Meyer v. St. Louis County
| Decision Date | 27 May 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 39870,39870 |
| Parties | Rudy MEYER et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. ST. LOUIS COUNTY et al., Defendants-Respondents. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Koenigsdorf, Kusnetzky & Wyrsch, James R. Wyrsch, Richard H. Anton, Kansas City, David Lacks, Clayton, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Thomas Wehrle, County Counselor, George Lang, II, Asst. County Counselor, Clayton, for defendants-respondents.
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Division Nine in an action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, seeking a declaration of invalidity of St. Louis County Revised Ordinance No. 7810 (1976). The challenged ordinance amended Title VIII, St. Louis County Revised Ordinances (1974) by enacting and adding thereto a new chapter, numbered 813, relating to the licensing and regulation of tow trucks. Plaintiffs-appellants, who are "owners" and "persons" who own, operate or possess tow truck vehicles as defined in the ordinance, sought a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief praying that the ordinance be declared void, and that the defendants be enjoined permanently from enforcing it. The defendants included St. Louis County, the County Supervisor, the Superintendent of Police, and the Director of Revenue of St. Louis County.
The ordinance consists of fifteen sections numbered 813.010 through 813.085. The first section denominates the ordinance the "Tow Truck Code." Section 813.010. The second defines the scope of the ordinance as applicable to "that part of St. Louis County outside of incorporated cities, towns, and villages." Section 813.015. Definitions of terms used in the ordinance, such as "municipality," "tow truck," and "vehicle" are provided in § 813.020. Pursuant to §§ 813.025 and 813.030, an operator of a tow truck must obtain a license from the Director of Licenses, Department of Revenue, after providing certain information concerning the operator's identity and business, unless the operator is already licensed under a municipal ordinance similar to this one. The information given in the application will be referred to the Superintendent of Police for investigation, and the license shall be issued unless the applicant submits false or misleading information, has been convicted of certain crimes (although the Director may determine that the applicant's conduct subsequent to the conviction indicates fitness to operate a tow truck), or fails to pay the license fee; if the license is not issued an appeal procedure is made available to the applicant. Section 813.035. The license fee is $25.00, the term of the license is one year, and the renewal fee is $25.00. Sections 813.040, 813.045. Denial of a renewal application, suspension or revocation may occur if the Director finds false or misleading information in the application, if the applicant is found to have committed theft, to have possessed stolen property, or to have been involved in interstate transportation of stolen vehicles; notice and hearing are required in case of a suspension or revocation of a license already issued or if issuance of same is denied on initial application. Section 813.050. The license may not be transferred to another operator without the Director's approval. Tow trucks must be labeled, and approved rate schedules and authorization forms and statements must be carried in them and presented to the customer. Sections 813.060, 813.070. Operators towing under contract are exempt from the requirements of §§ 813.065 and 813.070, so long as the contract is carried in the tow truck. Section 813.075. Each applicant for a license must provide evidence of specified minimum insurance coverage. Section 813.080. Certain activities, such as "cruising," solicitation of customers, and use or possession of a short-wave receiver, are prohibited. Section 813.085. Violators of the ordinance are subject to fines up to $500.00 and imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. Section 813.090.
The trial court found the ordinance to be a valid, constitutional, and reasonable exercise of the police power granted to St. Louis County by Article VI, Section 18(c) of the Missouri Constitution. Plaintiffs appeal, raising six points of alleged trial court error.
When the cause came on for trial the plaintiffs-appellants presented the testimony of five witnesses.
Sergeant Edward J. Bright, Supervisor of the Crime Unit of the St. Louis County Police Department, testified that he had received reports and investigated complaints, one or two a month, of tow trucks being involved in the theft of automobiles. Some of these investigations were based upon eye-witness testimony of tow truck involvement, while some involved wrecked or disabled vehicles which could not have been removed under their own power. To this man's knowledge only one tow truck driver had been charged with theft of a vehicle, and that case was eventually prosecuted in St. Charles County. Some investigations were made by the police department into the problem, and the police department eventually requested the enactment of a regulatory ordinance by the St. Louis County Council. Sgt. Bright, a highly experienced police officer in the area of auto theft investigation, was of the opinion that the ordinance could be an effective measure in stopping auto thefts, although conceding that if drivers alone were responsible for the thefts, the ordinance would be less effective, since there is no regulation of drivers per se.
Norbert Heman, Director of the St. Louis County License Division, the agency charged with the supervision and enforcement of the tow truck ordinance, was offered as a witness by the appellants. He testified as follows. A fee of $25, which would be the amount collected under the ordinance, would not be sufficient to cover direct costs of operating the department and the other expenses involved in processing the applications under the tow truck ordinance. The money from the collected fees goes to the General Fund of the County and is not specifically earmarked for any purpose. The budget for the Division of Licenses comes from the General Fund. While a schedule of prices for tow truck service would have to be filed with the Director, the Director would not have any authority to question those prices; his only determination would be to insure that the filed schedule, whatever it might be, was adhered to. Mr. Heman was of the view that the State disclosure law pertaining to public records would require him to have these price schedules open and available to the public, but that essentially this question would be a legal one. In response to the hypothetical question of counsel that as many as 1,000 tow trucks would be required to secure licenses, and that therefore $25,000 would be generated, this sum would probably exceed the costs of the Division of Licenses in its administration of the ordinance but that there were other administrative expenses that might not be covered.
Larry Asher, one of the appellants, testified that he operates a service station and tow truck business with six tow trucks in Kirkwood, Missouri. His operation includes Missouri, Illinois, and other states, about 25% of the operation going between states, and that he also operates on Interstate Highways in the unincorporated areas of St. Louis County. Mr. Asher does not own, but leases his tow trucks. The tow trucks are equipped with short-wave transceivers, but these are not presently designed to monitor police calls. The cost to his operation of compliance with the St. Louis County Ordinance would approximate $200 to $300 per truck. He specified the aforementioned license fee, new lettering, and the forms required by the ordinance, as specific elements of cost.
Stephen G. Bogin, President of Atlas Towing Company, also testified that he operates eleven tow trucks. The trucks are equipped with F.C.C. licensed receivers, and the tariffs and rates have been approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The I.C.C. has granted Atlas Towing authority to operate throughout the United States, and they are also licensed by the Missouri Public Service Commission. About 50% of the Atlas business is between states, and 75% on interstate highways. To Mr. Bogin's knowledge, illegal tow truck operations involve much less than 1% of the towing business. In order to comply with the St. Louis County ordinance, Atlas Towing would have to pay the fee, change the lettering and hire additional personnel, based upon the assumption that the owner or driver of the vehicle would not be present when the tow truck arrived. Assuming a driver or owner would be present when the tow truck arrived on the scene of the tow job, the additional cost due to this factor would be reduced. Atlas Towing currently is licensed under a City of St. Louis tow truck license, but is not in compliance with all of its provisions. Atlas' tow trucks are equipped with two-way radios, but not scanners, and Mr. Bogin testified that he does not monitor police calls and respond without specific requests from police departments.
Mr. Harold R. Thompson, one of the appellants, testified that he operates a Standard Oil Service Station and wrecker service on Interstate Highway 44, near Fenton, Missouri. Mr. Thompson does a good deal of business in the unincorporated area of St. Louis County. He also operates in the State of Illinois, and on Interstate Highways. His trucks are equipped with two-way radios, licensed by the F.C.C. He owns a scanner, but only responds to specific requests for his station's service. The scanner could be mounted in the trucks, and the trucks could then respond to an accident scene by means of such monitored call, but Mr. Thompson stated that he did not engage in such practice.
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