Missouri continues to struggle with the police conspiring with the feds to
"adopt" the seized property so as to circumvent Missouri law that says
forfeiture proceeds should go to the schools and not the cops. 

This is a "slip" opinion and may not be the final say.

<http://www.osca.state.mo.us/courts/pubopinions.nsf/0/9aa98583cfbf529486256d
cc006c51f5?OpenDocument>

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Missouri state highway patrol seeks a writ of prohibition barring the
trial court from proceeding in the underlying suit on the basis that the
claims against the patrol are barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
The second amended petition before the court alleges that the patrol seized
the plaintiff's property and transferred it to federal authorities in
violation of Missouri's criminal activity forfeiture act, section 513.647,
RSMo. 2000. The court denied the patrol's motion to dismiss on the grounds

of sovereign immunity. The plaintiff did not plead a waiver of sovereign
immunity in reliance upon a prior decision of this court in Karpierz v.
Easley, 31 S.W.3d. 505 (Mo. App. 2000).
PRELIMINARY WRIT IN PROHIBITION DISMISSED.
Division holds: (1) Karpierz misstated the law in implying that there is no
necessity to plead an express or implied waiver of sovereign immunity for
violations of the CAFA transfer provisions.
(2) The plaintiff may have additional theories for recovery that were not
considered and pleaded due to the misstatement of law contained within
Karpierz.
(3) The current state of the pleadings does not admit a conclusion that the
state is immune from suit and, therefore, issuance of a writ of prohibition
is inappropriate.
Concurring Opinion Summary by Judge Smart: This author notes that because
there is no allegation in the petition that the plaintiffs are "innocent
parties" and no allegation that the seized property was not generated by

illegal activity, and because the plaintiffs apparently pleaded guilty to a
forfeiture-related felony, it is not clear whether the plaintiffs are able
to plead a claim for damages. 

. . .

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