Judge gives final judgment in Business Loop 70 CID case

Boone County circuit judge Jodie Asel issued a final judgment in the Business Loop 70 case that has been ongoing since 2016.

Asel officially dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning it can be brought back to court. Asel’s reasoning for dismissing the case was that she lacked subject matter jurisdiction on the issue.

This, after the Missouri Supreme Court ordered Asel to issue a final judgment last week.

Asel originally dismissed the suit against the Business Loop 70 Community Improvement District in 2016 but did not provide a judgment that could be appealed. The case was filed by Jennifer Henderson, a resident within the district, who claimed the CID violated state election laws during its December 2015 vote on imposing a half-cent sales tax in the boundaries of the Business Loop. Attorneys for the CID said Henderson and others had no legal recourse to challenge a district’s elections because state law provides no such rules.

The case was then appealed in the Missouri Supreme Court, but the court threw out the case for lack of an appealable judgment.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been corrected to clarify Asel has previously not provided a judgment that could be appealed and to correct the reason behind the Missouri Supreme Court’s initial ruling.

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