No change of judge in Eldon water billing lawsuit

Judge Peggy Richardson has denied a motion to recuse Judge Ralph Jaynes in the ongoing lawsuit from a group of property owners and landlords against the city of Eldon concerning municipal water and sewer billing policies.

The plaintiffs' attorney, Audrey Smollen, filed a motion to recuse Jaynes Dec. 8. At a Dec. 27 hearing, Smollen requested another judge rule on that motion, with the case placed on the docket of Richardson, the newly appointed 26th Circuit judge.

Smollen argued Jaynes was prejudiced against the plaintiffs based on his prior ruling in the case, according to court records.

Smollen and Eldon City Attorney Mark Warren appeared at the Miller County Courthouse Wednesday to discuss the motion to recuse Jaynes. 

Richardson said she would take the motion under advisement, ultimately denying the motion later the same day, as the court found no legal or factual basis to support a claim of bias on the part of Jaynes.

The case began in 2011 when the plaintiffs, a group of 17 landlords who owned property within Eldon, filed a lawsuit against the city of Eldon regarding municipal water and sewer billing policies. Early on, eight of the landlords dismissed themselves from the suit, but the remaining seven individuals - Joan Jungmeyer, Glen Jungmeyer, Robert Dunstan, Kimberly Ruiz-Tompkins, Dennis Killday, Linda Killday and Timothy P. King - continue to fight the city's 2010 "vacant meter" ordinance, which raised monthly user rates.

The ordinance began charging owners of multi-unit complexes served by a single meter a minimum fee per unit in addition to actual usage, where previously they had paid only for actual usage tracked by the meter.

The 2008 and 2010 ordinances in question "increased waterworks charges by imposing on unoccupied properties monthly fees equal to the monthly minimum base water and sewer charges, even if the water meter is disconnected and not in use," plaintiffs said.

The initial hearing resulted in Jaynes' ruling in favor of the city; however, the plaintiffs filed an appeal.

The Western District Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court's decision in April 2015. Warren filed a motion to rehear the decision, which was overruled, and filed an application to transfer the case to the Missouri Supreme Court, which was denied.

The appellate court's decision sent the case back to the circuit court in December 2015, continuing where it left off before the circuit court granted the city's motion for summary judgment.

Jaynes, who ruled in favor of the city initially, was assigned to the case when it returned to circuit court in Miller County.

Smollen filed a motion Jan. 7, 2016, for a change of judge, suspecting that "Jaynes may be displeased with the reversal and be further prejudiced against them," according to court records. Warren also filed documents to oppose a change of judge a week later.

Jaynes said in a March 16 note that the fact a party has suffered an adverse ruling in a lawsuit is not a basis for disqualification "for cause" under Supreme Court rule.

Jaynes denied the request for a change of judge, moving forward with scheduling proceedings.

Both counsels met in private conference May 3 to discuss the case, resulting in a memorandum to file an amended motion for summary judgment.

At the same hearing, Jaynes approved a motion to reopen discovery until the court rules on the defense's motion for summary judgment.

At the Dec. 27 hearing, Smollen and Warren agreed if the court is still in the case after review by Richardson, the court is to rule on the city's motion for summary judgment without argument or court appearances by the attorneys, according to court records.

No other motions had been filed or hearings scheduled as of press time.