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Aug. 8, 2024 |  By: Allison Kite - Missouri Independent

Judge dismisses lawsuit before Missouri attorney general could be questioned under oath

andrew bailey

By Allison Kite - Missouri Independent

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey narrowly avoided being questioned under oath about his contact with a Jackson County official when he was granted a motion to dismiss his lawsuit against the county on Thursday. 

Bailey, who filed suit against the county late last year over its property tax assessment process, was ordered by the judge in the case to sit for a deposition regarding communication with Jackson County Legislator Sean Smith which appeared to violate legal ethics rules. 

According to court filings, the deposition was set for Thursday morning. 

But after a series of legal maneuvers to avoid the deposition failed, Bailey asked the judge to dismiss the entire case. In the filing, he said it was no longer necessary because the State Tax Commission issued an order instructing Jackson County to roll back the property assessments.

Jackson County officials cried foul Thursday, arguing in a press release that the tax commission “is being used as a shield for Attorney General Bailey, who is trying to escape accountability after lying and realizing he was losing the case.”

Jackson County noted Bailey less than a month ago called the case “one of the most important pieces of litigation to reach a Missouri courtroom in decades.”

“Yet after only three days of trial, he chose to drop the case entirely,” the county said. “This abrupt reversal exposes the lawsuit for what it truly was: a politically motivated tactic that has cost Missouri taxpayers countless dollars and eroded public trust.”

Bailey’s spokeswoman, Madeline Sieren, said were it not for the commission’s order, the attorney general “would have pushed the lawsuit forward…and we would have won.” 

“Pushing the lawsuit forward could have jeopardized the much needed relief offered in the Tax Commission’s order and would be counterproductive for Jackson County taxpayers,” Sieren said in an email. 

At issue in the case was Jackson County’s 2023 property assessment process, which, according to Bailey’s original lawsuit, resulted in an average 30% increase in values across hundreds of thousands of properties. The higher property values mean some homeowners will see their property tax bill increase.

Bailey’s lawsuit accused the county of violating a law requiring it to offer physical inspections before increasing a property’s value by more than 15%.

The county argued Bailey waited too long to file the lawsuit as property tax bills had been paid and money distributed to government departments. And, the county said, the attorney general couldn’t file a case unless the State Tax Commission had first attempted to resolve the issue. 

Bailey and a deputy then came under scrutiny for meeting with Smith. Under Missouri Supreme Court rules, attorneys are not to communicate about a lawsuit with individuals represented in the case by another lawyer without the consent of the other lawyer.

Bailey maintained that his meeting with Smith amounted to nothing more than a campaign meeting with little discussion of the lawsuit. On Tuesday, Bailey won the GOP primary for attorney general. Smith ran unopposed in the Republican primary for 5th District Congressional seat and will face incumbent U.S. Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, II in the general election in November. 

Jackson County attorneys sought sanctions against Bailey, and Clay County Circuit Judge Karen Krauser granted them permission to take his deposition.

Bailey’s office tried several times in July to get out of the deposition. Then on Tuesday, Bailey appealed the judge’s decision. A Missouri Court of Appeals judge denied that on Wednesday.

Later on Wednesday, Bailey filed a motion to dismiss the case outright, citing the Missouri State Tax Commission order.

Krauser granted that motion Thursday morning and dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Bailey can’t refile it.

Bailey said the State Tax Commission used information his office gathered in the discovery process for the lawsuit.

Jackson County’s press release called officials’ estimate of what rolling back the property assessments would cost “devastating.” The county said schools and libraries would lose $86.3 million in funds they’ve already “received, budgeted and spent.” Cities and fire districts, the county said, would lose almost $20 million. 

“Jackson County firmly believes that fairness will prevail once again,” the county said, “and we will not allow our community to be sacrificed for political gain.”