BELLE — In the wrongful termination case of former city clerk Frankie Horstman versus the city of Belle, the municipality’s attorney, Adam D. Hirtz of St. Louis, petitioned Maries County Judge William E. Hickle on April 24 for a change of venue to Phelps County Courthouse in Rolla.

Horstman filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city of Belle on March 14 after she was terminated on Jan. 23, 2024, without a stated reason. The Maries County Sheriff’s Office on March 26 serviced the city with the lawsuit.

According to the three-page document filed by Hirtz, “Missouri Rule of Civil Procedure 51.03(a) provides, in pertinent part, as follows: a change of venue shall be ordered in a civil action triable by jury that is pending in a county having less than seventy-five thousand or less inhabitants upon the filing of a written application therefore not later than 10 days after answer is due to be filed…the applicant need not allege or prove any cause for such change. The application need not be verified and may be signed by any party.”

The attorney also noted that according to 51.03(c), if a request is filed on time, the court shall immediately order the case transferred to some other county convenient to the parties, given both parties can suggest where the case should be sent.

Hirtz then stated the following:

Maries County has less than 75,000 inhabitants; 8,430 according to the last census; and

The motion was filed sooner than 10 days after the answer was due; in fact, it was filed on the deadline day.

“Belle suggests that this case be transferred to Phelps County because Phelps County is the most convenient for the parties, it shares a border with Maries County, it is the largest county by population bordering Maries County, and it is, like Maries County, part of Missouri’s 25th Judicial Circuit,” Hirtz noted in the public document available on Missouri Case.net. “As for convenience, Phelps County Circuit Courthouse (located in the city of Rolla) is easily accessible to the parties who are all located in the city of Belle. Rolla is accessible to the city of Belle residents via State Highway 28 and U.S. Highway 63. The driving distance between the cities is only about 26 miles — about a 30-minute drive. Moreover, the city of Rolla has many more amenities, such as gas stations, convenience stores, lodging, and restaurants, than the other cities where the courthouses are located in other bordering counties. As the parties and the counsel may be required to travel to he court during the litigation, these additional amenities make the location more convenient for everyone involved.”

When Hirtz finished explaining his client’s right to make the request, as well as the rules and reasons the court must comply, he reiterated that the city doesn’t have to state a reason for making the request.

“Belle is not required to prove any cause for the request for transfer of venue under the circumstances,” Hirtz wrote. “Belle has satisfied all the prerequisites for transferring this case under Rul 50.03. As such, the case must be transferred as a matter of right. .”

Hirtz finished the motion for change of venue with a request that the court, “enter an order transferring the venue of this case to the circuit court of Phelps County, for any further relief this court deems just and proper.”

At the time of The Advocate’s deadline, confirmation of the change of venue had not been posted.