Supreme Court of Missouri / Dec 20, 2022
City of Harrisonville, Missouri, Respondent/Cross-Appellant, vs. The Board of Trustees of the MO Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund in their Official Capacity, Appellant/Cross-Respondent.
The City of Harrisonville sued the Board of Trustees of the MO Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund for fraud, seeking punitive damages after a prior appeal established the Fund was not a legal entity. The circuit court awarded $8 million in punitive damages against the Board. On appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Board is a state agency entitled to sovereign immunity from tort claims, and no exception to immunity applied. The Court also found the Board had not waived its immunity defense, nor was it precluded by the law of the case doctrine.