State ex rel. Picker v. Gaertner
STATE of Missouri ex rel. the Interests of Elbert PICKER, Relator v. The Honorable Carl R. GAERTNER
Opinion of the Court
Text extracted by OCR from a scanned original; check the original for exact wording.
GUNN, Presiding Judge.
By petition for writ of prohibition, relator challenges the venue of the St. Louis Circuit Court in a personal injury case asserted on residence of the defendant ad litem. A preliminary writ was issued which we now make absolute.
The underlying action stems from an automobile accident occurring in St. Louis County. All parties except the defendant ad litem appointed pursuant to § 537.021.-1(2), RSMo 1978, reside in St. Louis County. Based solely on the St. Louis residence of the defendant ad litem, plaintiffs filed suit in the St. Louis Circuit Court. The core issue is whether the residence of the defendant ad litem controls venue. It does not.
State ex rel. Gannon v. Gaertner, 592 S.W.2d 214 (Mo.App.1979), is absolutely dis-positive. Gannon involved an identical situation to this case and held that the defendant ad litem is merely a nominal defendant, having no personal interest in or liability *46 for the litigation. As such, his residence cannot serve as a basis for venue.
As no other error of law appears and an extended opinion would be of no preceden-tial value, the writ preliminarily issued is made permanent and the action is dismissed without prejudice. Rule 84.16(b).
Preliminary writ of prohibition is made absolute.
STEPHAN and PUDLOWSKI, JJ., concur.
How later courts describe this case
No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.
Cited by 3 cases
View all citing references →Relies on it most ⓘ
Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.