Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from January 2009

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from January 2009

In case you missed it: Some worthy legal events of 2008.
January 1, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Every year sees more notable legal stories than can fit into a Top 10 list. Here are some of the other worthy events of 2008 -- some of which will still be creating news in 2009 and beyond. New federal judges ...

Betonsports founder seeks release from pretrial detention.
January 1, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Betonsports founder Gary Kaplan is looking for a Get Out of Jail Free card from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- at least until he can be tried on federal racketeering, conspiracy and fraud charges. On Tuesday,...

Missouri court says some injuries need no expert testimony.
January 1, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission doesn't need to hear testimony from an expert witness when the injury in question is not technical, an appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The Missouri Court of Appeals...

In case you missed it: Some worthy legal events of 2008.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Every year sees more notable legal stories than can fit into a Top 10 list. Here are some of the other worthy events of 2008 -- some of which will still be creating news in 2009 and beyond. New federal judges ...

Betonsports founder seeks release from pretrial detention.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Betonsports founder Gary Kaplan is looking for a Get Out of Jail Free card from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- at least until he can be tried on federal racketeering, conspiracy and fraud charges. On Tuesday,...

Missouri court says some injuries need no expert testimony.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission doesn't need to hear testimony from an expert witness when the injury in question is not technical, an appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The Missouri Court of Appeals...

What Missouri lawyers expect to be up, down legal areas in 2009.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter 2009 is expected to be a tough year for law firms. The economic turbulence brought on by the credit crisis caused corporations to tighten their belts, leading to less work for lawyers in such traditional corporate...

Missouri law firms to increase focus on value, strategy.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter One all-too-familiar story in 2008 was of law firms reducing their ranks to cut expenses. Since the year-old economic recession began last December, law firms reliant on traditional corporate practices have...

Gov. Blunt picks 3 for judicial commissions.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck and Kelly Wiese Gov. Matt Blunt, never the biggest fan of the Nonpartisan Court Plan, made three appointments on Friday that will ensure he has an influence on the process for the next few years. In two of the cases,...

Acquittal hearing nears for Missouri's 'cyber-bullying mom'.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter The so-called cyber-bullying mom could learn her fate as early as this week. A hearing on Lori Drew's motion for acquittal is scheduled for Thursday morning, and Judge George H. Wu has told the lawyers involved in the...

Attorney objects to settlement of Missouri governor's e-mail suit.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese An attorney for special investigators is officially objecting to settlement of the state lawsuit against Gov. Matt Blunt's office over public records. What effect that objection will have remains unclear. A hearing on...

Drugmakers not liable for meth production, societal ills, rules 8th Circuit.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Drugmakers who manufacture cold medicine containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine cannot be held liable for the societal ills that accompany the production and use of methamphetamine, a federal appeals court said...

St. Louis Circuit Court: Plaintiffs drop suit against priest.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese Seven plaintiffs who had been set to begin trial Monday against a former priest they allege sexually abused them instead dropped their suits against him. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, who sued as John and Jane Does,...

Students sue Sanford Brown College in Missouri for fraud.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A lawsuit has been filed against Sanford Brown College, alleging that the institution fraudulently misrepresented its educational offerings. The five-plaintiff lawsuit is the second one filed in St. Louis County, but...

Commentary: SCOTUSWiki.com is awesome.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier It's rare that I will endorse anything with this column, but I think I have to share a find with Daily Record readers. SCOTUSWiki.com is awesome. The SCOTUS stands for Supreme Court of the United States, and evidently...

Fight against Kansas City's smoking ban suffers setback.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick Kansas City's smoking ban has again withstood challenges that seek to strike it down. Two judges on Monday denied motions filed by a pair of bartenders fighting citations they received from the city's health...

Cole County Circuit judge signs off on e-mail settlement in dispute over Missouri government records.
January 6, 2009... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report A circuit judge signed off Monday on a settlement reached between court-appointed attorneys and those for Gov. Matt Blunt in a long-running dispute over government records. An attorney for...

