State Ex Rel. Elson v. Koehr

I respectfully dissent. As the majority opinion acknowledges, the term “agent” has more than one definition. Thus, when undefined in a statute, the word lends itself to judicial construction. In this particular statute, the word “agent” is modified by the phrase “for the transaction of [the corporation’s] usual and customary business.” This phrase has the effect of compounding the ambiguity.

Whenever ambiguity exists in a statute, it is the responsibility of the courts to construe the statute consistently with what the legislature intended. MaGee v. Blue Ridge Prof. Bldg., 821 S.W.2d 889, 843…