HB 440 -- Trial de Novo Petitions

Sponsor:  Roorda

This bill allows any employee of the state or any political
subdivision who has exhausted his or her administrative remedies
and who is aggrieved by an agency's final decision in a contested
case involving an employment matter to petition the circuit court
for a trial de novo as an alternative to seeking judicial review
of the administrative decision.  The employee must file an
application for trial de novo with the circuit clerk within 30
days after the mailing or delivery of the agency's final
decision.  The agency must file with the court a copy of the
plaintiff's petition or complaint as presented to the agency as
well as the agency's decision within 30 days after the filing of
the application for trial de novo.

The court may order a stay of the enforcement of the agency's
order pending a final judgment.  The court must hear the case
with a jury as the trier of fact, unless all plaintiffs waive a
trial by jury in writing before the jury is sworn in.  Any
findings of fact and conclusions of law reached by the
administrative hearing body are not admissible into evidence in
the trial de novo unless all parties agree in writing to the
admissibility of the evidence.  An appeal may be taken on the
court's judgment as in other civil cases.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:24 am