Landwersiek v. Dunivan, No. 25814 (MO 9/15/2004)
| Decision Date | 15 September 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 25814,25814 |
| Parties | FREDERICK LANDWERSIEK, SANDRA LANDWERSIEK, TIM WARD, and RICHARD ST. JAMES Respondents LONNIE LUNDRY, Appellant, v. JOHN DUNIVAN, Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Butler County, Missouri, Honorable Mark L. Richardson, Judge.
C. John Pleban & Michael Schaller, for Appellant's.
Paul, Kidwell, Attorneys for Respondents, Landwersiek, St. James & Ward.
D. Keith Henson, Attorney for Respondent Dunvan.
Lonnie Lundry ("Appellant") appeals from the trial court's judgment denying his amended petition which sought a recount of an election to elect a member to Public Water Supply District No. 1's ("Water District") Board of Directors, held on June 3, 2003. See § 115.583.1 Appellant also sought injunctive relief and damages. The trial court determined that the Water District election was a nullity, and pursuant to the provisions of section 115.593, ordered a new election because certain qualified voters, including Respondents Frederick Landwersiek, Sandra Landwersiek, Tim Ward and Richard St. James ("Respondents"), were denied the right to vote. Appellant raises two points of trial court error, discussed below. We affirm the judgment of the trial court, and remand with directions to set a new date for the Water District election.
The record reveals that on June 3, 2003, an election was held in Butler County, Missouri, to elect a member to the Board of Directors of Public Water Supply District No. 1.2 The three candidates vying for the position were Appellant, Thomas Wright ("Wright"), and Deborah Hopkins ("Hopkins"). Respondent John Dunivan ("Dunivan") is the county clerk of Butler County, Missouri, and serves as the election authority for the county. See § 115.015.
On June 4, 2003, Dunivan, in his capacity as election authority, certified the election results as follows: Appellant received 203 votes, Wright received 203 votes, and Hopkins received 21 votes. Due to the tie between Appellant and Wright, the Water District president ultimately requested that Dunivan hold a new election.3 A new election was then scheduled for July 15, 2003.
However, shortly after Dunivan certified the election results, several irregularities in the election were reported to him. First, it was discovered that election judges working at the Oak Brier precinct, which is located within the Water District, had confused and misinterpreted a map provided to them by Dunivan which denoted the Water District's geographical boundaries. As a result of this misinterpretation, Harold and Georgia Griffin (collectively referred to as the "Griffins"), both of whom reside within the Water District, were denied the right to vote in the election when they arrived at the polling location. Similarly, Jewel Adair, a poll worker at Oak Brier, did not vote in the election because, after examining the map provided by Dunivan, she determined that she did not reside within the Water District's boundaries. Nevertheless, the Oak Brier election judges allowed John and Patricia Helton (collectively referred to as the "Heltons") to vote in the election although they resided outside the Water District and were, therefore, facially unqualified to vote. The Griffins and Ms. Adair submitted voluntary affidavits to the trial court reciting that if they had been allowed to vote in the election they would have voted for Appellant; the Heltons, though ineligible, cast ballots for Wright.
Second, it was also reported to Dunivan that Roy and Karen Winters (collectively referred to as the "Winters") were mistakenly allowed to vote in the Hendrickson precinct. Upon review, Dunivan discovered that the Winters lived three miles outside the Water District, and thus were ineligible to vote in the election. There is no indication in the record for whom the Winters cast their respective votes.
Third, Respondents were also denied the right to vote in the election. Respondents all reside on Roxie Road, an area of Butler County that was annexed into the City of Poplar Bluff (the "city") in October of 2000. At the time of the June 3, 2003, election, the area in which Respondents resided had not yet been legally detached from the Water District. See discussion herein. As a result, Respondents resided both within the city and within the boundaries of the Water District.
