Missouri Laws 139.300 – Individual liability of officers — failure to perform duty, penalty
1. Every county clerk, assessor, collector or other officer, who refuses or knowingly neglects to perform any duty enjoined on him by, or consents in or connives at any evasion of the laws relating to the assessment, levy and collection of taxes, whereby any proceedings required by such laws are prevented or hindered, or any property is unlawfully exempted from taxation or is entered upon the tax list at less than its full cash value, is liable for each offense, neglect or refusal, individually and on his official bond, for double the amount of the loss or damage caused thereby.
2. If any officer fails, refuses or neglects to perform any of the duties required of him by such laws, upon being required so to do by any person interested in the matter, for which failure, neglect or refusal no specific penalty is provided, he is liable to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 139.300
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Missouri Laws 1.020
3. Any officer who knowingly violates any of the provisions of such laws is liable to a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
4. The penalties and damages provided by this section may be recovered by action in any court of competent jurisdiction and the officer may be removed from office at the discretion of the court.