Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from December 2006

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from December 2006

Univ. of Missouri-St. Louis coach posts $1.2M win over university.
December 1, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Chalk up another win for University of Missouri-St. Louis baseball coach James Brady. The coach's win, however, means a loss for the university and two of its employees -- to the tune of more than $1.2 million. On...

Commentary: 'Tis the season for slip and fall suits.
December 1, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan "Yes, the newspapers were right: Snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly...

Farmer class action seeks Missouri venue.
December 1, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Despite the icy rain pouring outside the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse, several lawyers argued Thursday morning that Missouri is the most desirable venue for a national class-action suit against Bayer...

Missouri law firm Lashly & Baer PC attorneys to appear in edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
December 2, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Lashly & Baer PC has announced that attorneys John Fox Arnold (corporate law), Kenneth C. Brostron (medical malpractice law, personal injury litigation) and Richard D. Watters (health care law) were...

Courtney M. Brunsfeld joins Missouri-based Lashly & Baer PC.
December 2, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Courtney M. Brunsfeld has joined Lashly & Baer PC as an associate. Brunsfeld holds a JD from Washington University School of Law and will focus her practice in government and school law. She is a 2003...

Ten Lashly & Baer PC lawyers named as 2006 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers.
December 2, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Ten Lashly & Baer PC lawyers were named as 2006 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers by their peers. They are John Fox Arnold, Judith C. Brostron, Kenneth C. Brostron, Kevin L. Fritz, Stefan J. Glynias,...

Husch & Eppenberger names eight new associates to the firm's St. Louis office.
December 2, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Husch & Eppenberger LLC has named eight new associates to the firm's St. Louis office. Melissa Z. Baris practices in the appellate and complex litigation support group and the general business...

Missourians in the news: Robert B. Gallin.
December 2, 2006... Byline: Staff Report Robert B. Gallin has joined Carmody MacDonald PC as Firm Administrator. He joins the firm with more than 14 years of law office administration, including the management of daily operations, supervision of support staff...

Robert B. Gallin joins Missouri-based Carmody MacDonald.
December 2, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Robert B. Gallin has joined Carmody MacDonald PC as Firm Administrator. He joins the firm with more than 14 years of law office administration, including the management of daily operations, supervision...

St. Louis-based Midwest BankCentre promotes Henry Watkins to executive vice president of operations.
December 2, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Henry Watkins was promoted to executive vice president of operations at Midwest BankCentre and is now responsible for spanning information systems, deposit operations, loan operations and retail...

Despite storm, no snow day for St. Louis courts.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Watching -- and hoping -- for school closings is a winter tradition for St. Louis schoolchildren, but most of the adult population must find a way to work even in inclement weather, including court employees. Area...

Do you speak legalese? Well, stop it.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Bridget Heos To wit. Any and all. Party of the first. Party of the second. We are in agreement. Said client effected a breach in the construction contract when he effected a payment schedule that differed to the detriment of the...

Farmington school bans 'Rebel Pride'.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Wearing clothing featuring the Confederate flag is a political cause for Bryce Archambo, a high school student in Farmington, Mo., and he is now out of school because of it. Archambo's parents pulled him from...

MO Supreme Court gives back fire departments' permit power.
December 4, 2006... Byline: Cathy Kingsley A ruling handed down by the Missouri Supreme Court will restore jurisdiction to the Jefferson County fire protection districts to perform inspections and issue permits for new residential construction. Legislation...

Commentary: You can give time, money or food, but give.
December 6, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan The holiday season is a time for giving. We give presents to our family and friends. We give warm greetings to our coworkers. And we give to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. There are many worthy...

Flexibility added to new docket rules in St. Louis Circuit Court.
December 6, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A final set of rules for the new docket system will be put to a vote Thursday in a meeting of St. Louis Circuit Court judges. Final-hour changes to the rules focused on creating more flexibility in case assignments...

St. Louis judges to fight new child-support system.
December 8, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A parent and attorney from Seneca has taken the state's social services department to court, arguing that only a judge can approve changes to her child support agreement. The Missouri Attorney General's Office, on...

