Kansas City, Mo. – December 15, 2021 – Rouse Frets White Goss Gentile Rhodes attorney Mary Jo Shaney was lead counsel on a case representing the Branson Hills Facility Infrastructure Community Improvement District (the CID). The case was ultimately won and regarded by the Court of Appeals as a matter of “first impression,” interpreting Missouri’s Community Improvement District Act.
With Rouse Frets attorney Kevin Mason, Shaney represented the CID in a quiet title lawsuit brought by the plaintiff Real Estate Recovery, LLC. Real Estate Recovery bought property located within the CID that was sold at a tax delinquency sale under Missouri’s Jones-Munger Act. The delinquent assessments included some levied by the CID. Real Estate Recovery argued it purchased the parcels within the CID boundaries free and clear of assessments levied by the CID, including future assessments. The District argued the tax sale did not extinguish future assessments, in that CID assessments for purposes of delinquency are treated as real estate taxes.
The Trial Court ruled in favor of the CID. The decision was appealed by Real Estate Recovery to the Court of Appeals, Southern District of Missouri. The Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the Trial Court’s Judgment in favor of the CID. The Missouri Supreme Court denied review in 2021. The Court of Appeals referred to the case as one of “first impression” requiring statutory interpretation of the interplay between the Jones-Munger Act and the CID Act, which the Court found must be read in harmony with each other.
About Mary Jo Shaney
Mary Jo Shaney is a seasoned trial attorney with experience in state and federal courts. Among others, her substantive practice areas include land use and regulatory hearings, appeals and litigation, and related constitutional challenges affecting private property rights. This includes disputes over development plans, plats, use permits, variances, and zoning decisions.
About Kevin Mason
Kevin Mason is a veteran of the courts. He has wide-ranging litigation experience in commercial, real estate, transportation, and employment litigation matters in state and federal courts on both sides of the Missouri and Kansas state line.
About the firm:
Rouse Frets White Goss Gentile Rhodes deploys skilled and client-focused practice groups to engineer favorable solutions in efficient and effective ways. The firm’s litigation teams have a national reach with collective career experience in cases in more than 40 states and eight federal circuits including over 500 bench and jury trials. For more information, visit www.rousepc.com.
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