ST LOUIS — The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District has affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a former Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department deputy who alleged that his termination violated rights guaranteed under Missouri’s Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBOR).
The court ruled that Colin Rumpsa claims were barred by the statute of limitations set forth in the statute, according to the Sept. 2 opinion.
Judge Michael E. Gardner authored the opinion, with Presiding Judge Robert M. Clayton III and Judge Angela T. Quigless concurring.
The court concluded that the statute of limitations barred the action, affirming the circuit court’s judgment of dismissal.
Rumpsa brought suit against the Sheriff’s Department, the sheriff and members of the county’s Merit Commission after his firing in June 2022.
He alleged that his rights under section 590.502, enacted in 2021 as the LEOBOR, were violated during the disciplinary process that led to his dismissal.
The LEOBOR provides officers with specific procedural protections during administrative investigations and disciplinary hearings, including the right to be informed of allegations in writing, to receive a copy of complaints before interviews and to be given seven days’ notice before a due process hearing when facing disciplinary action.
According to Rumpsa’s petition, he was interviewed by the Department on May 21, 2022, without being given a copy of the allegations against him or the complaint.
He was terminated on June 23, 2022, and soon after appealed to the county’s Merit Commission.
On July 2, 2022, he received notice that a hearing was scheduled for July 8, giving him only six days’ notice.
At that hearing, the department presented an investigative file but did not call witnesses or provide what he considered a full due process hearing. On July 14, 2022, the Merit Commission upheld his termination.
Rumpsa argued in his lawsuit, filed July 11, 2023, that the department and the commission failed to follow LEOBOR requirements by denying him advance notice of allegations, not providing the required seven days before the hearing and not presenting witnesses or evidence in a full hearing.
He sought to have his termination declared void and requested injunctive relief and costs.
The defendants moved to dismiss on the basis that his lawsuit was untimely.
They argued that each alleged violation was known to Rumpsa at the time it occurred: the lack of written complaint by May 21, 2022, the inadequate hearing notice by July 2, 2022, and the lack of due process by the conclusion of the hearing on July 8, 2022.
Because Rumpsa filed his petition more than one year after those dates, they said, the case was barred.
Rumpsa countered that the statute of limitations should run from July 14, 2022, the date when the Merit Commission upheld his termination, because only then did he sustain damage from the alleged violations.
He maintained that earlier violations were merely technical until disciplinary action was finalized.
The appellate court, reviewing the dismissal de novo, disagreed with Rumpsa’s position.
It held that the LEOBOR’s statute of limitations is triggered when a violation is ascertainable, not when damages are sustained.
The court explained that section 590.502.10 imposes a violation-based accrual standard, similar to Missouri’s Sunshine Law, rather than a damage-based accrual standard under the state’s general statutes of limitations.
The judges noted that the legislature could have adopted a damage-based rule but chose instead to tie the limitation to when violations are discoverable.
The court found Rumpsa’s alleged violations were all ascertainable more than one year before he filed suit.
He knew or should have known by May 21, 2022, that he was not given the complaint; by July 2, 2022, that he had less than seven days’ notice of his hearing; and by July 8, 2022, that no witnesses or evidence were presented.
They ruled that his petition filed July 11, 2023, was outside the one-year period.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District case number: ED113002
