115.579. Duty of circuit clerk upon filing of petition — answer, when due. — 1. Immediately after a petition is filed, the clerk of the circuit court shall issue a summons upon the petition to the contestee, returnable by the day designated by the circuit court to the circuit court. The summons shall be served in any county of the state in the same manner provided for service of process in civil actions. If the contestee cannot be found within two days, the summons shall be served by leaving the summons and a copy of the petition at the residence address shown on the contestee's declaration of candidacy and by posting the summons in a conspicuous place in the office of the clerk of the circuit court.
2. Immediately after the petition is filed, the clerk of the circuit court shall send by certified or registered mail a certified copy of the petition to the election authority responsible for issuing a statement announcing the results of the contested election and to each election authority responsible for conducting the election in any area where an alleged irregularity occurred.
3. Not later than fifteen days after the petition is filed, the contestee may file an answer to the petition, specifying reasons why his nomination should not be contested. If the contestee wishes to contest the validity of any votes given to the contestant, he shall set forth in his answer the votes he wishes to contest and the facts he will prove in support of such contest and shall pray leave to produce his proof.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
10
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1980–2022 · leading case:
Foster v. Evert, 751 S.W.2d 42 (Mo. 1988).
Foster v. Evert, 751 S.W.2d 42 (Mo. 1988).
· cites it 22× “Appellant attacks the constitutionality of Section 115.579, RSMo 1986. The dispositive issue, however, is whether the circuit court obtains jurisdiction over a general election contest when the circuit clerk issues a summons with a thirty-day return date in the face of Section…”
Beatty v. Metro. St. Louis Sewer Dist., 700 S.W.2d 831 (Mo. 1985).
· cites it 2× “Count III asks the court to enjoin MSD from issuing the proposed bonds and from pledging increased rates to service the bonds without a vote of the people. 5 . MSD and the County Board argue that appellant’s failure to file a verified petition and comply with the requirements of…”
Hometown Lumber & Hardware, Inc. v. Koelling, 816 S.W.2d 914 (Mo. 1991).
· cites it 3× “Mitchell pertained to the challenge of an election result and involved § 115.579, RSMo 1978. As regards the service of process under § 115.”
Mitchell v. Carrington, 610 S.W.2d 412 (Mo. Ct. App. 1980).
· cites it 3× “Upon receipt of the petition, the circuit clerk, failing to observe the directions of § 115.579, RSMo 1978, issued a summons upon Civil Procedure Form No.”
Mickels v. Henderson, 642 S.W.2d 661 (Mo. Ct. App. 1982).
· cites it 2× “1980), assert the trial court erred in denying their motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction because the summons was not issued in compliance with § 115.579. It is clear the summons used here was for use in an ordinary civil action and was not issued in proper form…”
Authenreith v. Conner, 755 S.W.2d 287 (Mo. Ct. App. 1988).
· cites it 2× “From the documents of record and from the testimony at the hearing, the following emerged: At the time appellant filed his petition, through counsel, a letter was attached to the petition prescribing that service of process was to be accomplished in accordance with Section…”
Foster v. Evert, 774 S.W.2d 472 (Mo. 1989).
· cites it 2× “Evert entered a special appearance and filed a motion to dismiss in which he alleged that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because the summons provided for a thirty-day return in conflict with the fifteen day answering period prescribed by § 115.579, RSMo…”
Blumenberg v. Hutcheson, 757 S.W.2d 312 (Mo. Ct. App. 1988).
· cites it 4× “In Mitchell , a contest of an election for municipal councilman, the statute regarding issuance and service of summons (§ 115.579, RSMo 1978) imposed essentially the same requirements as § 115.”
Joshua Edward Hedgecorth v. John I. Jones, IV, 651 S.W.3d 900 (Mo. Ct. App. 2022).
· cites it 8× “601, we find that section 115.579's language regarding the issuance and service of the summons and petition applies to election contests brought under section 115.”
Marre v. Reed, 775 S.W.2d 951 (Mo. 1989).
· cites it 2× “Section 115.579, RSMo 1986, describes the procedure to be followed after the petition is filed and before a hearing.”
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