JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Supreme Court, in an opinion issue Dec. 9 in the TelComm Credit Union case, upheld bankers' right to appeal a decision of the Credit Union Commission to allow the credit union to expand its field-of-membership and remanded the case back to the Cole County Circuit Court to consider the merits of the case. Peggy Nalls, senior vice president of the Missouri Credit Union Association said the MCUA plans to file a motion for a rehearing "with the expectation that the court will rule within 30 days. We then expect the court to officially send the case back to the Cole County Circuit Court. A status conference and briefing schedule will then be set." Commenting on the Supreme Court's decision to give the Missouri Bankers Association standing in the case, MCUA President/CEO Rosie Holub said, "Although a ruling denying the bankers' standing would have been preferable, Missouri credit unions knew that consideration of how the Commission interpreted changes made to the state credit union law in 1998 would have to eventually be addressed to halt court challenges by bankers." She acknowledged her disappointed with the Court's decision, but added that "we were prepared for this eventuality and will continue to pursue a resolution in the courts. The Credit Union Commission has operated within statutory authority in interpreting the statutes and we feel the credit union position on the merits of the case is extremely strong." TelComm CU, based in Springfield, Mo. has 11,800 members. It was formerly known as Springfield Telephone Employees CU. The Supreme Court heard the case on Sept. 10, 2003, two years after the case first entered the courts. Missouri banks asked the Cole County Circuit Court on Sept. 14, 2001 for an administrative review of the TelComm CU FOM expansion.