Litigation News -- Key Missouri Tax Increment Finance Court Victory
Mary Jo Shaney was victorious on behalf of the City of Monett in two landmark cases involving the application of Missouri's Tax Increment Financing law, R.S.Mo. Section 99.800 et seq. The City of Monett, with Mary Jo serving as special counsel, sued Lawrence and Barry Counties and the Barry County E-911 Board, when they failed to allocate TIF revenue as required under state law. The Counties and Board countersued claiming the underlying tax increment financing districts had been formed improperly. At stake in the suit was the potential default of millions of dollars of tax increment financing bonds that had been issued to fund roadway and other public infrastructure projects within the TIF districts. The Lawrence County Circuit Court ruled that the TIF districts had been validly formed and that the counties' challenges were out of time or otherwise barred. The Court ordered the Counties and Board to comply with their unconditional obligations under the TIF law to allocate the TIF revenue to the TIF districts. Had Mary Jo not succeeded, the viability of TIF as an economic development tool would have been severely called into question. CONGRATULATIONS MARY JO!!
The full opinion is below.
