Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 514
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 514.170 (2026)

Adjudication of costs upon dismissal of plaintiff's suit

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MO-REVrevisor.mo.gov Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

  514.170.  Adjudication of costs upon dismissal of plaintiff's suit — in other cases. — Upon the plaintiff dismissing his suit, or defendant dismissing the same for want of prosecution, the defendant shall recover against the plaintiff his costs; and in all other cases it shall be in the discretion of the court to award costs or not, except in those cases in which a different provision is made by law.

­­--------

(RSMo 1939 § 1418)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 1254; 1919 § 1706; 1909 § 2275

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases, 1991–2018 · leading case: Fisher v. Spray Planes, Inc., 814 S.W.2d 628 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Fisher v. Spray Planes, Inc., 814 S.W.2d 628 (Mo. Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 13× “01 and § 514.170 RSMo 1986. Appellants raise five points of error.”
Solberg v. Graven, 174 S.W.3d 695 (Mo. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 5× “The last sentence of the proposed judgment tendered by Defendants Graven stated: “As mandated by section 514.170 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, this Court hereby orders costs in the amount of $1,062.”
Starling v. Union Pac. R.R., 22 S.W.3d 213 (Mo. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 6× “In § 514.170, RSMo 1994, however, the General Assembly has mandated an exception: “Upon the plaintiff dismissing his suit, .”
Givens v. Warren, 905 S.W.2d 130 (Mo. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 4× “The court retains jurisdiction with respect to costs specifically taxable against the plaintiff under RSMo § 514.170. Fisher v. Spray Planes, Inc., 814 S.”
State Ex Rel. Rosen v. Smith, 241 S.W.3d 431 (Mo. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 3× “We are aware that section 514.170 RSMo (2000) provides that a dismissal of an action does not affect a defendant’s ability to recover the payment of costs.”
Basta v. Kansas City Power & Light Co., 410 S.W.3d 743 (Mo. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “§ 514.170.” 4 On February 8, 2012, Appellants filed an Objection to Defendants’ Bill of Costs, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction as of the date of the voluntary dismissal and that the costs should not be allowed for various reasons, including that the certificates…”
Gore v. St. Anthony's Med. Ctr., 866 S.W.2d 871 (Mo. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 6× “Section 514.170 R.S.Mo.1986 (all further statutory references shall be to R.”
In re Gurgel, 543 S.W.3d 135 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 3× “Section 514.170, RSMo 1994. Further, a statutory exception for the award of attorney fees, in the case of the request for appointment of a guardian or conservator, specifically states: "The court shall allow a reasonable attorney's fee for the services rendered, to be taxed as…”
Roberts v. Roberts, 989 S.W.2d 272 (Mo. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 13× “The appellate court found that the trial court lost jurisdiction as of the date of the original dismissal except that, pursuant to § 514.170, RSMo, 3 it had jurisdiction to “issue an order as an administrative act in connection with any appropriate orders regarding the…”
A.L. v. Peeler, 969 S.W.2d 262 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 3× “On appeal, defendant essentially contends that the trial court did not have discretion to *264 apportion costs upon plaintiffs voluntary dismissal, and he was entitled to collect his costs from the plaintiff pursuant to Section 514.170 RSMo 1994 (all further references shall be…”
Hague v. Trs. of Highlands of Chesterfield, 431 S.W.3d 504 (Mo. Ct. App. 2014). · cites it 3× “Moreover, in regard to costs, section 514.170, RSMo 2000, provides: "Upon the plaintiff dismissing his suit .”
Thornton v. Deaconess Med. Ctr.-West Campus, 929 S.W.2d 872 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “[3] Husband claims the trial court would not "accept" the memorandum at the time because it attempted to assess each party's costs against the party, in violation of RSMo § 514.170 (1994). [4] RSMo § 516.230 (1994).”
Show all 17 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.