Rule 98.04.Grant of Preliminary Order.

Rule 98.04 draws a sharp line between two kinds of quo warranto filings. When the relator is the attorney general or the prosecuting attorney, and the filing rests on personal information, meaning the official's own initiative instead of a private person's request, the court must issue a preliminary order. There is no gatekeeping step; the official's decision to bring the case is enough to trigger the order.

When the petition is instead filed at the relation of another, the private person whose special interest prompted the official to bring the case under Rule 98.02(b), the standard shifts. The court then reviews the petition and issues the preliminary order only if it forms the opinion that doing so is warranted, the same discretionary judgment call Rule 97.04 describes for prohibition cases.

The distinction makes sense given who is asking. A public official acting on personal information is presumed to be exercising considered official judgment about a matter of public concern, so the rule trusts that judgment and does not add a second layer of review. A private relator's request, even when channeled through an official's authorization, still gets a preliminary look from the court before the case moves forward.