Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Apr 18, 2023
Colleen Spurlock vs. City of Columbia, Missouri
Colleen Spurlock sued the City of Columbia, Missouri, her former employer, alleging retaliation under Missouri's public-employee whistleblower statute. The trial court dismissed her petition with prejudice. The appellate court reversed, holding that the City lacked standing to challenge the statute's constitutionality on vagueness grounds and that Spurlock had sufficiently pleaded facts to establish a claim under the whistleblower statute regarding disclosure, abuse of authority, and disciplinary action.