Appellant, Drury Displays, Inc., appeals from a ruling of the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis dismissing its petition for review of four decisions by the City of St. Louis Board of Adjustment. On appeal, appellant argues that the trial court erred in holding that the Board of Adjustment is not a legal entity capable of being sued, and that it was too late to convert the petition to a writ of certiorari because it was not properly verified and could not “reach back” and bestow jurisdiction.
Appellant requested that the Board of Adjustment grant four permits to construct two outdoor advertising devices on Prospect, one on South Broadway and one on Lafayette in the City of St. Louis. On July 28, 1987, the Board issued its decision denying all four requests. On August 21, 1987, appellant filed four petitions for review in the St. Louis Circuit Court. On October 7, 1987, the Board filed motions to dismiss the four petitions alleging that the Board was not a suable entity, the petitions incorrectly sought review pursuant to RSMo § 536.110 (1986) rather than RSMo § 89.110 (1986), and that the petitions failed to fulfill the basic due process requirements of notice and hearing. On November 20, 1987, the court sustained all four of the Board’s motions to dismiss. In overruling appellant’s motion to reconsider the court held that the Board was not a legal entity capable of being sued and an amended duly verified petition pursuant to RSMo § 89.110 (1986) could not “reach back” and bestow jurisdiction. See Kelly v. City of St. Louis Board of Adjustment,
The trial court clearly erred as to the second basis for dismissal in light of the recent holding in Drury Displays, Inc. v. Board of Adjustment of the City of St. Louis,
The petition named the Board of Adjustment as the defendant without also naming each individual board member. Respondent contends that, since the Board is not a corporation, quasi corporation, or a natural person, it is therefore not a suable entity.
In Reifschneider v. City of Des Peres Public Safety Commission,
The case at bar is no different. The appellant correctly named as defendant the very agency from which he sought review. This judicial proceeding was merely a continuation of the action appellant commenced to construct outdoor advertising. Appellant’s failure to name the individual board members did not deprive the court of jurisdiction.
Supreme Court Rule 100.02 requires that petitions for judicial review of administrative decisions be served on the agency involved. The purpose of this rule and of RSMo § 536.110.2 is to provide notice to the parties involved that review is sought and to inform them of the nature of the claim sufficient to satisfy due process. Reifschneider, at 3-4. While a copy of the petition was not sent to each board member in this case, we note that neither RSMo § 536.110 nor Rule 100.02 specifically require that a copy be sent to each decision maker. We find that the copy of the petition which was sent to the secretary of the Board of Adjustment was proper notice of appellant’s intent to seek judicial review of the Board’s decision.
Since we find that the petition was properly filed pursuant to § 89.100 and that the trial court had jurisdiction, we reverse and remand the cause with the instruction that the petition be reinstated for further proceedings thereon.
Notes
. While this case is governed primarily by Chapter 89, we have held that RSMo Ch. 536 (1986) supplements RSMo Ch. 89 where Ch. 89 does not specifically deal with a particular question. State ex rel. Henze v. Wetzel,