Bryan Cave lawyer to run Missouri Department of Economic Development.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese Gov.-elect Jay Nixon has tapped Bryan Cave partner Linda Martinez to run the state Department of Economic Development. Martinez's legal practice has focused on development and related incentives at the local, state and...

Company sues Missouri over e-filing plan.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick A legal-news provider is suing to prevent a proposed statewide electronic case filing system from being managed by a private contractor. In the federal lawsuit filed on Monday, California-based Courthouse News...

Legal malpractice suit filed against Missouri law firm over prenup.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley The Kaiser Law Firm is facing a legal malpractice suit filed by a man who alleges the firm's negligence and carelessness in drafting his prenuptial agree-ment cost him over $500,000 in his subsequent divorce. Ken...

Donnelly to lead Missouri state health agency: Other lawyers tapped for AG's office.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese Outgoing state Rep. Margaret Donnelly has been chosen as the next director of the state health department. Donnelly narrowly lost the Democratic primary for attorney general to Chris Koster. On Wednesday, Gov.-elect...

Missouri Supreme Court hears signed ball controversy.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The state's disciplinary counsel is asking the Missouri Supreme Court for a stiffer penalty for a St. Charles County attorney who lied to federal investigators about his role in an unusual case involving a client...

Missouri Supreme Court: Death penalty appeal focuses on juror selection, retention.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The way jurors were selected and retained was the focus of a death penalty appeal Wednesday at the Missouri Supreme Court for a Kirkwood man who shot and killed a police officer. Kevin Johnson was sentenced to death...

St. Louis patent attorneys sued for malpractice over $27M case.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Coin Acceptors Inc., a St. Louis-based company ordered to pay nearly $27 million in a patent infringement case, filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against two St. Louis law firms and the two lawyers who handled the...

Changes coming to 16th Circuit: Joel May to fill Moorhouse's vacancy.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick Joel May will be Gov. Matt Blunt's final judicial appointment. Blunt, who leaves office on Monday, selected May, an assistant U.S. attorney, for the Jackson County Circuit bench late Tuesday afternoon. He formally...

Residents of St. Louis County subdivision sue over tax increase.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Residents of the Robinwood West subdivision in St. Louis County have filed a class action lawsuit against the Robinwood West Community Improvement District's alleging that the CID could not impose a 2008 property tax...

Missouri's U.S. Senator Kit Bond won't seek fifth term: Candidates to line up for 2010 election.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese and Jason Rosenbaum U.S. Sen. Kit Bond will not seek re-election when his seat is up again in 2010. Bond, a Republican, was first elected a senator in 1986 and has been re-elected three times. Bond shared the news in a...

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff asks Obama to revise guidelines.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri Supreme Court Judge Michael A. Wolff and the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court have asked President-elect Barack Obama to work toward a major change in state and federal sentencing practices. The...

Fate of Missouri woman convicted of fraud for MySpace hoax still up in the air.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Lawyers for the O'Fallon woman convicted of misdemeanor computer fraud for a MySpace hoax that led to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl asked a Los Angeles federal judge Thursday to overturn her convictions. On...

'Cookie' Thornton's family in Missouri remains mired in lawsuits.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley The legal troubles that apparently led Charles Lee Cookie Thornton to go on a shooting rampage at Kirkwood City Hall last year continue for his family. Thornton was killed by police officers on Feb. 7 after he shot and...

Class action lawsuit filed in St. Louis County Court alleges extra dosage in medication.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A class action suit against Ethex Corp. was filed on Wednesday in St. Louis County Court, alleging that the company's pharmaceutical tablets contained a larger dose than listed on the label. Howard Fox, the named...

A day off for Missouri governor's inauguration? Not this year.
January 10, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley While many of the state's court staff might have hoped to have the day off for Gov.-elect Jay Nixon's swearing-in, only those lucky enough to be working in Jefferson City are not in their offices today. It has been...

Renowned surgeon takes Washington University to trial in St. Louis Circuit Court.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A world-renowned surgeon's age discrimination lawsuit against Washington University is set to go to trial Tuesday in St. Louis Circuit Court. Dr. Joel Cooper, who is credited with successfully performing the first lung...

