Section 477.004

Title XXXII COURTS

Chapter 477

Effective - 28 Aug 1989   

  477.004.  Supreme court may answer questions of law certified to it by certain courts, procedure — fees and costs. — 1.  The Missouri supreme court may answer questions of Missouri law certified to it by the Supreme Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United States, a United States District Court or a United States Bankruptcy Court if there are involved in any proceeding before the certifying court questions of Missouri law which may be relevant to the cause then pending and as to which it appears to the certifying court there is no controlling precedent in this state.

  2.  This section may be invoked by an order of any of the courts referred to in subsection 1 of this section upon the court's own motion or upon the motion of any party to the cause.

  3.  A certification order issued under this section shall set forth the questions of law to be answered and a statement of all facts relevant to the questions certified and showing fully the nature of the controversy in which the questions arose.  The certification order shall be prepared by the certifying court, signed by the judge presiding at the hearing and forwarded to the Missouri supreme court by the clerk of the certifying court under its official seal.  The Missouri supreme court may request the original or copies of all or of any portion of the record before the certifying court to be filed with the certification order, if in the opinion of the Missouri supreme court, the record or portion thereof may be necessary in answering the questions.

  4.  Nothing contained in this section shall require the Missouri supreme court to accept the certified case.

  5.  Fees and costs shall be the same as in civil appeals docketed before the Missouri supreme court and shall be equally divided between the parties unless otherwise ordered by the certifying court in its order of certification.

  6.  Any written opinion of the Missouri supreme court stating the law governing the questions certified shall be sent by the clerk under the seal of the Missouri supreme court to the certifying court and to the parties.

  7.  If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person, court, or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and, to this end, the provisions of this section are severable.

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(L. 1989 S.B. 127, et al. § 2)