St. Louis County returns fees collected for missed court dates

St. Louis County Municipal Court collected unauthorized fees from about 11,000 people who missed municipal court dates. The court is paying all claimants back in a $995,000 settlement almost five years later.

Those who paid the fees from Oct. 27, 2012 to the present can still join the class-action settlement.

“I want everybody to make a claim because, you know, 75 bucks, these are tough times,” lead attorney Rob Schultz said. “If you’re careful, that’s a week’s worth of groceries for a family of four.”

Schultz first brought the suit in 2017 and said that very few potential claimants opted out of the  settlement. The court asked individuals who missed a court date to pay $75 with some exceptions in fee amount, while some plaintiffs’ paid $150 in total fees if they missed multiple court dates.

The St. Louis County Counselor’s Office had claimed that because people had voluntarily paid the fee, the county was not required to repay those affected.

Schultz said that an existing statute declaring that court clerks must return collected fees of more than $5 stated otherwise. A statute also forbids court clerks from collecting unauthorized fees.

Tim Bowe, who joined the counselor’s office as an assistant county counselor in April 2021, was the last in a series of five total attorneys assigned to the case before they retired or moved on to other roles. The office did not respond to a call requesting comment.

In addition to paperwork disputes, Schultz said the turnover was another factor in the length of the case.

“They’re all good attorneys,” Schultz said. “It just meant that it took longer than it should.”

Following the arbitrated settlement’s signing in March 2022, Judge Brian May approved the settlement in court on Aug. 9. The judgment required that it be publicized so more people can join.

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Money had and received

Breakdown: $375,000 in $75 increments to the first 5,000 claimants; $300,000 in $50 increments to the next 6,000 claimants; $200,000 in legal fees and expenses; $40,000 to two class representatives.

Venue: St. Louis County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: 17SL-CC04021/Aug. 9, 2022

Judge: Brian May

Caption: John Cibulka and John Kohl v. St. Louis County

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Rob Schultz and Philip Horwitz, The Schultz Law Group, Chesterfield; Robert T. Healey Jr., Healey Law, Chesterfield

Defendant’s Attorney: Tim Bowe, St. Louis County Counselor’s Office, Clayton