Kline v. City of Kansas City, Mo.
| Decision Date | 31 January 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. WD,WD |
| Citation | 664 S.W.2d 658 |
| Parties | Raymond D. KLINE, et ux., Respondents, v. CITY OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, Appellant. 34242. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Richard N. Ward, City Atty., Walter J. O'Toole, Jr., Asst. City Atty., Kansas City, for appellant.
Jim Tom Reid, Shockley, Reid & Koger, Richard L. Martin, Kansas City, for respondents.
Before MANFORD, P.J., TURNAGE, C.J., and KENNEDY, J.
Kline and his wife, Dorothy, filed suit against the City of Kansas City to cancel a special tax bill issued for the purpose of paying for sanitary sewers. The case was submitted on a stipulation of facts and the trial court entered judgment in favor of the Klines cancelling the tax bill.
The city contends the judgment is unsupported by the evidence. Reversed.
The Klines were the owners of Lot 13, Block 7, Chouteau Estates, a subdivision in Kansas City, located in Clay County. In July of 1973, the city established a sewer district which included the Kline tract as well as land located to its north. The drainage of the tract was from north to south with the Kline tract being on the southern edge of the tract. This meant, of course, that all of the land to the north of the Kline tract had to drain through the Klines' property.
In July of 1974, the city filed a condemnation suit seeking to obtain an easement to accommodate the sewer line running across the Kline lot. The Klines objected to the location of the easement, contending that it ran between their house and garage and necessitated severing utility lines and a sidewalk. The Klines filed a motion to dismiss the suit, and an evidentiary hearing followed. The court did not rule, however, since the city and the Klines subsequently agreed on another location for the easement which would not interfere with the Klines' use of the lot. As a result of this agreement the Klines voluntarily gave the city an easement over the new route. The condemnation suit was dismissed by the city.
In January of 1976, the city issued a tax bill against the Kline lot in the amount of $6,109.36 as the tract's owners' pro-rata share of the cost of sewers in the district. In March of 1976, the Klines filed this suit to cancel that bill.
The rules to apply to determine if the Klines are entitled to cancellation of the tax bill are well-established. In Lakewood Park Cemetery Association v. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, 530 S.W.2d 240, 248 (Mo. banc 1975), the court held that the legislative determination of the necessity for installing sanitary sewers raises a presumption that the property in the district is benefited. The court further held that the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party attacking the bill. Also helpful in the resolution of the case before this court is the opinion in Collins v. A. Jaicks Co., 279 Mo. 404, 214 S.W. 391, 394 (banc 1919). There the court quoted an earlier case to the effect that when the matter of establishing sewer districts is entrusted to a city council, a trial court may interfere with the decision of the council only when the council's act is so unreasonable, oppressive, or tainted with fraud as to clearly indicate that it has abused the power vested in it. Thus, the burden is on the Klines to show manifest fraudulent, unreasonable or oppressive action by the city in its decision to include the Kline tract within the sewer district. See also; Sears v. City of Columbia, 660 S.W.2d 238, 246[4, 5] (Mo.App.1983).
The Klines attempt to support their heavy burden by contending that the judgment was supported by substantial evidence. They point to a real estate agent's testimony offered in the hearing held on the motion to dismiss the condemnation suit. A transcript of the testimony was attached to the stipulation of facts and made a part thereof. This witness stated that it would be "economically unfeasible" to further develop the Kline tract. The Kline tract consisted of two acres, less the South 195 feet which they had sold prior to the lawsuit. The Klines argued that since there was no evidence that their tract could be subdivided or developed to accommodate more than a single family residence, there was, therefore, no evidence that their land would be benefited by the sewers.
Aside from the fact that the standard of review is not a question of evidence to support the circuit court judgment, Sears, supra, the "economic feasibility" argument advanced by the Klines was rejected by the court in Whitsett v. City of Carthage, 270 Mo. 269, 193 S.W. 21 (1917). There the city sought to collect special tax bills issued against the land of Whitsett. Whitsett contended that his land was used solely for farming, not for development, and that it would not be developed in the foreseeable future. He contended, therefore, that he should not be required to pay any amount for sewers. The court rejected that argument by pointing out that the sewer was necessary for the preservation of the public health of the portion of the city it served. The court stated that the alternative to installing sewers would be to deposit sewage in underground vaults or on the surface and that, in any event, the result would be a continuing menace to the public health....
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