Eastern District Judge Booker Shaw leaves Missouri Court of Appeals.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Eastern District Judge Booker Shaw is joining the exodus from the Court of Appeals. After 25 years as a judge, Shaw will retire in February to become a partner in the litigation and appellate litigation practices at...

Westboro Church sues over city of St. Joseph's funeral protest law.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of the founder of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., sued the city of St. Joseph last week over a city ordinance barring protests around funerals and funeral processions....

Commentary: Nobody likes jail cuisine, but still...
January 12, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier Last Wednesday afternoon a sheriff in a small Alabama town went to jail. He didn't go there for breaking Alabama law. Instead, Sheriff Greg Bartlett was placed in his own jail after prisoners there testified in a...

St. Louis law enforcement agencies create Violent Offenders Unit.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley The U.S. Attorney's Office and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Career Criminal Unit will be working with a new Violent Offenders Unit aimed to stop the area's most violent crimes. St. Louis Police Chief Dan Isom...

Missouri's Governor-elect Jay Nixon taps more lawyers for posts.
January 12, 2009... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report More lawyers have been tapped to hold key roles in Jay Nixon's administration. Nixon on Friday announced that he has chosen Stephen Danner to lead the Missouri National Guard, and picked Lawrence...

Kansas City immigration court hopes to trim backlog.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick Though it's been open for about three months, a new immigration court in Kansas City won't get its first judge until March. But once veteran Jackson County Circuit Judge John O'Malley joins the U.S. Immigration...

U.S, Supreme Court denies cert in Missouri Public Service Commission case.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter The U.S. Supreme Court won't review a dispute between the Missouri Public Service Commission and Southwestern Bell Telephone over the authority of the commission to enforce a provision of the Telecommunications Act of...

8th Circuit affirms upward variance to sentence.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A federal judge did not err in giving a man who enticed a woman into prostitution a sentence almost two and a half times what was recommended by guidelines, a federal appeals court said in a 2-1 decision. District...

Arbitration agreement covers former supervisor, rules federal appeals court in Missouri.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A former H&R Block supervisor facing an employment discrimination lawsuit has the right to arbitrate the claims filed against him, a federal appeals court said Monday. Jodi Finnie, a black female, was hired as a...

Striking nurses entitled to unemployment benefits, rules Missouri Supreme Court.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A six-week strike by nurses at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur ended in 2005, but the nurses just learned they won't have to pay back the unemployment benefits they received during the strike. The...

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says no to threshold for public defender cases.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Gov. Jay Nixon on Tuesday reacted negatively to a legislative proposal allowing the state's Public Defender Commission to establish a maximum case threshold. In his first news conference since he was sworn in as...

Arbitration clauses can't stop wrongful death suits, rules Missouri Supreme Court.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday strengthened the legal claims of the surviving children of residents who die in nursing homes. In two separate opinions, the high court ruled that the children of two residents...

Missouri Supreme Court rules law changes violate ADA.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese A woman with both physical and mental disabilities is due services under a state program, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, finding a 2005 change in the eligibility standard violates federal anti-discrimination laws. A...

City not immune in wrongful death suit, rules Missouri Court of Appeals Western District.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick The dismissal of a wrongful death suit over a boy's drowning near a Kansas City school was reversed by an appellate court on Tuesday. The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District ruled the parents of Christopher...

Juvenile officers denied use of retirement fund by Missouri Supreme Court.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a bid by a group of juvenile court officers in Jefferson County to enter into a retirement fund for county employees. Several juvenile court officers challenged a state statute...

'Unusually lenient sentence' rejected by 8th Circuit.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Ten years in prison is not enough for a woman who restrained her 9-year-old daughter to allow a child predator to molest her, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. It marked the third time the 8th U.S. Circuit Court...

Constructive discharge not a Mo. Human Rights Act claim, rules Mo. Supreme Court.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Lawyers for a man who sued the Missouri Athletic Club for Missouri Human Right Act violations are entitled to $22,000 in attorney fees -- not the $170,000 they sought -- because the plaintiff didn't win on those...

