The Honorable James F. Kanatzar Missouri Cases

Carlos Alsup, an in-school suspension teacher, sought a writ of prohibition after the circuit court denied his motion for summary judgment, which claimed official immunity in a negligence suit brought by a student whose arm was broken during a physical restraint. The Supreme Court of Missouri made its preliminary writ of prohibition permanent. The Court held that Alsup was entitled to official immunity because the decision and manner of physically restraining a student are discretionary acts, not ministerial duties, thus the ministerial act exception to official immunity did not apply.

Relators, Dr. Patrick Goldsworthy, Dr. Aston Goldsworthy, and Patrick Goldsworthy D.C., P.C., sought a writ of prohibition to dismiss a wrongful death suit as time-barred. The plaintiffs had filed a third action after two previous nonsuits, attempting to utilize the savings provision of section 537.100. The Missouri Supreme Court made the preliminary writ of prohibition permanent, holding that the savings provision allows only one one-year refiling period following the nonsuit of an action originally filed within the statute of limitations, not successive refiling periods.