Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Dec 3, 2020
STATE OF MISSOURI, EX REL. JOHN L. MESSEX, Relator v. THE HONORABLE KELLY PARKER, Respondent
John Messex filed a negligence action against the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission (MHTC) and requested arbitration under § 226.095, RSMo, also asking the trial court to stay the lawsuit. The trial court granted arbitration but denied the stay. Messex then sought a writ of prohibition from the appellate court. The appellate court issued a permanent writ of prohibition, holding that the unambiguous language of the governing statutes required the trial court to stay the lawsuit once arbitration was requested.