo. 347, 81 S.W. 409." State ex rel. Cravens, to Use of Consolidated School Dist. No. 2 of Worth County v. Thompson et al., 322 Mo. 444, 17 S.W.2d 342, l.c. 345. See, also, Normandy Consolidated School District of St. Louis County v. Wellston Sewer District of St. Louis County et al., 74 S.W.2d 621.

The record discloses no other possible ground that would give us jurisdiction of this appeal.

This court being without jurisdiction to entertain the appeal, the cause is transferred to the St. Louis Court of Appeals.

All concur