Police Board’s attempt to appeal $67M loss gets rejected, twice

The St. Louis Police Board suffered a double loss yesterday—with both the Missouri Supreme Court and the court of appeals rejecting the state-appointed board’s appeal of the ruling denying it an additional $67 million in city funds.

The Missouri Supreme Court said it was not the appropriate venue and dismissed the appeal.

The Court of Appeals said that lawyers for the Police Board had failed to follow the appropriate procedure for the type of case they’d initiated. It too dismissed the appeal, although it did so in a way that will allow the Police Board to refile.

The problem is a technical one, although lawyers suggest it’s rudimentary: In representing the Police Board, attorney Chris Graville failed to follow the rules governing what are known as mandamus actions. Under those rules, the person suing must request and obtain a preliminary order instructing the defendants to answer within a specified period of time. Graville never did that.

A spokesperson for the city declined comment, saying it would let the decisions speak for themselves.

In a statement provided by the department, Graville said, “House Bill 495 created a special cause of action related to the court’s review of this issue. Although the statute is clear regarding the Board’s right to seek judicial review, it is unclear as to the procedure for that review by a higher court. Out an abundance of caution, the Attorney General’s office filed two appeals related to this case: one in the Eastern District Court of Appeals and one in the Missouri Supreme Court. Although both courts denied the direct appeals, the Courts’ orders provided the necessary path for procedural review of the issue through the Courts. We are grateful for the Court’s quick action in providing this guidance and are remain confident that a final decision will be provided before the end of the current fiscal year. The Board’s focus remains unchanged: investing in public safety, supporting our officers and civilian employees, and ensuring the resources necessary to continue advancing safety across St. Louis.”

Yesterday’s double loss for the Police Board followed last week’s loss on the merits. The Police Board had sued the city in May, seeking to claim 22 percent of not only its general revenue, but also its Rams settlements funds and its reserves. St. Louis Circuit Judge Joan Moriarty ruled last week police were not entitled to either pot of money. 

Moriarty’s ruling followed a day of testimony focused on the definition of revenue. The city argued that the funds are only “revenue” in the years that they entered the city’s coffers. The Police Board had argued that the state law giving it control of city police also entitled police to a percentage of “all current income of the city,” and that should include those additional funds, too.

Moriarty didn’t buy it. “The court finds that general revenue only includes current income of the fiscal year in question and does not include income from prior years,” she wrote—which “uncontradicted evidence” shows both the Rams funds and accumulated reserves to be.

The Police Board can now take its case back to the Court of Appeals, but the idea of appealing directly to the Missouri Supreme Court seems questionable at best. And that could matter, because the Police Board is seeking to force the city to turn over the additional $67 million before the fiscal year ends on June 30. The clock is ticking, to say the least.

Interestingly, the state Attorney General made a late entrance into the litigation on behalf of the Police Board in May. Its May 26 brief acknowledged that lawyers for the city had picked up on a potential defect in the Police Board’s filing—and suggested that Judge Moriarty “may need to hold an additional hearing to cure any defects that the City could allege.” It asked Moriarty to consider doing so even though the hearing in her courtroom was at that point complete. She did not take them up on that request.