\nIn 1985, the General Assembly amended Section 537.600.1(2) again to add the “state of the art” defense in actions against public entities for the negligent design of a road or highway.12<\/sup>\u00a0Section 537.600(2) provides:<\/p>\nIn any action under this subdivision wherein a plaintiff alleges that he was damaged by the negligent, defective or dangerous design of a highway or road, which was designed and constructed prior to September 12, 1977, the public entity shall be entitled to a defense which shall be a complete bar to recovery whenever the public entity can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the alleged negligent, defective, or dangerous design reasonably complied with highway and road design standards generally accepted at the time the road or highway was designed and constructed.13<\/sup><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe statute sets out two requirements that must be met before the “state of the art” defense is applicable to a set of facts: 1) the plaintiff’s must allege the negligent design of a road or highway caused his injuries;14<\/sup>\u00a02) and the highway must have been designed to standard before September 12, 1977. Although the statutory language seems clear, when exactly the “state of the art” defense is available for MHTC can be difficult to determine. Missouri courts have rarely had the opportunity to provide guidance on when the “state of the art” defense is actually available to MHTC.15<\/sup>\u00a0With the advent of binding arbitration, there will be even fewer opportunities for judicial interpretation.16<\/sup>\u00a0Below is a brief survey of Missouri cases which discuss the “state of the art” defense.<\/p>\n
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