Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from March 2002

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from March 2002

Landlord-tenant question needs to be answered in fraternity shooting case.
March 1, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Whether Drury University or Beta Iota House Corp. was the landlord of the Kappa Alpha fraternity house is an issue of fact to be determined by a jury, ruled the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. There was evidence...

Finance experts warn homeowners about equity draining.
March 1, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon A survey of bank lending practices released last week by the Federal Reserve Board indicates that the recent rush to consolidate loans and refinance real estate with continued low interest rates is causing homeowners to...

Kitchen condition critical to home sales.
March 1, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon St. Louis Association of Realtors has confirmed findings of a study by SieMatic Corp. stating that 85 percent of home purchasing decisions are ultimately made based on the condition of a house's kitchen. SLAR...

Missouri Supreme Court judge suggests new limit to peremptory challenges.
March 2, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter In an effort to provide for racially diverse juries, one Missouri Supreme Court judge has proposed limiting the number of peremptory challenges available to each side. In a concurring opinion to Tuesday's decision...

Retired Missouri Supreme Court Judge joins law firm.
March 2, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Judge John C. Holstein, who retired from the Missouri Supreme Court, has joined the law firm of Shughart Thomson and Kilroy P.C. in Springfield. Holstein will be part of the firm's Springfield mediation and arbitration...

Civil rights lawyer Morris Dees optimistic about race relations.
March 5, 2002... Byline: Elissa Fuchs Winning a $7 million lawsuit is generally impressive, but when the defendant is the Ku Klux Klan, the feat is especially significant. Morris Dees, a civil rights lawyer, sues hate crime perpetuators and takes other...

Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay Jr. addresses annual Black History Month dinner.
March 5, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay Jr. gave lawyers a call to action at the Lawyers Association of Greater St. Louis and the Mound City Bar Association's ninth annual Black History Month Celebration on Friday at the Starlight Roof...

Local atty. to be honored with Lawyers Assn. award.
March 6, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Gerald R. Ortbals, senior partner in the St. Louis office of Stinson, Mag & Fizzell P.C., will receive the highest honor bestowed by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis. The Selection Committee voted Monday night to...

Tour guide had duty to warn eighth-graders about hotel swimming pool, near drowning.
March 6, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A travel agent working for a school had a duty to warn about the possible dangers of a hotel swimming pool since a child had almost died a week earlier while swimming, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern...

State misapplied accomplice liability statute in drug case.
March 6, 2002... Byline: Sheila Thiele The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District found the state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Nathaniel L. May possessed a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to Section...

Man's widow to receive workers' compensation benefits, expenses.
March 7, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter The widow of a man who died 32 days after having knee-replacement surgery will receive survivor benefits as well as funeral and medical expenses from the man's former employer under the Workers' Compensation Act,...

Claims for relief enough to withstand dismissal.
March 7, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Allegations of fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty in an investment agreement are enough to withstand a motion to dismiss, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District on Tuesday. Both parties, however,...

Realtors assn. urges agents to exercise safety.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon Real estate professionals and law enforcement officers are praising a new tool released this week by the National Association of Realtors. The nation's largest network of property sellers has produced a video titled...

Construction firms low on list of OSHA safety violations.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has sent a personal letter to approximately 13,000 employers nationwide notifying them that injury and illness rates at their work sites significantly...

Water can be cut off to couple's property after no finding of affirmative misconduct.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter A city in southwestern Missouri has the right to shut off water being used outside the city limits because the water lines were extended and hooked up by the property owners even after the city told them not to do so....

Court says defendant can be forcibly medicated.
March 9, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess When the charges are serious enough, the government can forcibly medicate someone, making them competent to stand trial, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday. Judge Kermit E. Bye dissented, saying that...

Women legislators promote bills at annual luncheon.
March 12, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Women legislators told their stories and stumped for the legislation they hope to move through the Missouri General Assembly this session at the annual legislative luncheon sponsored by the Women Lawyers' Association...

Clerk to receive compensation for additional work.
March 12, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A clerk who took on additional duties after her supervisor had retired but was never compensated or promoted for that work will receive compensation for her equal pay claim, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in...

Exclusion of evidence improper when relevant to refute defense's argument.
March 12, 2002... Byline: Sheila Thiele Statistical evidence of a doctor's personal work history was improperly excluded from evidence since the defense presented its own statistical evidence. Deniece and Andy Gingerich sued Dr. James E. Kline, M.D., of...

Court reinforces prior ruling on judgment liens.
March 13, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission may not pursue its case against Gene Overall, former circuit clerk of the St. Louis County Circuit Court, for failing to abstract a judgment in a timely manner because...

Rise in prisoner's child support was abuse of discretion.
March 13, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A trial court's ruling that changed a child support order to $100 per month for a man in prison was an abuse of discretion, said the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on Tuesday. By the time the father is...

Property line disputes meet adverse possession elements.
March 14, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Good fences make good neighbors -- but only if the fences are in the right place. On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, resolved two property disputes between neighbors in Cass County,...

Fraud claim may be pursued despite plaintiff's lack of diligence.
March 15, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A man who failed to further investigate allegations of fraud regarding stock he once owned will be allowed to pursue his own fraud claim, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. His claim for breach of...

