Court Opinion

ID: 9681476
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:51:16.257484+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:34.160675
License: Public Domain

BLACKMAR, Judge,
dissenting.
The principal opinion, through a surfeit of conceptualistic analysis, unnecessarily deprives the plaintiffs in the trial court of insurance coverage which the relator undertook to furnish. I disagree, and would quash the preliminary rule.
I agree that the question of sovereign immunity is properly raised by writ of prohibition. We have recognized that State ex rel. Morasch v. Kimberlin, 654 S.W.2d 889 (Mo. banc 1983), is not an obstacle. State ex rel. New Liberty Hospital District v. Pratt, 687 S.W.2d 184 (Mo. banc 1985).
The sole question before us is whether St. Louis Housing Authority is a “municipality” within the sense of § 71.185, RSMo 1978. In ruling that question, the case of St. Louis Housing Authority v. City of St. Louis, 361 Mo. 1170, 239 S.W.2d 289 (Mo. banc 1951) stares us in the face. There we held that the Housing Authority was a “municipality” within the compass of § 70.230, RSMo 1978. It seems only reasonable that the legislature would have had this holding in mind when, eight years later it enacted § 71.185. The principal opinion observes that such terms as “municipality” and “municipal corporation” may be construed in different ways, depending on the context. No reason is adduced as to why the Housing Authority should be held to be a municipality in 1951 for purposes of the corporation statutes, but should not be held to be a municipality in 1985 for purposes of the statutes authorizing procurement of insurance.
Beiser v. Parkway School District, 589 S.W.2d 277 (Mo. banc 1979), relied on by petitioner and in the principal opinion, is not at all on point, because it deals with a school district. Authorities are divided as to whether a school district is a “municipal corporation,” 1 but I am aware of no case in which a school district has been held to be a “municipality.” Beiser certainly does not *464so hold. I never considered the Beiser opinion, rendered by a sharply divided court, to be a model of logic, but, be that as it may, the case is not on point here.
The end result of the principal opinion is that the relator, St. Louis Housing Authority, voluntarily chose to procure liability insurance for tort claims, but, when a suit was brought, piously asserted that it had no authority to provide this insurance. Its defense along these lines was without doubt engineered by the very insurance company which sold it the policy and collected the premium. In this situation, I would reject the holding of another sharply divided court in Bartley v. Special School District of St. Louis, 649 S.W.2d 864, 868 (Mo. banc 1983), to the effect that waivers of sovereign immunity are to be construed strictly. Section 71.185 should not be considered as a statute waiving sovereign immunity but rather as a statute authorizing a public agency to procure insurance. There is no need for a strict construction. If, however, a strict construction is needed, a construction which applies the most recent definition found in the case law should be strict enough.
The principal opinion, furthermore, seeks to apply the hoary “Dillon rule,” in saying that doubts as to the presence of power in a municipal corporation are to be resolved against the existence of the power. Recent Missouri constitutional amendments appear to me to modify the Dillon rule in favor of a greater degree of municipal home rule.2
I would quash the provisional rule in prohibition.

. Municipal corporations perform many functions, as opposed to school districts, which only provide education. Carrollton School District v. Gordon, 133 S.W. 44 (Mo. banc 1910). School districts are public corporations. State v. Nolte, 350 Mo. 842, 169 S.W.2d 50 (1943). Public corporations may be municipal corporations. State ex rel. Milham v. Rickhoff, 633 S.W.2d 733 (Mo. banc 1982).

. Mo. Const. Art. VI, Sec. 19(a).