Section 2.49 Taxpayer Standing

• Library: Construction Law 2016 Supp

a. (§2.49) Taxpayer Standing

While Missouri courts have held that an unsuccessful bidder has no standing in its capacity as an unsuccessful bidder to challenge a contract award, courts have recognized that taxpayers may bring a challenge to the award of any contract that violates state statutes or county ordinances. In 1989, the Supreme Court, in Eastern Missouri Laborers District Council v. St. Louis County, Missouri, 781 S.W.2d 43 (Mo. banc 1989), addressed the issue of taxpayer standing. The Court held that a taxpayer has standing to contest the award of a contract if he or she demonstrates that the contract amount is a direct expenditure of funds generated through taxation, or an increased levy in taxes, or demonstrates a pecuniary loss incurred by the public entity attributable to the challenged transaction. The Court stated that public policy demands a system of checks and balances whereby taxpayers can hold public officials accountable for their acts. The Court noted that taxpayers must have some mechanism of enforcing the law.

In Eastern Missouri Laborers District Council, the...