Judge grants Rhodus intervention motion, gives residents more time in Mosby–Excelsior annexation fight

CLAY COUNTY, Mo. — The legal fight over competing annexation efforts involving Excelsior Springs and Mosby moved forward this week in Clay County Circuit Court, where a judge granted key motions, set new briefing deadlines, and continued the case for further hearings as the cities and affected landowners press their claims.

At Tuesday’s motion hearing, the judge allowed Excelsior Springs to update its court filings, giving the city 10 days to file its amended petition. The court also approved a request from landowner David Rhodus to join the case as an intervenor, and ordered him to file his written claims and arguments within 10 days.

A separate request by a group of rural residents living in and around the disputed area was not immediately granted, but Circuit Judge Timothy J. Flook gave the group additional time to supplement its filing with legal authority addressing standing, particularly for neighboring landowners who are not located inside the proposed Mosby annexation boundaries. Flook said he understood the neighbors’ concerns, but his role is to “uphold the law,” and he questioned whether nearby residents have a strong argument to intervene when the Rhodus tract is the only property at the center of the conflict. The court gave the group an additional 15 days to cite supporting cases aimed at showing a relevant legal stake in the outcome.

The residents, calling themselves the Cameron Road Homeowners, asked to intervene because they say Mosby and Rhodus have indicated that annexing the Rhodus tract into Mosby would allow the quarry to expand, bringing more blasting, dust, and noise to surrounding homes. In their filings, the homeowners say they support Excelsior Springs’ annexation and oppose Mosby’s, arguing under Missouri Supreme Court Rule 52.12 that the court’s decision over the Rhodus tract could directly affect their properties.

In practical terms, an intervention allows a non-party to become a party to the lawsuit. If the judge grants it, the intervenors can file their own pleadings, submit evidence, and make legal arguments on the record, rather than relying on the cities or other landowners to speak for their interests.

Under the timeline outlined in the court’s order, a supplemental brief addressing the legal standing of citizen intervenors who are neighboring landowners, but not within the proposed Mosby annexation area, is due by Feb. 13, 2026. Reply briefs are due no later than Feb. 20, 2026. The hearing was continued to 9 a.m. Feb. 25, 2026, and the matter is also set for a trial-setting conference that day.

The dispute stems from competing annexation measures passed by both Excelsior Springs and Mosby, with the Rhodus property identified as the only overlapping area between the two efforts. With the cities’ measures colliding, the question of which municipality has lawful authority over that tract is now being decided in court.

Attorneys discussed a schedule that could put the case on track for trial as early as May, with an expectation that the annexation issue could be resolved no later than August 2026.