Koehr v. Emmons

• Decision Date: 24 December 2002
• Docket Number: No. ED 81775.,ED 81775.
• Citation: 98 S.W.3d 580
• Parties: Jack L. KOEHR and Patricia C. Koehr, Appellants, v. Linda EMMONS, Collector of Franklin County, et al., Respondents.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

98 S.W.3d 580

Jack L. KOEHR and Patricia C. Koehr, Appellants, v. Linda EMMONS, Collector of Franklin County, et al., Respondents.

No. ED 81775.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Division Three.

December 24, 2002.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer to Supreme Court Denied February 20, 2003.

Application for Transfer Denied April 1, 2003.

Byron E. Francis, St. Louis, MO, for appellant.

James B. Deutsch, Jefferson City, MO, Mark S. Vincent, Union, MO, for respondent.

CLIFFORD H. AHRENS, Judge.

Jack and Patricia Koehr ("the Koehrs") appeal the judgment of the trial court granting the joint motion to dismiss of Linda Emmons, collector of Franklin County and Franklin County Road District (herein collectively referred to as "Franklin County"); and Scenic Regional Library. The Koehrs allege that the trial court erred in dismissing their petition for declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and refund of taxes because Missouri statutory procedures do not apply to bar the Koehrs from seeking relief under Article X of the Missouri Constitution. We affirm.

On April 13, 2001, the Koehrs filed a petition for declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and refund of taxes in Franklin County Circuit Court. In their petition, the Koehrs alleged that they paid certain real and personal property taxes in December 2000. The Koehrs claimed that Franklin County and Scenic Regional Library did not use the 1999 tax rate ceiling imposed by a December 10, 1999 order of the court, thus the taxes imposed violated the Hancock Amendment to the Missouri constitution. The Hancock Amendment provides that no county or political subdivision may increase a tax without the approval of the voters in that county or political subdivision. MO Const. Art. X, § 22.

On December 10, 1999, a judgment was entered in the case of Jack Koehr, et al. v. Linda Emmons, et al., Franklin County Circuit Court No. CV198-0297CC, which provided for a particular tax rate ceiling. This judgment was affirmed on appeal. Koehr v. Emmons, 55 S.W.3d 859 (Mo. App.2001) ("Koehr I"). According to the petition filed on April 13, 2001, the tax rate ceiling ultimately imposed violated the judgment in Koehr I. Franklin County and Scenic Regional Library filed a joint motion to dismiss claiming that the Koehrs failed to timely file their action and that they failed to follow the statutory requirements for challenging tax levies and collecting of taxes. The court granted the motion to dismiss on February 25, 2002. On April 16, 2002, the trial court set aside the dismissal of February 25, 2002. This dismissal was set aside because the parties were not served with notice of the entry of the order and judgment, and the court entered a new judgment and order dismissing the action. The present appeal followed.

We will affirm the order of the trial court granting a motion to dismiss if any ground for dismissal supports the motion. Turner Engineering, Inc. v. 1491155 Weldon Parkway, L.L.C., 40 S.W.3d 406, 409 (Mo.App.2001). Where the trial court does not specify its reasons for dismissing an action, as in the present case, we presume the trial court dismissed the suit based upon one of the reasons contained in the motion to dismiss. Id.

In their first point relied on, the Koehrs assert that the trial court erred in dismissing their action because the procedures enumerated in section 139. 031 RSMo 2000¹ and section 137.073 do not apply to their request for a property tax refund. The Koehrs argue that their petition sought relief under Article X, Section 23 of the Missouri constitution, and the statutory procedures do not govern the remedies available in Article X of the constitution.

This court has decided the issue of whether the statutory procedures govern the timeliness of a Hancock Amendment challenge. The Koehrs previously filed suit against Franklin County, and several other defendant tax districts alleging that their 1997 taxes exceeded the limits of the Hancock Amendment to the Missouri constitution, Article X, Section 22. Consent judgments were entered resolving the claims against all defendants except one. The Koehrs proceeded to trial against the remaining defendant and the court entered a judgment in favor of the defendant. The Koehrs appealed the judgment and the defendant argued that the trial court's judgment was proper because the claims were not timely filed. In Koehr I, this court adopted the concurring opinion of Judge Wolff in Green v. Lebanon R-III School Dist., 13 S.W.3d 278, 286-90 (Mo. banc 2000) (Wolff, J., concurring). Id. at 864. In his concurrence, Judge Wolff stated that a taxpayer must timely file his lawsuit under the statutory scheme in order to be eligible for a tax refund. Green, 13 S.W.3d at 286. Judge Wolff noted that the purpose of the Hancock Amendment is to protect the taxpayers from an increase in the tax burden without voter approval; however, he also stated that "the manner of enforcement of Hancock's mandates is subject to the orderly procedures established by statute." Id. at 287. Enforcement of the rights provided by the Hancock Amendment can be accomplished in two ways. Id. These are: 1) a taxpayer may seek an injunction, enjoining the collection of the challenged tax, until the constitutionality of the tax is determined; or 2) if the tax increase violates the Hancock Amendment and is collected before a final judicial approval of the collection of the increase without voter approval, the taxpayer may enforce his rights under the Hancock Amendment by a timely action seeking a refund of the increased tax. Id., (citing Ring v. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer Dist., 969 S.W.2d 716, 718 (Mo. banc 1998)).

The Koehrs argue that Koehr I contradicts the language of the Hancock Amendment and the decision of this court in City of Hazelwood v. Peterson, 48 S.W.3d 36 (Mo. banc 2001). The Koehrs claim that City of Hazelwood was a rejection of the argument that the eligibility of a taxpayer for a refund under the Hancock Amendment is limited by the procedures enumerated in Missouri statutes. They state that in City of Hazelwood, the court expressly acknowledged that "there are no statutory impediments to a taxpayer's suit under the Hancock Amendment...."

City of Hazelwood is factually distinguishable from the present case. In that case, the City of Hazelwood annexed an area for which Florissant Valley Fire District was to provide fire, emergency and ambulance services. The taxpayers of the annexed area paid taxes to Hazelwood and the city in turn paid the Florissant Valley Fire District for their services. An election was held to increase the tax rate in the Florissant Valley Fire District, and the voters approved the increase. After the election, a contest was filed and...