Airika Dawn Hibbs and James Hibbs Missouri Cases

Airika and James Hibbs appealed a $500 sanction ordered by the circuit court, which stemmed from their failure to timely dismiss a negligence lawsuit against Brad Keith after a settlement. The Hibbses eventually dismissed their case with prejudice just 30 minutes before a scheduled hearing on Keith's motion to enforce the settlement, at which point Keith orally moved for sanctions. The appellate court reversed and vacated the sanctions order, holding that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to impose sanctions because the underlying action had been voluntarily dismissed prior to the motion for sanctions being made. The court further clarified that Rule 67.05 did not apply as the motion was not pending at the time of dismissal.