Court Opinion

ID: 9642663
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 18:05:27.983993+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:50.559966
License: Public Domain

RICHARD B. TEITELMAN, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The party challenging venue bears the burden of persuasion and proof to show that venue is improper. State ex rel. Etter, Inc. v. Neill, 70 S.W.3d 28, 31 (Mo.App.2002). A plaintiff is not required to plead venue. Wood v. Wood, 716 S.W.2d 491, 494 (Mo.App.1986).
Igoe did not specifically plead venue and the defendants’ arguments challenging venue in the City of St. Louis were limited to the application of the MHRA and Title VII venue provisions. Although the defendants bore the burdens of persuasion and proof, they did not make an argument that venue was improper under the MHRA. The MHRA governs venue in this case. Consequently, I would hold that the defendants did not carry their burden of proving that venue was improper in the City of St. Louis under the MHRA. The judgment should be affirmed.