Commentary: Keep those organizational skills sharp.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes A perusal of current want ads will suggest that strong computer skills is a priority when it comes to qualifications for a legal secretary. But organizational skills are still mentioned more than once when...

Kansas City, Jackson County to team up on jail: Inmates could be temporarily housed at courthouse.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Twenty-five years after they were mothballed, four floors of the Jackson County Courthouse might again house inmates, if only temporarily. Jackson County and Kansas City officials said Wednesday that they plan to...

Ex-St. Louis Ram sues NFL for disability benefits, says team failed to disclose kidney disease.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A former St. Louis Rams defensive tackle is suing the National Football League's player retirement plan for failing to pay disability benefits and accusing the team of knowingly aggravating his kidney disease by giving...

St. Louis Spirits owners sue NBA over TV revenues.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter The National Basketball Association and four old expansion teams are violating the terms of a 32-year-old agreement by not paying the owners of the St. Louis Spiits the television revenues the club is entitled to,...

Discrimination trial against Washington University begins in St. Louis Circuit Court.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Opening arguments began Thursday in St. Louis Circuit Court in an age-discrimination case by the Father of the Lung Transplant against Washington University. Dr. Joel Cooper, who is credited with successfully...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District resignations now official.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Wednesday formally announced the resignations of three of its judges. Judges Paul Spinden and Ron Holliger leave the court this week, and Judge Joseph Dandurand will...

Missouri Supreme Court orders Valley Park vote: Annexation proposals found to be noncontested cases.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick The Missouri Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court's order that a vote be taken on a proposed annexation in St. Louis County. In the unanimous ruling last week, the court held that Associate Circuit Judge Patrick...

St. Louis County takes second shot at bond issue for new buildings.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley If at first you don't succeed... The St. Louis County Council wants to give voters another crack at approving a $120 million bond issue for a new, up-to-date County Government Center. After promptings from County...

Commentary: Who's flying the economy's plane?
January 19, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier I am hoping the plane that crashed into the Hudson River last week will be a good metaphor for our economy. The engines die. The whole thing is going to go down whether we like it or not, and a calm, patient, Cool Hand...

Doctor testifies about leaving Washington University in St. Louis.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A world renowned lung surgeon continued his testimony Friday in his age discrimination case against Washington University and his former supervisor, claiming the university took away control of his division and reduced...

St. Louis inflatable buildings company broadens litigation over Russian domes.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole A St. Louis inflatable buildings company that won a nearly $17 million arbitration award against a client now is targeting a competitor over a contract for sports domes in Russia. Arizon filed a lawsuit Jan. 5 in...

Mo. Court of Appeals Eastern District: Wrongful firing case remanded for new trial.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A woman who won a $125,000 verdict against her former employer for retaliatory discharge will have to go back to court to prove her cooperation with a federal investigation into the company's overtime practices was the...

When 'shammy' goes on trial, dictionaries fail: Mo. Court of Appeals W. District vacates conviction.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick Clearly William Heather wasn't referring to the super-absorbent reusable cleaning cloth when he left hostile messages on a woman's phone more than two years ago. What isn't clear is exactly what Heather meant when...

During testimony in St. Louis Circuit Court, lung surgeon admits to operational deficits.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Dr. Joel Cooper, the famous lung surgeon who is suing Washington University, admitted on cross-examination to making transfers of foundation funds to offset an operational deficit in his division. My running of the...

Historic Kansas City hotel sues over obscene sheetrock.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick A historic Kansas City hotel is blaming a local construction company for graphic markings that have appeared in a number of rooms over the past several years. Since the Hotel Phillips opened in 2001, according to a...

Missouri Supreme Court to consider losses allowed in company vehicle case.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese The Missouri Supreme Court is set to consider which types of damages are allowed when an unusual company vehicle is involved in a wreck. The court today will hear oral arguments in the case of Gateway Foam Insulators....

Racial discrimination suit revived against St. Louis County.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A federal appeals court said five St. Louis County employees can pursue their racial discrimination lawsuit against the county. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday the federal trial court was wrong to...