Corporate responsibility call walks fine line between business, state.
March 15, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon President George W. Bush, the first occupant of the White House to hold an advanced business degree, took a bold step last week by doing what many Americans have for years said needed to be done with domestic policy:...

Home sales remain solid as economy emerges from recession.
March 15, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who during the past year has become the national guru of all conditions economic, announced last Thursday that the mini-recession that statistically began one year ago is coming...

Mold grows as a concern in disclosure statements.
March 15, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon Real estate attorneys and professionals in both residential and commercial sales agree that between 70 percent and 80 percent of all real estate lawsuits filed by buyers are related to disclosure issues not made clear...

Bills would insure children of divorced parents.
March 16, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Working its way through Missouri's House of Representatives is House Bill 1780, a bill that aims to make it easier for the Division of Child Support Enforcement to get health care for children by using a standard...

Law firm to stay downtown in move to new offices.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter After 20 years at 705 Olive, Brown & James is moving its St. Louis office to the top three floors of the building at 1010 Market St. The law firm has outgrown its current office space, and the move will enable it to...

Study shows many lawyers dealing with flood of e-mail.
March 20, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess With the increased use of personal digital assistants, cell phones and laptops, lawyers can usually be reached at any time, anywhere. With all this connectedness, are today's attorneys too bogged down with technology? A...

Petitioner had duty to include variance ordinance in suit.
March 20, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Since a redevelopment corporation failed to admit into evidence the ordinance showing that a preservation board lacked authority, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, affirmed the lower court's decision to...

U.S. Supreme Court affirms medical leave decision.
March 21, 2002... Byline: Deborah Fauver Employers may not be required to grant an additional 12 weeks of unpaid leave as a penalty for failing to give individual notice of Family and Medical Leave benefits, held the U.S. Supreme Court, 5-4, on Monday,...

Co-employees have workers' compensation immunity.
March 21, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Even though an employee's actions may cause a fellow worker's injury, if the actions taken were in the performance of the employer's non-delegable duties, the employee is protected by workers' compensation immunity and...

City of Berkeley, Mo., had enough evidence to terminate fire chief.
March 21, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess The city of Berkeley presented competent and substantial evidence to support its termination of an employee, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. A trial court had previously ruled the Berkeley Civil...

Suit falls under Missouri law even though a federal decree involved.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A suit claiming malicious prosecution and abuse of process "arises under" Missouri common law, giving state court jurisdiction, even though a federal decree is involved in the case, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of...

Homebuilders oppose community character measure.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The National Association of Home Builders has come out in strong opposition against a bill working its way through the U.S. Senate that, if passed, would establish a uniform set of standards for residential and...

Landfill operator's $1.9 million damage award was based on city circuit court's speculation.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter A Missouri appeals court reversed a $1.9 million award granted to a landfill operator for anticipated net profits because the anticipated profits depended upon the Missouri Department of Natural Resources approving the...

Mortgage bankers take steps to stop predatory lenders.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The Mortgage Bankers Association is taking aggressive steps to head off the increasing problem of predatory lending. "Almost every state has two to five predatory lending bills; we currently have three in the state of...

Recession recovery leads to tighter job market.
March 22, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The Midwest was one of the last areas in the nation to feel the impact of a yearlong mini-recession and in turn will be one of the final areas to see it abate. And because it was a shallow recession, only a shallow...

Reverse discrimination case to heard by jury.
March 23, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter A white man who was dissatisfied with the pay increases that accompanied his promotion at Sprint PCS has won the chance to have his reverse discrimination claim heard by a federal jury. On Tuesday, the 8th U.S....

Assigned annuity payments not subordinate to debtor's interest.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A debtor failed to show that her assignment of annuity payments to an insurance company was subordinate to her interest, ruled the 8th U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel on Friday. The court found the debtor never tried to...

City employee's wife has standing in suit against Ferguson.
March 26, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter The wife of a Ferguson firefighter has standing to bring her First Amendment claims against the city in a dispute about an ordinance that prohibits city employees from directly or indirectly supporting candidates for...

Mother's change of residence restricts father's rights.
March 27, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess The reduction of a father's visitation with his child by eight hours a week due to a change in residence by the mother is considered restricting the father's rights, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District....

Realtors assn. fights banks selling real estate.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon National Association of Realtors became more aggressive in their opposition to financial institutions conducting business as real estate agents by launching a multimillion-dollar radio commercial campaign suggesting...

Bill to license Missouri home inspectors given the once-over.
March 29, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon A newly revamped bill that is gaining support by elected officials in the Missouri legislature and members of the American Society of Home Inspectors is touted as offering increased security to both individuals...

Appeals court clarifies scope of authorization.
March 30, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, clarified the scope of authorization on Thursday by finding that an employer's verbal approval given to an employee to seek medical treatment for a work-related injury is...

Lawyer gives speech on career in social justice.
March 30, 2002... Byline: Elissa Fuchs Idealism and realism often seem opposites, but Richard Baron has congealed these two ostensibly foreign ideologies together to foster improvements in communities. As Joel Seligman, dean of Washington University Law...