The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals has upheld Cole County Judge Jon Beetem's dismissal of a lawsuit seeking information about a political group's operations and spending habits.
St. Louis lawyer Elad Gross filed a lawsuit in June 2018 against A New Missouri for this information, but in November 2018, Beetem granted the organization's motion to dismiss the case, ruling Gross had "failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted" and hadn't shown he had the legal standing to file the suit. Gross claimed because he was "a Missourian" that made him a beneficiary of Missouri.
A New Missouri is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2017 to support then-Gov. Eric Greitens and his initiatives. It's labeled as a 501(c)(4) organization and operates under the federal regulations that allow it to conceal the identities of its donors - what some people, including Gross, call "dark money."
Gross argued in his lawsuit and in oral arguments that A New Missouri was created to benefit all Missourians, therefore making him "a beneficiary of the organization" entitled to get information about the organization's operations, income and expenses.
"To seek records" under the state law Gross used, Beetem wrote in his original two-page judgment, Gross "must either be a member, have the rights of a member or be a resident of a class of residents who has paid into A New Missouri Inc. for services or other charges over 50 percent of A New Missouri Inc.'s operating expenses."
A New Missouri filed a motion to dismiss the case, and Beetem ruled in the organization's favor.
Gross appealed to the Western District, and on Tuesday, the court upheld Beetem's ruling.