Matthew v. Smith
Supreme Court of Missouri
707 S.W.2d 411 (1986)
- Written by Rebecca Green, JD
Facts
In 1980, Jim and Susan Brandt (defendants) purchased a single residential lot containing two separate houses located on a tract of land zoned for a single-family use. Each of the houses was already rented by one residential family. This is how the two houses had been used for the past 30 years, with only intermittent vacancies. The Brandts applied for a variance from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (Board) (defendant) to let the Brandts continue renting both houses. The Board granted the variance. Jon Matthew (plaintiff), a neighboring landowner, sued to challenge the variance. The trial court affirmed the Board’s order. Matthew appealed. The appellate court reversed and held that the Board did not have authority to grant the variance. The case was then certified to the Missouri Supreme Court by a dissenting judge.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Welliver, J.)
Concurrence (Blackmar, J.)
Concurrence (Robertson, J.)
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