1340S.02C
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SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 168
AN ACT
To repeal sections 534.602, 534.604, and 569.200,
RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections
relating to the unlawful occupancy of property, with
penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 534.602, 534.604, and 569.200, RSMo,
are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to
be known as sections 534.602, 534.604, and 569.200, to read as
follows:
534.602. 1. For purposes of this section, the
following terms mean:
(1) "Commercial vacant building", a building used for
commercial purposes, not including buildings containing a
single or multifamily residential dwelling, where less than
thirty percent of the total square footage of the build ing
is unoccupied and not used for the intended commercial
purpose of the building;
(2) "Petitioner", the property owner, or an authorized
agent of a property owner, of property containing a
residential dwelling , property containing a commercial
vacant building, or property exclusively consisting of
vacant land, who has filed a verified petition under the
provisions of this section;
[(2)] (3) "Respondent", the person or persons
unlawfully occupying property containing a residential
dwelling, property containing a commercial vacant building,
or property exclusively consisting of vacant land, against
whom a verified petition has been filed;
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[(3)] (4) "Unlawful occupant" or "unlawful occupants",
any person or persons who detain, oc cupy, or trespass on
property containing a residential dwelling , property
containing a commercial vacant building, or property
exclusively consisting of vacant land, without the
permission of the property owner, who otherwise have no
legal right to occupy the property under state law, and who
are not afforded any protections provided to a tenant under
state law;
(5) "Vacant land", any parcel or combination of
parcels of real property not used for industrial,
commercial, or residential buildin gs. The term "vacant
land" shall not include agricultural and horticultural
property, as such term is defined in section 137.016 .
2. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to
the contrary, a property owner or his or her authorized
agent may seek relief for the removal of a person or persons
unlawfully occupying property containing a residential
dwelling, property containing a commercial vacant building,
or property exclusively consisting of vacant land, under
this section by filing a v erified petition in the county or
city not within a county where the property is located.
3. Except as provided in subsection 6 of this section,
clerks of the court under the supervision of a circuit clerk
shall explain to the property owner or hi s or her authorized
agent not represented by counsel the procedures for filing
all forms and pleadings necessary for the presentation of
his or her petition to the court. Notice of the fact that
clerks will provide such assistance shall be conspicuous ly
posted in the clerks' offices. The location of the office
where a petition can be filed shall be conspicuously posted
in the court building. The performance of duties prescribed
in this section shall not constitute the practice of law as
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defined in section 484.010. All duties of the clerk
prescribed in this section shall be performed without cost
to the litigants. The supreme court may promulgate rules as
necessary to govern conduct of court clerks under this
section and shall provide forms for petitions and written
instructions on filling out all forms and pleadings
necessary for the presentation of the petition to the court.
4. Filing fees and court costs under this section
shall be the same as filing fees and court costs required
when filing a claim in associate circuit court.
5. (1) Upon the filing of a verified petition under
this section, and for good cause shown in the verified
petition, the court shall immediately issue an ex parte
order to remove the respondent. The assertion of sufficient
evidence that the person or persons are unlawfully occupying
property containing a residential dwelling , property
containing a commercial vacant building, or property
exclusively consisting of vacant land, shall constitute good
cause for purposes of this section. The verified petition
shall set forth the following:
(a) The petitioner is the property owner or authorized
agent of the property owner;
(b) The property that is being occupied includes a
residential dwelling or a commercial vacant building, or
exclusively consists of vacant land ;
(c) An unlawful occupant or unlawful occupants have
entered and remain or continue to reside on the property
owner's property;
(d) The real property was not op en to members of the
public at the time the unlawful occupant or unlawful
occupants entered;
(e) The unlawful occupant or unlawful occupants are
occupying the property without the permission of the
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property owner and are not guests of the propert y owner nor
otherwise authorized to make use of the property;
(f) The property owner has directed the unlawful
occupant or unlawful occupants to leave the property and the
unlawful occupant or unlawful occupants have failed or
refused to vacate the premises;
(g) The property has not been leased to any person for
three consecutive months, and the unlawful occupant or
unlawful occupants are not current or former tenants of the
property pursuant to any agreement with the property owner;
(h) The unlawful occupant or unlawful occupants are
not immediate family members of the property owner; and
(i) There is no pending litigation related to the real
property between the property owner and any known unlawful
occupant or unlawful oc cupants.
(2) An ex parte order to have the unlawful occupant or
unlawful occupants removed from property containing a
residential dwelling , property containing a commercial
vacant building, or property exclusively consisting of
vacant land, entered by the court shall take effect when
entered and shall remain in effect until there is valid
service of process and a hearing is held on the motion.
Such hearing shall be held within [forty-eight] twenty-four
hours of filing the verified petition un less good cause is
shown for a delay. The court shall deny the ex parte order
and dismiss the petition if the petitioner is not authorized
to seek relief or does not show good cause.
(3) Failure to serve an ex parte order on the
respondent shall not affect the validity or enforceability
of such order.
6. (1) If the court is unavailable after business
hours or on holidays or weekends, a verified petition for
removal of the unlawful occupant or unlawful occupants from
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property under this section may be filed before any
available court in the city or county having jurisdiction to
hear the verified petition under the guidelines developed
under subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(2) All papers in connection with the filing of a
verified petition or the granting of an ex parte order under
this subsection shall be certified by such court or the
clerk within the next regular business day to the circuit
court having jurisdiction to hear the verified petition.
(3) The supreme court shall develop guidelines that
ensure a verified petition under this section may be filed
on evenings, holidays, and weekends.