Prior to the election, Dunivan investigated whether Respondents had a legal right to vote in the Water District election.4 Dunivan testified he spoke with the Secretary of State's office, and following his own prior policies, "determined that the annexation [of Respondents' property] automatically excluded [them] from voting in [the Water District] elections." Dunivan subsequently moved Respondents' registered voting precinct from a county precinct to a city precinct. Accordingly, when Respondents presented themselves at the polling place within the set boundaries of the Water District they were not allowed to vote by the election judges, based on the fact that they resided within an area that had been annexed by the city. No evidence was presented at trial as to the candidate for whom each Respondent would have voted had they been allowed to vote.
Sixteen days after the election, Respondents filed suit against Dunivan and the Water District, alleging that they should have been allowed to vote in the election because the Roxie Road area had not yet been legally detached from the Water District at the time of the election. Respondents petitioned to either have their votes added to the June 3, 2003, election results or alternatively be allowed to vote in the newly scheduled July 15, 2003, election. They also requested damages.
Shortly thereafter, Appellant filed a petition for an election contest pursuant to section 115.583. In his amended petition, Appellant requested a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, damages, and a recount of the votes due to voting irregularities. The trial court consolidated the lawsuits in order to hear the evidence and rule on all of the claims.5
On July 2, 2003, the trial court enjoined the election scheduled for July 15, 2003, awaiting "a judicial determination of issues pending between the parties including, but not necessarily limited to, who is entitled to vote and/or which voters should be counted and whether a new election should be ordered."
The trial was held on July 8, 2003. Following the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court found that due to irregularities in the election process "[a] new election for a member to the Water District Board must be held to break the tie vote between [Appellant] and Wright." Further, the trial court held that the annexation of territory by a city does not "automatically and immediately result[ ] in exclusion" of that territory from a water district and until the procedures outlined in Chapter 247 are followed, "the annexed territory remains in the geographic boundaries of the [W]ater [D]istrict."6 Accordingly, the trial court set out that "it is possible for the geographic boundaries of a water district and a municipality to overlap until detachment proceedings have been concluded and a judgment detaching and excluding territory from a water district has been entered." The trial court also found that Respondents, as residents of the Water District, were "entitled to vote in the June 3rd election" and "were wrongfully denied that right to vote."
Additionally, the trial court found that Respondents' claims were not barred by the doctrine of laches as contended by Appellant, and that no evidence was presented as to how any of the candidates would be prejudiced by Respondents' participation in a new election.
In determining that a new election was warranted pursuant to section 115.593, the trial court found that the remedy of a recount under section 115.583 was not available to Appellant Further, the trial court set out that Dunivan did not know "how many individuals heard about his decision regarding the Roxie Road area prior to the election and did not vote as a result of it" and, moreover, "[b]ecause unqualified voters voted and their votes could have determined the election, and because an unknown number of qualified voters did not or were not permitted to vote as a result of [Dunivan's] decision, the validity of the entire election is at issue, not just the result." Accordingly, the trial court adjudged that a new election was required. This appeal followed.
Appellant asserts two points of trial court error. First, he argues that the trial court erred in ruling that the doctrine of laches did not bar Respondents' claims. Second, Appellant maintains the trial court erred in ruling that a new election was warranted, instead of a recount of the June 3, 2003, election. We affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand for the setting of a new date for the Water District election.
In a court-tried case, our standard of review is that the court's decision will be sustained unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, unless it is against the weight of the evidence, unless it erroneously declares the law, or erroneously applies the law. Marre v. Reed, 775 S.W.2d 951, 952 (Mo. banc 1989); Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). We accept as true the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in favor of the prevailing party and disregard the contrary evidence. Evans v. Werle, 31 S.W.3d 489, 491 (Mo.App. 2000). This Court will set aside the trial court's decision only when firmly convinced that the judgment is wrong. Waldroup v. Dravenstott, 972 S.W.2d 364, 368 (Mo.App. 1998). The credibility of witnesses...
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