Jones v. Jackson County Circuit Court, WD 61414.

• Decision Date: 31 May 2005
• Docket Number: No. WD 61414.,WD 61414.
• Parties: Kennedy F. JONES d/b/a Shiloh Ridge Apartments, Appellant, The Missouri Press Association, Amicus Curiae, v. JACKSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT and Teresa York, Court Administrator, Respondents.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

162 S.W.3d 53

Kennedy F. JONES d/b/a Shiloh Ridge Apartments, Appellant The Missouri Press Association, Amicus Curiae, v. JACKSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT and Teresa York, Court Administrator, Respondents.

No. WD 61414.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.

February 8, 2005.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to Supreme Court Denied March 29, 2005.

Application for Transfer Denied May 31, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Don A. Peterson, Kansas City, MO, for appellant.

Jean Ann Maneke, Kansas City, MO, James R. Layton, Jefferson City, MO, for Amicus Curiae.

Bart A. Matanic, Jefferson City, MO, for respondent Jackson County Circuit Court.

Harlene J. Hipsch, Kansas City, MO, for respondent York.

Before HARDWICK, P.J., BRECKENRIDGE and EDWIN H. SMITH, JJ.

PATRICIA BRECKENRIDGE, Judge.

Kennedy F. Jones, d/b/a Shiloh Ridge Apartments, appeals the dismissal of his amended petition for mandamus and/or mandatory injunction against the Jackson County Circuit Court and Teresa York, the Jackson County Court Administrator¹ (referred to collectively as "the Circuit Court"). Mr. Jones raises six points on appeal. In his first point, Mr. Jones claims that the trial court erred in finding that he failed to state a claim for relief based upon his assertion that the Circuit Court violated the Sunshine Law, sections 610.010 et seq., RSMo 2000.² In his second and third points, Mr. Jones contends that the trial court erred in finding that he failed to state a claim for relief based upon his assertion that the Circuit Court violated Supreme Court Operating Rules 2.02 and 2.04. In his fourth point, Mr. Jones claims that the trial court erred in refusing to permit him to depose a programmer from the Office of State Courts Administrator (OSCA). In his fifth point, Mr. Jones argues that the trial court erred in striking his motion for summary judgment. In his sixth point, Mr. Jones alleges that the trial court erred in striking an affidavit attached to his summary judgment motion. This court finds that the trial court did not err in finding that Mr. Jones failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted in his assertions that the Circuit Court violated the Sunshine Law and Court Operating Rules 2.02 and 2.04. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed, and Mr. Jones' other points on appeal are deemed moot.

Factual and Procedural Background

Since this is an appeal from a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, this court takes as true the facts from Mr. Jones' petition. Johnson ex rel. Wilken v. Jones, 67 S.W.3d 702, 704 n. 2 (Mo.App.2002). According to his amended petition, on July 6, 2000, Mr. Jones submitted a request to the court administrator seeking access to public records and electronic copies of the records on CD-ROM. Mr. Jones sought information concerning landlord petitions and complaints for rent and possession, unlawful detainer, and damages for breach of lease or rental agreements. Mr. Jones wanted records containing specific information about these types of cases, including the date the case was filed; the case style; the names and addresses of the plaintiff and defendant; the assigned court; the case number; the party against whom judgment was entered; the date the judgment was entered; the amount of the judgment; the date the judgment was satisfied; disposition of the petition; and the case type. The court administrator denied Mr. Jones' request on the grounds that Court Operating Rule 2.04 "requires that public court records be made available only by inquiry of a single case or by accessing any public index."

Subsequently, Mr. Jones filed a petition for mandamus and mandatory injunction against the Circuit Court. He amended his petition on November 19, 2001. In Count I of his amended petition, Mr. Jones alleged that the Circuit Court violated the Sunshine Law by refusing to provide him with the records he requested. In Count II of his amended petition, he alleged that Court Operating Rules 2.02 and 2.04 mandate that the Circuit Court make available to him the records in the format he requested when it is technologically and economically feasible to do so, which he claimed it was. The remedy Mr. Jones sought for both counts was a judgment "in mandamus and/or for a mandatory injunction" compelling the Circuit Court to give him access to the records containing the information he requested and electronic copies of such records on CD-ROM. Mr. Jones also requested attorney's fees and expenses.

In response, the Circuit Court filed a motion to dismiss Mr. Jones' petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Mr. Jones then filed suggestions in opposition to the motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment. The trial court held a hearing on the parties' motions and, on April 9, 2002, entered its judgment dismissing both counts of Mr. Jones' petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Mr. Jones appealed.