7. Any ex parte order granted under this section shall
be to protect the petitioner from trespass by an unlawful
occupant or unlawful occupants and may include such terms as
the court reasonably deems necessary to ensure the
petitioner's safety including, but not limited to:
(1) Restraining the respondent from committing or
threatening to commit any act of vio lence, molestation,
stalking, assault, or disturbing the peace of the petitioner
or the petitioner's property, including violence against a
pet;
(2) Restraining the respondent from entering the
petitioner's premises or dwelling unit or coming wit hin a
certain proximity of the petitioner's premises or dwelling
unit; and
(3) Restraining the respondent from communicating with
the petitioner in any manner or through any medium.
[7.] 8. When the court has, after a hearing on the
verified petition, issued an order for relief to permanently
exclude [an unlawful occupant or unlawful occupants ] the
respondent from the petitioner's property, it may
additionally:
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(1) Permanently restrain the respondent from
committing or threatening to commit any act of violence,
molestation, stalking, assault, or disturbing the peace of
the petitioner or the petitioner's property, including
violence against a pet;
(2) Permanently restrain the respondent from entering
the petitioner's premis es or dwelling unit or coming within
a certain proximity of the petitioner's premises or dwelling
unit;
(3) Permanently restrain the respondent from
communicating with the petitioner in any manner or through
any medium;
(4) Permanently expel the respondent from occupying
the petitioner's premises or dwelling unit;
(5) Permanently expel the respondent's personal
property from the petitioner's premises or dwelling unit;
(6) Order the respondent to pay all costs of repair to
the petitioner's premises or dwelling unit relating to
damages caused by the respondent;
(7) Order the respondent to pay all costs associated
with service of any ex parte order authorized against the
respondent; or
(8) Order the respondent to pa y court costs.
[8.] 9. A verified petition seeking an ex parte order
under this section shall contain allegations relating to
those orders and shall pray for the orders desired.
[9.] 10. Once the court grants an order under this
section, the sheriff of the county or city not within a
county in which the property is located shall enforce such
order by removing the respondent from the property.
[10.] 11. If appropriate, the sheriff may arrest any
person found in the dwelling for trespa ss, outstanding
warrants, or any other legal cause.
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[11.] 12. The sheriff is entitled to the same fee for
the service of the ex parte order granted under this section
as if the sheriff were serving a writ of possession under
section 57.280. After the sheriff serves the order, the
property owner or authorized agent may request that the
sheriff stand by to keep the peace while the property owner
or agent of the property owner changes the locks and removes
the personal property of the unlawful o ccupants from the
premises to or near the property line. When such a request
is made, the sheriff may charge a reasonable hourly rate,
and the person requesting the sheriff to stand by and keep
the peace is responsible for paying the reasonable hourly
rate set by the sheriff. The sheriff shall not be liable to
the unlawful occupant or occupants or to any other party for
the loss, destruction, or damage of property. The property
owner or his or her authorized agent shall not be liable to
an unlawful occupant or any other party for the loss,
destruction, or damage to the personal property unless the
removal was wrongful.
[12.] 13. A person may bring a civil cause of action
if the person was removed from the property under this
section without just cause. Such person may seek restored
possession to the real property, actual damages to personal
property when personal property was removed, statutory
damages in the amount of one thousand dollars, and
reimbursement of court costs. Any damages authorized under
this subsection shall be offset by any damages to the real
property inflicted by the person who was removed from the
real property without just cause. Such damages to real
property shall be proven by the property owner. Awards of
actual damages shall not exceed the value of the damaged
personal property.
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[13.] 14. The provisions of this section do not limit
the rights of a property owner or limit the authority of a
law enforcement officer to arrest an unlawful occupant for
trespassing, vandalism, theft, or other crimes.
[14.] 15. All proceedings under this section are in
addition to any other available civil or criminal remedies,
unless otherwise specifically provided in this section.
[15.] 16. (1) The court shall retain jurisdiction
over the ex parte order or full order of protection issued
under this section for its entire duration. The court may
schedule compliance review hearings to monitor the
respondent's compliance with the order.
(2) The terms of the ex parte order or full order of
protection issued under this section are enforceable by all
remedies available at law for the enforcement of a judgment,
and the court may punish a respondent who willfully violates
the ex parte order to th e same extent as provided by law for
contempt of the court in any other suit or proceeding
cognizable by the court.
534.604. 1. When a law enforcement officer has
probable cause to believe that a party, against whom an ex
parte order under section 534.602 has been entered and who
has notice of such order entered, has committed an act in
violation of such order, the law enforcement officer shall
arrest the offending party -respondent regardless of whether
the violation occurred in th e presence of the arresting law
enforcement officer.
2. In an arrest in which a law enforcement officer
acted in good faith reliance on this section, the arresting
and assisting law enforcement officers and their employing
entities and superiors shall be immune from liability in any
civil action alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, or
malicious prosecution.
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3. A violation of the terms and conditions of an ex
parte order under section 534.602 shall be a class [A
misdemeanor] E felony. For the purposes of this subsection,
in addition to the notice provided by actual service of the
order, a party is deemed to have notice of an ex parte order
under section 534.602 if:
(1) The law enforcement officer responding to a call
of a violation of an ex parte order under section 534.602
presented a copy of the ex parte order to the respondent; or
(2) Notice is given by actual communication to the
respondent in a manner reasonably likely to advise the
respondent.
4. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as
creating a civil cause of action for damages to enforce the
provisions set forth in this section.
569.200. 1. A person commits the offense of criminal
mischief if he or she unlawfully detains, occupies, or
trespasses upon a residential dwelling , commercial vacant
building, or property exclusively consisting of vacant land .
2. The offense of criminal mischief is a class [A
misdemeanor] E felony.
3. The terms "commercial vacant buil ding" and "vacant
land" shall have the same meanings as such terms in section
534.602.