Lethal injection challenge reheard by Missouri Supreme Court.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The Missouri Supreme Court reheard a case on Thursday challenging protocols involved in executing inmates convicted of capital offenses. After a federal judge halted executions in 2006, the Department of Corrections...

Missouri property rights group renews efforts to curb eminent domain.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri Citizens for Property Rights has received the go-ahead from Secretary of State Robin Carnahan to begin circulating petitions for amendments that would eliminate the use of eminent domain for private...

Missouri Senate bill would ban red-light cameras.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley As part of the continued efforts against red-light cameras, state Sen. Jim Lembke introduced a bill Wednesday to prohibit cities from using the cameras to enforce traffic violations. The St. Louis County Republican...

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster names heads of litigation and ag divisions.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick Attorney General Chris Koster recruited two long-time litigators to take top positions in his office. St. Louis attorney Joel Poole will serve as chief counsel of the litigation division, and Jack McManus, a member...

Who decides? Kansas City Police Board or hearing officer?
January 23, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick The Kansas City Police Board of Commissioners says the decision to fire a police officer ultimately rests with its members. But an officer terminated by the commissioners for alleged use of excessive force contends...

St. Louis Circuit Court: Former boss testifies to budget conflict.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley The bottom line is turning out to be the theme in the Father of the Lung Transplant's age-discrimination case against Washington University. On Friday, Dr. Timothy Eberlein testified in St. Louis Circuit Court that a...

Criminal complaint in Kansas City could derail a pending civil lawsuit.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck It's always nice to win a civil lawsuit. But the measures two women in Kansas City allegedly took to tip the balance in their favor are now the subject of a federal criminal investigation. In an affidavit released last...

Husch Blackwell combines offices in Clayton.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Husch Blackwell Sanders' combination of its St. Louis offices will be swift. The firm will move 184 attorneys and staff from its downtown St. Louis office to 210,000 square feet in The Plaza in Clayton office building...

Commentary: Juvenile courts need our time.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier I got into this whole lawyer thing after a stint as a Court Appointed Special Advocate in Greene County, Ohio. I was also covering the courts and county government for the Xenia Daily Gazette there and got to know the...

Former Missouri bank officer pleads guilty to fund misapplication.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A former president of First Bank Mortgage has pleaded guilty to misapplication of funds, causing a loss to the mortgage company of $35 million, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway announced. Mark Turkcan's problems began...

Credit score damage costs bank $171K.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick A small but wrongly applied credit card fee dinged a man's credit score so badly that it cost him tens of thousands of dollars when he bought a house. Now the bank that stubbornly refused to waive the fee has to pay...

Videoconferencing makes debut in 16th Circuit.
January 26, 2009... Byline: David Knopf The Jackson County Circuit Court's new Polycom video-conferencing system passed its maiden voyage with flying colors, judges in Kansas City and Independence say. The system enabled around 10 members of the circuit...

Guardian ad litem payments limited, rules Mo. Court of Appeals, Eastern District.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Money can be a concern for anyone intending to go to court, but an appeals court decision lessens that worry for anyone seeking an order of protection for their child. Most times when we're filing an adult or a child...

Lake of gas yields $19.5M settlement: Missouri firms aid in Illinois case.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Five Missouri plaintiffs' firms and an Illinois firm nailed down a $19.5 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over an underground gasoline lake in Hartford, Ill. Madison County, Ill., Circuit Court Judge...

Misconduct doesn't justify longer sentence, rules 8th Circuit.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge in St. Louis didn't have the right to double the sentence imposed on the owner of a payroll services company, despite what the district judge characterized as fraud on the court. On Monday, the 8th...

No snow day likely for St. Louis-area courts.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Snow might delay justice in St. Louis area courtrooms today, but it won't deny justice. The National Weather Service forecast 3 to 5 inches of snow mixed with sleet by this morning with the possibility of another 2...

Missouri Supreme Court divides over prior offender status.
January 28, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter State law requires prosecutors to plead and prove a defendant is a prior offender before the case is submitted to the jury, a deeply divided Missouri Supreme Court said Tuesday. For Michael Teer, the decision means 16...