Commentary: E-filing has taken courts across the land by storm.
December 8, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan The simple act of walking into your local courthouse to file a lawsuit is going the way of typewriters and VCRs. It was not that long ago that all filing was done at the courthouses. You, or someone from your office,...

St. Louis newswoman Helen Thomas helps ACLU salute Bill of Rights.
December 8, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Don't forget: former White House Bureau Chief Helen Thomas and The Second City Touring Company are coming to St. Louis tonight as part of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri's 36th Annual Bill of Rights Day...

St. Louis Circuit Court individual docket approved; starts Jan. 1.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka With questions still remaining on the discretionary power of the presiding judge, St. Louis Circuit Court judges approved a set of rules for the individual docket system rolling out Jan. 1. The issue has produced...

Debate precedes vote on St. Louis Circuit Court's individualized docket.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A month of animated debate preceded the vote, with some members of the bar expressing alarm at the idea of individualized dockets. * Attorneys strongly resisted a new system, saying they preferred the...

Probate Clerk Kenneth Feretti retires after 18 years.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff St. Louis City Probate Court Commissioner and Clerk Kenneth Feretti announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of the month. He notified the St. Louis City Circuit Court en banc at their meeting on...

U of Missouri makes class-action scholarships available.
December 11, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff The University of Missouri announced on Thursday that it is accepting applications for scholarships that stem from a 2005 class-action lawsuit settlement over educational fees charged by the university. Under the...

Survey to look at federal courtroom availability.
December 12, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter A study will begin next month that has implications for any new federal courtroom construction that's being planned. "The presumption has been that courtrooms are over-built," said Judge John R. Tunheim, a district...

Two suits filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court over muscle car.
December 13, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A fierce dispute over a revamped classic car has returned to St. Louis County Circuit Court for the second time in six months -- and the plaintiff still wants his wheels. Grant Dino, named in the suit as Gateway...

Justice shouldn't waver on need for attorney privilege.
December 13, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan Attorney-client privilege is one of the cornerstones of our justice system, but the Department of Justice has spent the past few years chipping away at it with a sledgehammer. In the wake of the Enron debacle and...

Correction.
December 13, 2006... Byline: Staff Report The article Survey to look at federal courtroom availability on the front page of the Dec. 12 paper inadvertently omitted giving credit to The Third Branch, the federal judiciary's newsletter, for information on the...

Verizon Wireless protests cell tax in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
December 14, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka In the newest round of tax disputes between Missouri cities and cell phone companies, an operator of Verizon Wireless has taken the tiny city of Wellston to court. The suit, filed Nov. 22 in St. Louis County Circuit...

MO AG Nixon sues Ameren over dam disaster.
December 14, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon filed suit Wednesday against Ameren for its alleged negligence in causing the massive breach of the Taum Sauk reservoir in Reynolds County. The suit, filed in St....

St. Louis County Circuit Court hits Countrywide Home Loans Inc. with $6.1M judgment.
December 14, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Charging fees for preparing home-closing documents has cost Countrywide Home Loans Inc. more than $6.1 million. The judgment, for a total award of $6,150,966.59, was handed down in the class-action lawsuit last week by...

Condemnation hearing in St. Louis County Circuit Court examines 'blight' in the heart of Clayton.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Condemnation proceedings started Thursday morning in St. Louis County Circuit Court for some property owners in Clayton reluctant to give up their land in the name of redevelopment. The hearing before Judge James J....

Eminent domain debates abound.
December 15, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Use of eminent domain by communities has been controversial, particularly when it's done to benefit development plans by private companies. In June of last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a New...

St. Louis-based grocery store chain sues Liberty Mutual over July outage.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter A St. Louis-based grocery store chain and its insurance company are fighting in federal court about whether the damages the store suffered by the July power outage are covered in its policy. Dierbergs Markets suffered...

Commentary: What in God's name is happening?
December 15, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan The holiday season is in full swing and I am not aware of anyone filing a lawsuit over any public holiday displays in Missouri. What is this world coming to? Maybe the governmental entities in our fair state know...

