Class Actions Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri

What happened in the Sheriff’s Retirement Fund Case?

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yeah this an interesting case so this is

case that we filed I would say maybe six

years ago and the issue in this case was

uh in the state of

Missouri every case that you file uh you

pay a fee of $3 and be this a criminal

case or a civil case you pay a uh fee of

$3 uh to the Sheriff’s retirement fund

now the sheriff’s retirement fund is not

what you think the sheriff’s retirement

fund is a fund for elected sheriffs and

their spouses not the sheriffs that are

in the uh courtrooms every day or in the

cour houses every day or out serving

process these are

politicians so we had this case actually

referred to as by a judge believe it or

not and the judge said you know Jordy

I’m I’m having there’s something wrong

here so we took a look at it and in

Missouri uh this case had been looked at

before and basically what the court had

said the Missouri Supreme Court had said

that you cannot charge any fees to the

public unless they are related to the

administration of justice and of course

uh giving $3 to an elected official

campaign and his wife uh cannot be

considered uh to be uh in involved in

the administration of justice so we

filed a lawsuit uh against the sheriff’s

retirement fund which I believe at that

time I mean his public knowledge I think

was maybe 40 million we filed the action

under onjust

enrichment uh as you can imagine they

fought it

vigorously uh in fact it was a case we

had to try um which is very unusual for

class action cases consumer class

actions that you would actually try the

most of them get resolved uh prior to

that but we tried it uh we tried it

for boy I think eight days

maybe um put in all the evidence which

was good um we had numerous

depositions um we had uh a very

interesting tape that we introduced into

evidence of the speaker of the house

here in Jeff City uh in Missouri state

government who was also a retired

Sheriff who at the time this this fee uh

was been introduced kind of threatened

the legislature that I will uh not fund

the courts unless they approve this fee

we actually had that uh on tape and we

were able to get that introduced into

evidence uh in the trial which was

really really um I I thought pretty

powerful but anyway we lost at the trial

court level which we expected uh we went

right to the Supreme Court uh the

Supreme Court heard the case and the

Supreme Court agreed with us in fact it

was a 60 decision in favor of um uh the

class that was suing the sheriff’s

retirement fund so very interesting case

certainly changed uh uh how fees are

collected in the state of Missouri and

uh will have an impact on on a lot of

litigant uh especially when it comes to

access to our court system so it’s one

of the cases I feel actually really

really good about though

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Kansas City, MO personal injury attorney Geordie McGonagle talks about what happened in the Sheriff’s Retirement Fund Case. He explains that it was an interesting case filed approximately six years ago. The issue centered around a $3 fee charged for every case filed in Missouri, whether criminal or civil, with the funds directed to the Sheriff’s Retirement Fund. However, the fund in question was not for sheriffs who work in courthouses or serve process, but for elected sheriffs and their spouses.

The case was referred by a judge who recognized something was amiss. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the Missouri Supreme Court had previously ruled that fees cannot be charged to the public unless they are directly related to the administration of justice. Clearly, funneling $3 to an elected official’s campaign and their spouse did not align with this criterion.

A lawsuit was filed against the Sheriff’s Retirement Fund, which at the time held a value of approximately $40 million, under the theory of unjust enrichment. As anticipated, the defendants mounted a vigorous defense. This case became one of the rare consumer class actions that went to trial, as most of these cases are resolved earlier. The trial lasted about eight days, with solid evidence presented, including numerous depositions.

A key piece of evidence was a recording of the Speaker of the House in Missouri, a retired sheriff, who had threatened the legislature with withholding court funding unless the fee was approved. The recording was admitted into evidence, marking a powerful moment in the trial.

Although the trial court ruled against the plaintiffs, this outcome was anticipated, and the case was promptly appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiffs with a 6-0 decision, concluding that the fee was improper. This case had a significant impact, altering how fees are collected in Missouri and potentially influencing access to the court system for many litigants. It remains a case of great personal pride for those involved.

Class Actions Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri

What happened in the Sheriff’s Retirement Fund Case?

Contact Geordie McGonagle

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