Source: http://openjurist.org/345/f3d/570/public-water-supply-district-no-of-cass-county-missouri-v-city-of-peculiar-missouri
Timestamp: 2015-02-28 23:11:16
Document Index: 307391788

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 247', '§ 1926', '§ 1983', '§ 1926', '§ 247', '§ 247', '§ 1926', '§ 1926', '§ 247', '§ 247', '§ 1926', '§ 1921']

345 F3d 570 Public Water Supply District No of Cass County Missouri v. City of Peculiar Missouri | OpenJurist
345 F. 3d 570 - Public Water Supply District No of Cass County Missouri v. City of Peculiar Missouri	Home345 f3d 570 public water supply district no of cass county missouri v. city of peculiar missouri
345 F3d 570 Public Water Supply District No of Cass County Missouri v. City of Peculiar Missouri 345 F.3d 570
PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT NO. 10 OF CASS COUNTY, MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.CITY OF PECULIAR, MISSOURI, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 03-1685.
Jeremiah D. Finnegan, argued, Kansas City, MO, for appellant.
Staci O. Schorgl, argued, Kansas City, MO (Steven E. Mauer and Daniel R. Young, on the brief), for appellee.
Public Water Supply District No. 10 (the "District") seeks a declaratory judgment alleging that the City of Peculiar (the "City") is illegally acting to dissolve the District, under Missouri Rev. Stat. § 247.220, in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 1926(b). It also seeks damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arising from any curtailment or limitation of its rights to sell water within its territory as a result of the City's illegal competition.
In the district court, the City moved to dismiss on two grounds: 1) that the District's Complaint failed to state a claim because § 1926(b) is not applicable to dissolution proceedings under § 247.220; and 2) that the case is not ripe for adjudication because a petition for dissolution has not yet been filed under § 247.220.
The district court assumed the case was justiciable and granted the City's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The district court found that § 1926(b) forbids competition with water associations such as the District only when they have settled their government debt. Once the debt is settled, § 1926(b) provides no further protection. Because § 247.220 requires all debts to be paid before dissolution, the district court reasoned that the District's Complaint failed to state a claim that any dissolution under § 247.220 would violate the protections of § 1926(b). The District now appeals that decision.
The District is located in Cass County, Missouri. It is a public corporation organized under Missouri law for the purpose of developing and providing an adequate water supply for the inhabitants of the district. To further this purpose, the District entered into a loan agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture for $465,000 pursuant to 7 U.S.C. § 1921 et seq. The first installment was due on June 2, 2002. The final installment is due on December 1, 2036.
Section 1926(b) prohibits municipalities from curtailing or limiting the service of a rural water service provider. It provides:
The service provided or made available through any such association shall not be curtailed or limited by inclusion of the area served by such association within the boundaries of any municipal corporation or other public body, or by the granting of any private franchise for similar service within such are