[Kevin]

$10,000 is probably a threshold figure for determining what kind of filing fee to pay. In Oklahoma, there is a different (higher) filing fee for suit above $10,000 (you don't have to lay out the specific amount of relief requested on the initial pleading) and below.

This lawsuit could be shooting for $100,000, but the petition would only have to say that the plaintiff seeks in excess of $10,000 if Missouri law is anything like Oklahoma law (and the facts seem to indicate that they are similar).