U.S. District judge gives preliminary OK to Edward Jones settlement.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey gave preliminary approval Dec. 12 to the settlement of nine class-action lawsuits against Edward Jones, one of several steps in a process that likely won't be finished until the end of...

Judge gives preliminary OK to Edward Jones settlement.
December 15, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey gave preliminary approval Dec. 12 to the settlement of nine class-action lawsuits against Edward Jones, one of several steps in a process that likely won't be finished until the end of...

Centene Corp.: Eminent domain not in original plan.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Centene Corp. had no initial interest in using the properties on Forsyth Boulevard that the city of Clayton is now trying to obtain through eminent domain, a Centene VP testified Friday morning. It was not until talks...

St. Louis County asks judge to reject discrimination suit.
December 18, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Hostility may be in the eye of the beholder, but employees who sue their employers for making the workplace a hostile environment have to prove that such hostility was accompanied by some type of adverse job action....

Merchants near failed dam file suit in Reynolds County Circuit Court for loss of business.
December 19, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter A year after AmerenUE's Taum Sauk reservoir collapsed, releasing 1.3 billion gallons of water on the surrounding landscape, 10 Arcadia Valley businesses joined together to file a lawsuit against the utility company....

Landowners in Clayton reject blight designation.
December 19, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Clayton property owners will today resume their aggressive defense of the city's eminent domain proceedings, claiming their buildings are in fine shape and worth much more than Centene Corp. was offering. Their...

Bryan Cave Strategies recruits Democratic lobbyist.
December 20, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Less than a month after losing all its Democratic lobbyists to a new enterprise, Bryan Cave Strategies is starting to restock by raiding Armstrong Teasdale. Health-care lobbyist William Applegate is only an elevator...

Missouri high court: nudity, DUI law don't mix.
December 20, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Nudity in a so-called adult establishment is not an intoxication-related traffic offense and cannot be regulated in a bill that was introduced to change the state's drunken driving laws. So said the Missouri Supreme...

Commentary: New laws change rules for U.S. coins.
December 20, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan Last week the U.S. Mint announced it is implementing regulations that will limit the exportation, melting and treatment of pennies and nickels. It seems the prices of copper, nickel and zinc have soared, so that it...

'Prince of a guy' shot dead in Clayton law office.
December 21, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka The shooting death of Ernest "Ernie" Brasier has left Clayton police and the St. Louis legal community searching for answers. An insurance defense attorney and partner at Boggs, Boggs & Bates, Brasier was killed in...

St. Louis property owners find Centene chairman and CEO 'arrogant'.
December 22, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Centene chairman and CEO Michael Neidorff was the focus of Tuesday's testimony in the now weeklong condemnation proceedings for properties on Forsyth Boulevard. Three property owners facing condemnation described...

'Twas the Friday before Christmas.
December 22, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan 'Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the courts Not a lawsuit was stirring, not even for torts; The new filings were stored in the file room with care, In hopes that the Clerk soon would be there; Most...

Lawsuits brought by Midwest rice farmers are consolidated and heard in St. Louis Federal Court.
December 22, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka Lawsuits brought by Midwest rice farmers against Bayer CropScience have been harvested into a single matter and shipped to the federal court in St. Louis. A Tuesday order from the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict...

Letter to the Editor: Missing old content.(Letter to the editor)
December 22, 2006... Byline: Anne-Marie Clarke I've been reading the new content for some time and decided that, if I saw the column requesting comments, then I would write. As it happened, the column was in the paper I was reading so, I'm writing. I miss the...

Memorial Mass scheduled for Ernest `Ernie' Brasier in St. Louis.
December 22, 2006... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff A memorial mass for Ernest "Ernie" Brasier will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at St. Clement Parish, according to the parish. The church is located at 1510 Bopp Rd. in Des Peres.

James R. Dankenbring, Gerald P. Greiman awarded Super Lawyer designation.
December 23, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff James R. Dankenbring and Gerald P. Greiman, from the St. Louis office of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, have been awarded the Super Lawyer designation, according to Law & Politics magazine. The magazine selects...

