State Supreme Court rejects legal challenge to Cape nuisance law

The Missouri Supreme Court has refused to hear a local lawyer's legal challenge to Cape Girardeau's nuisance law.

The lawyer, Richard Kuntze, said Wednesday the court's decision likely brings an end to his three-year battle with city hall.

Stephen Southard, the lawyer representing the city, said the court case has shown the city ordinance is legal. Other cities, he said, have similar ordinances.

But Southard said he is not aware of a legal challenge exactly like this one.

The legal dispute arose after Kuntze was charged with creating a public nuisance for keeping an inoperable Jeep with an expired vehicle registration on his property.

Kuntze said he has owned the Jeep for about 30 years.

"It needs a little body work," he said.

In 2014, he contested the city charge that alleged his Jeep was a public nuisance.

He was found guilty of violating the city's nuisance law after a trial in circuit court in 2015. He appealed to the Missouri Court of Appeals, which in November upheld the trial court ruling.

On Dec. 30, Kuntze petitioned the Missouri Supreme Court to consider his case.

In asking the state's highest court to intervene, Kuntze wrote the result of the appeals court ruling is "the ownership or possession of an unlicensed vehicle, wherever situated in Cape Girardeau, is unlawful."

Kuntze said he knew it was unlikely the high court would take up his case.

"It is probably over," he said of his court battle.

As a result, he said he is faced with paying the $200 fine, plus $31.50 in court costs.

But Kuntze said he still believes the city ordinance is unconstitutional.

"It wasn't about the money," he said.

He contended under the nuisance law, a resident could be cited for having an inoperable vehicle in his or her garage.

But Southard said having a vehicle in one's garage would not be a violation of the ordinance. He said the inoperable vehicle would have to be visible to the public to be considered a nuisance.

The case originated in January 2014 when then-Cape Girardeau nuisance-abatement officer Ben Rhymer saw a green Jeep parked in Kuntze's driveway, according to court documents.

The Jeep had two flat tires and its vehicle registration had expired in March 2007, court documents show. Kuntze insisted the tires were not flat.

"I am a car guy, and I don't let car tires go flat," he said Wednesday.

In a trial memorandum, Kuntze said the city had not defined "registered, improperly registered or displaying proper license plates" within the ordinance.

He wrote that "properly issued plates which are expired do not support a conviction under the terms of the ordinance."

The ordinance states an "inoperable vehicle or part thereof, located on any property in the city, is hereby declared to be a public nuisance."

City code defines an inoperable vehicle as "any vehicle which is not registered or which is improperly registered within the state, or is not displaying proper license plates, or which is inoperable for more than 72 hours."

Kuntze contended in a court document the ordinance is "void for vagueness" and deprives him of due process of law as guaranteed by the state and U.S. constitutions.

The Cape Girardeau resident alleged the "ordinance lacks a rational basis for differentiating conduct which is legal and that which is illegal."

But trial Judge Craig Brewer ruled in 2015 that Kuntze was "guilty" of creating a public nuisance.

Brewer found Kuntze "incorrectly" equated titling the vehicle to registering the vehicle.

Kuntze said the city's enforcement of the nuisance law could lead to more legal challenges in the future.

But Kuntze said few city residents will want to pay the legal bills to battle city hall.

"If you are the average person, you can't afford to do this," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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