Scott Family Props., LP v. Mo. Highways & Transp. Comm'n
Scott Family Props., LP v. Mo. Highways & Transp. Comm'n
Opinion of the Court
Lisa Van Amburg, Judge *607Scott Family Properties appeals from the trial court's judgment dismissing with prejudice its petition against the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for inverse condemnation. We affirm.
Background
Scott owns an office building adjacent to Interstate 64 in Chesterfield. In 2015, the Commission built a sound wall on its own property between the highway and Scott's building without first providing Scott notice or an opportunity to comment as provided by Missouri Department of Transportation policy.
The trial court granted the Commission's motion to dismiss, citing Missouri precedent holding that landowners have no legally enforceable right to the public's access to or visibility of their property. Scott appeals and asserts that such precedent doesn't apply where, as here, the Commission's action was unlawful.
Standard of Review
The standard of review for a trial court's grant of a motion to dismiss is de novo , accepting the facts alleged in the petition as true and construing them liberally in favor of the plaintiff. Lynch v. Lynch ,
Discussion
In its sole point, Scott contends that the trial court erred in relying on Missouri precedent governing traditional inverse condemnation cases rather than determining the adequacy of the petition on the elements of inverse condemnation based on nuisance. Inverse condemnation is the exclusive remedy when private property is taken or damaged without compensation as a result of a nuisance operated by an entity that has the power of eminent *608domain. Miller v. City of Wentzville ,
First, we note that the procedures in question are not codified in the Missouri Revised Statutes or Code of State Regulations; rather, they are stated in section 127.13 of an Engineering Policy Guide published by MoDOT in accordance with Federal Highway Administration Noise Standards as criteria for federal funding.
Second, even accepting Scott's premise that the Commission's procedural omissions were unlawful-or at least unreasonable-in satisfaction of the second element of nuisance, Missouri precedent still precludes an affirmative finding on the third element: injury. To prevail on a claim for inverse condemnation, a landowner "must plead and prove an invasion or appropriation of some valuable property right" that "directly and specially affects the landowner to his injury." Dynasty Home, L.C. v. Pub. Water Supply Dist. No. 3 of Franklin Cty., Missouri ,
*609Finally, Scott urges this court to ignore these authorities and instead rely on cases holding that unsightliness affecting property value creates an actionable nuisance. See e.g. Rosenfeld v. Thoele ,
Conclusion
Even assuming that the Commission's procedural omissions were unreasonable, Scott cannot establish injury to a recognized property right so as to satisfy the elements of inverse condemnation based on nuisance. The trial court's judgment dismissing Scott's petition is affirmed.
Colleen Dolan, P.J., and Sherri B. Sullivan, J., concur.
While the Commission does not concede these facts, this court's standard of review directs that we accept as true Scott's allegation that the Commission failed to comply with applicable procedures for notice and public input. Lynch v. Lynch ,
Scott's first petition also asserted state and federal constitutional claims on theories of due process and equal protection. The case was removed to federal court, where the District Court dismissed the federal claims as unripe for failure to exhaust state remedies and also dismissed all claims on the merits for failure to state a claim. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Scott Family Properties, LP v. Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission ,
Scott urges this court to ignore its own precedent in Forty Mill and 44 Plaza on the basis that other cases cited therein didn't mandate our conclusion that visibility isn't a property right. Scott's argument fails on multiple levels. First, Forty Mill and Plaza 44 (which the Missouri Supreme Court declined to review) are binding on this court as a matter of stare decisis . James v. Missouri State Highway Patrol ,
Scott concedes that, if the Commission had followed its own procedures, then Scott would have no actionable injury. In other words, Scott suggests that the Commission's unreasonableness is itself the injury. Scott thus conflates two separate elements of nuisance.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.