Rodney J. Boyd, Kevin D. Gunn, Megan L. Werner join law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.
December 23, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP announced that Rodney J. Boyd, Kevin D. Gunn and Megan L. Werner have joined the law firm's St. Louis office as members of the national Public Law & Policy Strategies Group....

Gary H. Feder named president of Clayton Chamber of Commerce board.
December 23, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Husch & Eppenberger LLC announced attorney Gary H. Feder has been named president of the Board of Directors of the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. Feder's one-year term as president will run from Dec. 13, 2006 to...

Blackwell Sanders adds Stephen R. Clark to Litigation Dept.
December 23, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Blackwell Sanders has announced the addition of Stephen R. Clark to the firm's Litigation Department. Joining the St. Louis office, Clark will continue his national practice, litigating on behalf of clients...

Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus adds seven attorneys to St. Louis offices.
December 23, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus PC has announced the addition of seven attorneys to its St. Louis and Clayton offices. H. Vicky Chen joins the firm in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice...

Russell Caplin joins McEagle Properties as vice president of finance.
December 23, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Bruce Sokolik, principal of McEagle Properties LLC recently announced the addition of Russell Caplin as vice president of finance. His primary responsibility will include developing investor relationships for the...

Lobbying lawyers will have to report expenses.
December 25, 2006... Byline: Mike Trask, Donna Walter and Charles Emerick A law that will take effect at the beginning of the new year will require lawyers who lobby to perform some extra financial reporting. According to the Missouri Ethics Commission,...

'No-nonsense' jurist takes senior status.
December 26, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter A funny thing happened on the way to journalism school. Don Stohr decided to become a lawyer instead. Stohr, 72, who is retiring after 14 years as a district judge for the St. Louis-based U.S. District Court, worked...

Fewer women enter law schools.
December 28, 2006... Byline: Bridget Heos Poised to become a majority in Missouri and around the country, female law students find their numbers taking an unexpected, unexplained and, in some cases, sharp decline. The University of Missouri-Kansas City Law...

Commentary: Justice Scalia, the judicial survey and attorney LaRussa made 2006 memorable.
December 28, 2006... Byline: Will Connaghan We are about to close the book on 2006, so this might be a good time to look at some of the highlights of the past year for the legal community. The year included two major anniversaries, a visit from a U.S. Supreme...

Does a sitting judge have a right to write?
December 29, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Robert H. Dierker has written a book that he says exposes the liberal subversion of the American judicial system and critics say undercuts his ability to impartially rule on a host of...

David V. Capes, Daniel R. Sokol, Alan N. Zvibleman named "Super Lawyers".
December 30, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff David V. Capes, Daniel R. Sokol and Alan N. Zvibleman, shareholders in the law firm of Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, PC, have been named as "Super Lawyers" by the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers publication...

Matthew J. Wilson joins Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP.
December 30, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Matthew J. Wilson has joined Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP as an associate in the Business Transactions Department. Before joining Spencer Fane, he was an attorney with Eichner & Norris PLLC, a firm in...

Richard Werner joins J.W. Terrill.
December 30, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Richard Werner has joined the benefit services division of J.W. Terrill as an account executive in its strategic business unit. Making the announcement was Andy Thome, president of the Chesterfield, Mo.-based...

Missouri Mental Health Commission appoints director of Dept. of Mental Health.
December 30, 2006... Byline: Staff Report The Missouri Mental Health Commission has announced the appointment of C. Keith Schafer, Ed.D. as the new director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the State...

Blackwell Sanders announces 'Super Lawyers'.
December 30, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Blackwell Sanders is pleased to announce that 55 of its attorneys have been listed among Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2006. These include: Craig Biesterfeld, Sam Digirolamo, Brad Hiles, Neil Huber, Mike Kahn,...

Amber Smid joins June Roesslein Interiors as design assistant.
December 30, 2006... Byline: Daily Record Staff Amber Smid has joined June Roesslein Interiors (JRI) as a design assistant in the model home division. In addition to residential, JRI operates divisions in display home merchandising and custom home design. In...