City appeals court’s decision in Bull Moose Tube lawsuit

By Linda Trest, Staff Writer
Posted 11/13/19

Last Tuesday, Nov. 5, the city of Gerald filed an appeal in a judgement made against them in the 20th Circuit Court.

The judgement was a result of a lawsuit filed by Bull Moose Tube, Co. (BMT) …

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City appeals court’s decision in Bull Moose Tube lawsuit

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Last Tuesday, Nov. 5, the city of Gerald filed an appeal in a judgement made against them in the 20th Circuit Court.

The judgement was a result of a lawsuit filed by Bull Moose Tube, Co. (BMT) against the city. BMT occupies a city-owned building in accordance with a decades-old lease.

The lawsuit, according to the city, was filed in the middle of amicable negotiations with BMT on selling them the building and property which they occupy or changing the lease terms.

The city had until Nov. 11 to file an appeal of the decision handed down by Judge Gael Wood, Oct. 30.

When asked about an appeal in a telephone interview last Tuesday, Ed Adams, president of the Board of Aldermen, indicated the city had not made a decision. Apparently a decision had been made and the appeal already filed. It cannot be determined when the board met to make the decision to appeal.

The following day, Wednesday, Nov. 6, the Missouri Court of Appeals filed an acknowledgement of the appeal.

A notification from the city’s website was emailed last Thursday. It stated, “The City has appealed and is optimistic about its chances of reversing that decision.

City Clerk Jane Hungler says the email notice was reviewed by city officials prior to being sent. “There were no objections,” she said.

The city’s emailed statement also objected to The Republican’s article that ran in last week’s paper.

“You may have recently seen in the media information that the City is struggling with debt from its defense of the Bull Moose lawsuit. Such reports are untrue,” the post stated.

The email noted that the city is meeting its obligations on its bills. It also said that it hopes to recover its attorney fees from BMT. That could be possible if the city wins its appeal.

As stated in last week’s article, it cannot be determined exactly how much is owed to attorneys. The last time a legal bill concerning the BMT lawsuit was made public was in October 2018. At that time, totals were nearing $200,000.

At one time, Hungler estimated total attorney fees in excess of $400,000. For a city with a budget of just over $1 million it seems fair to say that is a staggering amount.

As the post states, “(T)he final cost of defending Bull Moose’s lawsuit remains to be determined.”

Perhaps the city will be able to work out a more favorable deal with the law firm.

Perhaps they will win their appeal.

It is hard to tell without the information being made public.

The city’s position on the law suit was made clear in the email:

The City has a fiscal responsibility to taxpayers to be responsible stewards of community resources. For decades, Bull Moose has occupied more than 11 acres of public property and a 100,000-square foot public building for only $4,600 per year without a valid lease. The City was negotiating with Bull Moose for a fair deal when, without warning, Bull Moose sued the City. The City then had to defend the lawsuit and as part of its defense, brought its own claims, including its claim for its attorneys’ fees for defending Bull Moose’s lawsuit. Recently, the Franklin County Circuit Court decided the case for Bull Moose. The City has appealed and is optimistic about its chances of reversing that decision.