Effective immediately, in accordance with existing Missouri Supreme Court Rules, counsel must comply with the following when seeking service by publication. In addition, the Circuit Court will review all requests for service by publication. No Notice of Service by Publication will be issued by the Clerk’s Office without an Order from the Court. Failure to properly serve a party with sufficient notice of a suit does not grant the Court jurisdiction to proceed on the merits of the case and may be grounds for dismissal of the suit. Contact Theresa Byrd, Deputy Court Administrator, at (816) 435‐4850 or theresa.byrd@courts.mo.gov for questions regarding this notice.
1. Rule 55.26 requires that all applications to the court for an order must be in the form of a motion which shall be submitted in writing and shall state with particularity the grounds therefore, and shall set forth the relief or order sought.
2. Pursuant to Rule 54.12, counsel for plaintiff/petitioner must attach a verified Affidavit, which must comply with the requirements of Metmor Financial Inc.v. Leggett, 787 S.W.2d 733 (Mo. App. E.D. 1989), to the written Motion for Service by Publication. Metmor requires that sufficient facts be contained within the Affidavit to establish the necessity of service by publication. The Court may deny Motions for Service by Publication if counsel submits an Affidavit which fails to conform to the requirements as set forth in Rule 54.12 and Metmor. The Court has created a sample affidavit which addresses factual issues the Court will examine when considering a Motion for Service by Publication. Counsel may locate a sample affidavit on the court’s website.
3. In addition to the proposed affidavit, Counsel must also file a proposed Notice Upon Order for Service of Publication and a proposed Order for Service by Publication. 16th Judicial Circuit Local Rule 33.5 requires that a proposed order be filed with motions.
4. Effective August 12, 2013, deputy clerks will not accept Motions for Service by Publication unless accompanied by the required Affidavit, Notice, and Order.
Effective July 17, 2013