Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jan 4, 2022
State of Missouri, el rel. Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Appellant, vs. City of St. Louis, Respondent.
The State of Missouri, ex rel. Attorney General, appealed a circuit court's summary judgment that declared the City of St. Louis had no obligation to make payments under a civil rights settlement, placing the entire obligation on the State Legal Expense Fund (SLEF). The underlying settlement stemmed from a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by George Allen, Jr. and his mother after Allen's 1983 conviction was vacated in 2012. The appellate court vacated the judgment and remanded the case, holding that the statutes in effect when Allen's claim was made in 2014 prohibited SLEF from paying claims against police officers, thus making the City responsible.