This court issued an opinion affirming the trial court's dismissal on April 30, 2004. Mr. Jones subsequently filed a motion for rehearing or transfer. The Attorney General, as amicus curiae, also filed a motion for rehearing or transfer. This court overruled Mr. Jones' motion for rehearing and denied his motion for transfer. On our own motion, we granted rehearing, without additional briefing or argument, to address issues raised in the Attorney General's motion. The April 30, 2004 opinion was withdrawn, and the case was resubmitted on August 31, 2004.

Standard of Review

Although Mr. Jones raises six points on appeal, resolution of his points alleging error in the granting of the Circuit Court's motion to dismiss his petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted disposes of the appeal. A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is an attack on the plaintiff's pleadings. Bosch v. St. Louis Healthcare Network, 41 S.W.3d 462, 463-64 (Mo. banc 2001). When reviewing the grant of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, this court considers that:

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action is solely a test of the adequacy of the plaintiff's petition. It assumes that all of plaintiff's averments are true, and liberally grants to plaintiff all reasonable inferences therefrom. No attempt is made to weigh any facts alleged as to whether they are credible or persuasive. Instead, the petition is reviewed in an almost academic manner, to determine if the facts alleged meet the elements of a recognized cause of action, or of a cause that might be adopted in that case.

Id. at 464 (quoting Nazeri v. Mo. Valley College, 860 S.W.2d 303, 306 (Mo. banc 1993) (internal citations omitted)).

Judgment is Final and Appealable

Before reaching the dispositive points of Mr. Jones' appeal, this court must determine, sua sponte, whether it has jurisdiction to hear the appeal. Chromalloy Am. Corp. v. Elyria Foundry Co., 955 S.W.2d 1, 3 (Mo. banc 1997). The trial court dismissed Mr. Jones' petition without stating whether the dismissal was with or without prejudice. Thus, the dismissal was without prejudice. Rule 67.03 (stating that "[a]ny involuntary dismissal shall be without prejudice unless the court in its order for dismissal shall otherwise specify"). "The general rule is that a dismissal without prejudice is not a final judgment and, therefore, is not appealable." Chromalloy, 955 S.W.2d at 3. Nevertheless, "[w]hen the effect of the order is to dismiss the plaintiff's action and not the pleading merely, then the judgment entered is final and appealable." Mahoney v. Doerhoff Surgical Servs., Inc., 807 S.W.2d 503, 506 (Mo. banc 1991). "In such a case, the judgment of dismissal—albeit without prejudice—amounts to an adjudication on the merits and may be appealed." Id.

Here, the trial court ruled that Count I of Mr. Jones' petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because the Sunshine Law did not apply to the records he wished to obtain from the court. As to Count II, the trial court ruled that it failed to state a claim because "there is no private right of action for the alleged violation of Supreme Court Operating Rules." The trial court did not hold that Mr. Jones failed to plead the required elements of his claims. Instead, the trial court effectively ruled that Mr. Jones had no valid claims because the statute and rules under which he was seeking relief do not apply to the conduct alleged. Therefore, this dismissal is a judgment on the merits, "`such that a refiling of the petition at that time would be a futile act.'" State ex rel. Dos Hombres-Independence, Inc. v. Nixon, 48 S.W.3d 76, 79 (Mo.App. 2001) (quoting Helms v. Am. States Ins. Co., 886 S.W.2d 220, 221 (Mo.App.1994)). Consequently, the judgment is appealable. Id.

No Error in Dismissing Count I

In his first point, Mr. Jones argues that the trial court erred in dismissing Count I of his first amended petition on the grounds that the Sunshine Law did not require the Circuit Court to give him access to the records he sought. Specifically, he claims that the trial court erred in finding that the Circuit Court's record keeping is a judicial rather than an administrative function and, therefore, is not subject to the Sunshine Law. He further argues that he was not asking the Circuit Court to create new records, but simply to retrieve records that were already in existence in a different form. Thus, he argues that he stated a cause of action for mandamus and injunctive relief.

The remedy of mandamus is available only under limited circumstances. Jones v. Carnahan, 965 S.W.2d 209, 212 (Mo.App.1998). To have been entitled to mandamus, Mr. Jones must have demonstrated that he had "a clear, unequivocal, specific and positive right to have performed the act demanded, and the remedy will not lie if the right is doubtful." Id. at 213. Similarly, because it is a harsh...