Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jun 5, 2018
State of Missouri, ex rel., Russell B. Welty, Sharon A. Stanley, and Linda K. Fulton, Relators, vs. Honorable Benjamin F. Lewis, Judge of the Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court, Respondent.
Relators Russell Welty and other plaintiffs sought a writ of mandamus to compel Judge Benjamin Lewis to denominate a prior dismissal on the merits as a final appealable judgment. The trial court had dismissed Welty's nuisance lawsuit against a neighbor but failed to issue a proper judgment, leading to the dismissal of Welty's initial appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The appellate court made its preliminary order in mandamus permanent, directing the trial court to issue a denominated judgment, affirming Welty's right to appellate review of the dismissal.