Judge rejects government defendants' arguments in personal-injury lawsuit

A circuit judge rejected arguments Monday from the State of Missouri and Cape Girardeau city and county governments that they bear no responsibility for the Common Pleas Courthouse basement stairs that are the subject of a personal-injury lawsuit.

The state claimed it was the county�s responsibility, the county maintained it was the state circuit court�s responsibility, and the city insisted the responsibility rested with both the county and the state.

But Stoddard County Circuit Judge Stephen Mitchell denied the defendants� motions for summary judgment in a brief ruling that did not explain his reasoning. The judge only said he had �reviewed� the motions and other legal arguments filed by the parties in the case.

Pamela and Kelly Allen of Cape Girardeau sued over serious injuries Pamela Allen sustained in 2013 when she fell down stairs leading to the courthouse basement.

The lawsuit was filed in March 2016 against Cape Girardeau County but was expanded in July 2016 to include the city and state as defendants at the plaintiffs� request.

The stairway leading to the basement of the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau is seen Feb. 11, 2015.Southeast Missourian file

According to the suit, Pamela Allen incurred more than $130,000 in expenses for medical care and treatment. The suit seeks �fair and reasonable compensation.�

The attorney for the city, Al Spradling III, argued in a court document the stairs �are not in a defective or dangerous condition.�

Both the city and county agree they share ownership of the old Cape Girardeau courthouse.

But the city claims under a 1979 agreement the county is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the building, which was constructed in 1854.

Built in 1854, the building is now �exclusively used� by the circuit court system, Spradling said in a court filing.

Attorney Mary Boner, who represents the county government, said in a court filing the circuit court clerks and judges �are in possession and control of the premises of the Common Pleas Courthouse as it relates to the operations of the court and the maintenance of court files.� The clerks and judges are state employees, she wrote.

According to the lawsuit, Pamela Allen worked as a processor for a real-estate title company and was seeking to retrieve a court file in the basement when she slipped and fell while going down the stairs.

The state government, represented by the Missouri Attorney General�s Office, contended in a court filing the county government �has control over the property and is required by statute to �maintain� it for use as a courthouse.�

No trial date has been set for the case.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Common Pleas Courthouse, Cape Girardeau, Mo.