Opinion ID: 2169378
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Proceedings in Prohibition

Text: The normal proceedings in prohibition established in Rule 97 are as follows: First, a relator initiates a proceeding by filing a petition for a writ of prohibition in the appropriate court. Rule 97.03. Next, the court considers the petition and determines if a preliminary order in prohibition should issue. Rule 97.04. If the court does not grant a preliminary order, the petitioning party then must file its writ petition in the next higher court. Atteberry v. Mo. Bd. of Prob. & Parole, 193 S.W.3d 444, 445 (Mo.App.2006). If the court, however, is of the opinion that the preliminary order in prohibition should be granted, such order shall be issued. Rule 97.04. The preliminary order directs the respondent to file an answer within a specified amount of time, and it also may order the respondent to refrain from all or some action. Rule 97.05. If the court issues a preliminary order and a permanent writ later is denied, the proper remedy is an appeal. State ex rel. Am. Eagle Waste Indus. v. St. Louis County, 272 S.W.3d 336, 339 (Mo.App.2008). The proceedings in this case differed from those anticipated by Rule 97. Here, property owners filed a petition for a writ of prohibition. The circuit court denied the request for a preliminary order and, instead, issued a summons. The commission argues that because no preliminary order was issued, property owners' only recourse is to file a writ petition in the next higher court. This case differs from the cases on which the commission relied, which held that, on the denial of a preliminary order, the petitioning party must file its writ petition in the next higher court. See, e.g., State ex rel. Office of Pub. Counsel v. Mo. Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 741 S.W.2d 114, 115 (Mo.App.1987). Here, despite the fact that the circuit court denied the request for a preliminary order, the court issued a summons and the commission filed a response to the petition. The circuit court then held a hearing, adjudicated the merits of property owners' writ petition, and decided that property owners were not entitled to a permanent writ of prohibition. The issue, then, is whether the circuit court's issuance of a summons, rather than a preliminary order, precludes an appeal. The purpose of a preliminary order is two-fold. First, a preliminary order notifies a respondent that a petition has been filed and directs the respondent to file an answer to the petition within a set amount of time. Rule 97.05. Second, it allows the court, in its discretion, to restrict a respondent from engaging in certain activities. Rule 97.05. The function of a summons, such as the one issued in this case, accomplishes the first purpose of a preliminary order. A summons notifies that a pleading has been filed, and it provides a fixed time in which a response must be filed. Rules 54.01 and 54.02. Both a preliminary order in prohibition and a summons serve to elicit the filing of a response to a petition. Although the circuit court called the document it issued a summons rather than a preliminary order, the substance of the document is the equivalent to a preliminary order in prohibition. A legal document is not judged by its title but by its substance and content. See State v. Abeln, 136 S.W.3d 803, 813 (Mo.App.2004) (quotation marks and citation omitted). The issuance of a summons is not authorized or anticipated by Rule 97. Nevertheless, the summons issued by the circuit court, in substance, met the purpose of a preliminary order in prohibition and triggered property owners' right to appeal. Accordingly, property owners were entitled to appeal, on the merits, the circuit court's judgment denying their petition in prohibition. [5]