276.030. Unlawful to refuse membership to any applicant--subject to criminal and civil laws. - Missouri Statutes

Unlawful to refuse membership to any applicant--subject to criminaland civil laws.

276.030. It is hereby declared unlawful for any suchassociation or organization to refuse membership or tounreasonably delay the granting of membership in such associationor organization to any applicant for membership because of themanner, times or method in which such applicant intends to ordoes distribute the profits of such applicant to the personscomposing any partnership in which the applicant is financiallyinterested or to the shareholders of any corporation orcooperative association in which the member is a shareholder, andany refusal on the part of such association or organization toadmit to membership or any unreasonable delay in admitting tomembership any applicant for membership who intends to or doesdistribute to the persons composing any partnership in which theapplicant is financially interested or to the shareholders of anycorporation or cooperative association in which such applicant isa shareholder, the profits of such applicant to the personscomposing such partnership or to the shareholders of suchcorporation or cooperative association, in proportion to thequantity of cattle, hogs or sheep shipped to or from such memberby the persons composing such partnership or the shareholders ofsuch corporation or cooperative association, shall be prima facieevidence that such refusal or such unreasonable delay is becausesuch applicant for membership intends to or does so distributethe profits of such applicant, and any such applicant formembership shall have the right to have the action of suchassociation or organization, in refusing or unreasonably delayingthe issuance of said membership, summarily reviewed by thecircuit court by filing therein a petition praying the circuitcourt to cause such association or organization to show cause whyit has refused or unreasonably delayed the issuance of saidmembership, and if, upon the trial, such association ororganization fails to show some lawful and reasonable cause forrefusing or unreasonably delaying the issuance of said membershipto such applicant for membership, then the circuit court shall,by proper order, compel the issuance of said membership to suchapplicant; provided, that any limitation fixed by suchassociation or organization, or by the members thereof, as to thenumber of members admitted to membership therein, shall not be alawful or a reasonable cause for refusing or unreasonablydelaying the issuance of membership to such applicant formembership; and provided further, that the review provided for inthis section shall be merely cumulative and shall in no wayrelieve such association or organization, or any member thereof,from the criminal or civil proceedings provided for in sections276.010 to 276.080.

(RSMo 1939 § 14385)

Prior revision: 1929 § 12727