Opinion ID: 1665404
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: The defendants question that the dismissal without prejudice entered by the trial court was a final judgment from which an appeal can be taken, and hence the jurisdiction of this Court to adjudicate the complaints of error. They rest on the holding of the court of appeals in Mullins v. Miller, 796 S.W.2d 119 (Mo.App.1990), that a dismissal without prejudice under § 538.225.5 for failure to comply with the affidavit requirement of the statute is not a final judgment for the purpose of appeal. Mullins draws that conclusion of law from the premises of Rule 67.03 that a dismissal without prejudice permits the party to bring another civil action for the same cause and from the general principle that, [w]ith exceptions ... a dismissal without prejudice is not an adjudication on the merits. A dismissal without prejudice may nevertheless operate to preclude the party from bringing another action for the same cause, and may nevertheless be res judicata of what the judgment actually decided. Douglas v. Thompson, 286 S.W.2d 833, 834 (Mo.1956). When the effect of the order is to dismiss the plaintiff's action and not the pleading merely, then the judgment entered is final and appealable. White v. Sievers, 359 Mo. 145, 221 S.W.2d 118, 122 (banc 1949). The dismissal without prejudice for failure of the petition to state a claim, when the party elects not to plead further, amounts to a determination that the plaintiff has no action. In such a case, the judgment of dismissalalbeit without prejudiceamounts to an adjudication on the merits and may be appealed. Hasemeier v. Smith, 361 S.W.2d 697, 699 (Mo. banc 1962); Nicholson v. Nicholson, 685 S.W.2d 588, 589 (Mo.App.1985). This train of exceptions serves to preserve to a plaintiff rights that otherwise would be lost from a dismissal, which, although without prejudice, becomes res judicata of what that judgment actually decides. Healy v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe R.R. Co., 287 S.W.2d 813, 815 (Mo.1956); Douglas v. Thompson, 286 S.W.2d at 834. It is explicit in § 538.255.5 that the dismissal without prejudice sanction for failure to file the health care provider affidavit is a dismissal of the action, and not merely the petition. It is a judgment that the action may not continue. The plaintiffs here have not sought an order for an extension of time to produce the affidavits as a response to the motion to dismiss, but stand on the right under the state and federal constitutions to maintain the action unencumbered by that requirement. It would be redundant as well as futile to put the plaintiffs to the precondition of a new petition. A dismissal without prejudice is the only sanction that § 538.225 allows for noncompliance with the affidavit condition. Unless an appeal lies from the judgment, the right to test the constitutionality of the statute that imposes it will be lost to the plaintiffs and the questionalthough bound to recurwill languish. The judgment of dismissal without prejudice under § 538.225.5 is final and appealable. The holding to the contrary in Mullins v. Miller, 796 S.W.2d 119 (Mo.App. 1990) is overruled. This Court has jurisdiction. Mo. Const., art. V, § 3. The defendants Doerhoff suggest a second impediment to our exercise of appellate jurisdiction. They cite Rule 87.04 to require notice to the Attorney General of Missouri in any proceeding wherein a statute is alleged to be unconstitutional, and the neglect of the plaintiffs to comply although they seek to invalidate § 538.225. They assert that such failure raises a jurisdictional question. In support of the contention they mention, but without exposition, Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of St. Louis v. City of St. Louis, 270 S.W.2d 58 (Mo. banc 1954), and Yellow Freight Systems v. Mayor's Comm'n. on Human Rights, 737 S.W.2d 250 (Mo.App.1987). Rule 87.04 rescripts § 527.110, RSMo 1986. The entirety of Rule 87 and Chapter 527, of which Rule 87.04 and § 527.110 are subparts, is entitled DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS. The text of these provisions is drawn from and identical to § 11 of the UNIFORM DECLARATORY JUDGMENTS ACT. See, Unif. Declaratory Judgments Acts § 11, 12 U.L.A. 516 (1975). The two cases cited by the defendants Doerhoff, as well as all of the Missouri cases that construe Rule 87.04 are declaratory judgment actions. Indeed, every case that has dealt with that section of the uniform act, either as rule or statute and whether within or without Missouri, has involved only the sui generis declaratory judgment remedy. See Rule 87.04 and Unif. Declaratory Judgments Act § 11, 12 U.L.A. 516 (1975). In actions for declaratory judgment that challenge the constitutionality of a statute, our law follows the general rule that notice to the Attorney General is mandatory. Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, 270 S.W.2d at 63. This is not an action for declaratory judgment.