Walmart Lawsuit Reaches Missouri Court Of Appeals Wednesday

A legal challenge to the process the city of Ellisville used in granting a conditional use permit for the construction of a Walmart store will be in front of an appellate court judge Wednesday morning.

City resident Thomas Debold is suing current and former city council members in addition to the city of Ellisville itself, claiming that the permit for Walmart was issued without proper traffic studies, among other issues.

A St. Louis County Court judge ruled earlier this year that the decision to approve the permit for Walmart was “supported by competent and substantial evidence upon the record and is hereby affirmed.” The judgment was not viewed by the court as an interpretation of whether or not the city made the “right” choice in allowing Walmart to build, but rather that the process was followed properly. 

The lawsuit has delayed The Sansone Group's work on the project. Last week, the developer and Walmart were denied in a bid to get an extension on the permit, which expires September 5 if there is no building permit awarded. Sansone says it can't move forward in purchasing the property necessary for the project with the lawsuit dangling overhead.

Attorneys for Walmart and for Debold declined last week to tip their hands over how an appellate verdict might impact their strategy, either with Debold potentially appealing to the state supreme court, or if an appellate victory for the city would embolden the Walmart/Sansone efforts to buy properties and move forward with purchasing properties and the building permit.