Section 9.3 Overview of Missouri Position

• Library: Local Government Deskbook (2017 Ed.)

B. (§9.3) Overview of Missouri Position

The common law adopted by Missouri when it came into the Union in 1821 was that an action could not be maintained for negligence against the public. O’Dell v. Sch. Dist. of Independence, 521 S.W.2d 403, 407 (Mo. banc 1975). Missouri has retained the doctrine of sovereign immunity to the present time although there have been significant changes in the doctrine since 1977, the year the Supreme Court of Missouri dealt with abrogating sovereign immunity as explained in the following paragraph and in §9.7 below.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a number of states, beginning with Florida, either completely or partially abolished the doctrine of sovereign immunity. William L. Prosser, The Law of Torts § 125, p. 1012...