Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from March 2003

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from March 2003

St. Charles County Banking Center names new community director.
March 1, 2003... Byline: press release Richard "Dick" C. Dickherber Sr. has been appointed a community director of the St. Charles County Banking Center of Citizens National Bank. Dickherber has worked at Dickherber Electric since he was 12 years old; he...

Commercial frustration not applicable in suit over lease.
March 1, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A landlord will have another day in court to try its breach of lease case against a drug rehabilitation center that decided not to occupy a north St. Louis building it had leased. In 1999, after New Beginnings...

New associate joins Simon, Lowe & Passanante.
March 1, 2003... Byline: press release Nancy R. Richards has joined the firm of Simon, Lowe & Passanante, P.C. as a member. She will practice in the areas of product liability, medical malpractice and general negligence. Formerly an associate at Gray,...

Simon, Lowe & Passanante adds to staff.
March 1, 2003... Byline: press release Todd S. Hageman has joined the firm of Simon, Lowe & Passanante, P.C. as a member. He will practice in the areas of toxic tort and pharmaceutical litigation. Formerly a partner at Goldenberg, Miller, Heller &...

New associate joins Evans & Dixon, L.L.C.
March 1, 2003... Byline: press release Lawrence L. Pratt has joined Evans & Dixon, L.L.C. as an associate in its Civil Litigation Practice where he represents insurers and self-insured entities in tort and insurance litigation cases. He is based in the...

Maring, kanefield & weissman, inc. adds three to staff.
March 1, 2003... Byline: press release Mike Behr has joined maring, kanefield & weissman, inc. in the capacity of account development and strategic planning. Prior to joining the firm, Behr worked for XPLANE as director of business development. Behr also...

Judge Booker T. Shaw sworn in on Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.
March 4, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Judge Booker T. Shaw was welcomed to the appellate bench on Friday afternoon at his formal investiture. Gov. Bob Holden appointed Shaw in November to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, to fill the seat...

Court interprets statutory language in favor of skilled nursing facility.
March 4, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser An appeal to the summary judgment ruling in favor of Leland Health Care concerning the heat-related deaths of two residents at its skilled nursing facility resulted in a partial affirmation and partial reversal and...

St. Louis atty. remembered for generosity, patience, friendship.
March 5, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser "Bill Van Cleve was the older brother I never had." The statement by former Sen. Bill Bradley thus began the words of tribute and thanksgiving spoken of William Moore Van Cleve at Washington University's March 3...

Former news anchor urges bar members to challenge history.
March 5, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Julius Hunter, former KMOV-TV anchor, gave what he said was his last Black History Month speech Thursday night at a celebration sponsored annually by the Lawyers Association of St. Louis and the Mound City Bar...

Sleeping man in idling car ruled to be driving.
March 6, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A man who was asleep at the wheel of a vehicle with the engine running was still operating the vehicle, the Missouri Supreme Court said Tuesday in a 4-3 decision. The decision drew two dissents -- one that charged...

Law firm president, chairman receives 2003 Award of Honor.
March 6, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Robert F. Ritter, president and chairman of Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C. has been selected as recipient of the Award of Honor from the Lawyers Association of St. Louis for 2003. Himself a past president and member of...

Judge to be honored by Nat'l Council of Jewish Women.
March 7, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Judge Susan E. Block will receive the highest honor from the National Council of Jewish Women -- the Hannah G. Solomon Founder's Award -- at a fundraising gala dinner\dance on April 12. The event, to be held at the...

Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co. hires physician practice mgmt. specialist.
March 8, 2003... Byline: press release Terri L. Fischer, a specialist in physician practice management, has joined Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP to improve physician reimbursement programs. Fischer is a certified professional coder and evaluates the...

New staffer to evaluate physician practice efficiency at Larson, Allen.
March 8, 2003... Byline: press release Sharon L. Cardwell, a specialist in physician practice management, has joined Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP to evaluate physician practice efficiency. Cardwell will assess human resource issues and analyze...

Larson, Allen, Weishair, & Co. names new manager.
March 8, 2003... Byline: press release Chadwick M. Sneed, CPA, a specialist in long-term care facilities, has been promoted to manager of Larson, Allen, Weishair & Co., LLP's newly expanded health care practice. He had been a senior accountant. Sneed...

Attorney joins Lathrop & Gage L.C. as of counsel.
March 8, 2003... Byline: press release Fred L. Vilbig has joined Lathrop & Gage L.C. as of counsel in the St. Louis office. Vilbig concentrates his practice in corporate, tax-exempt organizations and wealth strategies law. Vilbig was most recently with...

Husch & Eppenberger returns to downtown St. Louis.
March 8, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Husch & Eppenberger, L.L.C celebrated its new tenancy in the "Rudman on the Park" Building in downtown St. Louis with a ribbon-cutting and reception on Thursday afternoon. The newly renovated space is a mixed-use...

St. Louis law firm adds one to staff.
March 8, 2003... Byline: press release Husch & Eppenberger, LLC, is pleased to announce that Walter R. Lamkin has joined the firm as of counsel in the Land Use Development and Financing Practice Group of the St. Louis office. Lamkin's primary concentration...

Former law partner rejoins Suelthaus & Walsh.
March 8, 2003... Byline: press release David F. Yates has rejoined his former law partners at Suelthaus & Walsh, P.C. as chair of the firm's Employment Law Practice Group. Yates previously practiced for 14 years at Suelthaus & Walsh, P.C. Yates, who...

Study finds most clients rate their attorneys highly.
March 11, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser A recent study by a legal staffing service found that 73 percent of those polled prefer to find attorneys through word-of-mouth referrals. That method beat out The Yellow Pages (13 percent), online searching (7...

Commentary: Reader responds to article on Creve Coeur lawsuit.
March 11, 2003... Byline: Reader Submission Dear editor, I just recently saw your 2/19/03 article about the dismissal of Creve Coeur Mayor Annette Mandel's libel/slander/conspiracy suit by the appellate court. Given the remarks by the plaintiff's...

Constitutionality of manufactured home act gets called into question.
March 12, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter When an owner of a mobile home abandons the home, who gets possession: the owner of the mobile home park or the lender who financed the purchase of the home? Current law provides the means for park owners to attain...

'Set-off' provisions in auto policy draw partial reversal by court.
March 12, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, perceived many erroneous conclusions in a trial court's findings about "set-off" provisions meant to reduce claim amounts in a case centering around the state's...

Renters insurance is a must.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Apartment renters often think they do not need insurance to cover losses regarding their personal property and individual interests. Insurance professionals note that renters cannot afford to be without coverage and...

Compensation for multi-family housing agents in St. Louis above average.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel The Real Estate Services Group of Rubin, Brown, Gornstein & Co. LLP recently published their 2002 Multi-Family Real Estate Compensation Statistical Analysis, which presents information from over 34,000 government assisted...

Missouri Senate committee supports bill to protect senior citizens.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon The Missouri Senate Ways and Means Committee has offered unanimous support to legislation designed to provide senior citizens in Missouri relief from rising assessment obligations. Sponsored by state Sen. Chuck Gross,...

Multi housing groups to promote renting over home ownership.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon With continued reductions in mortgage rates and a flood of people moving into or upgrading their homeownership, owners and operators of multi-family housing complexes have seen their own share of the residential real...

Nonprofit musical theatre company to build complex in Chesterfield.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel STAGES ST. LOUIS, a professional, not-for-profit musical theatre company, will build a $15 million theatre and educational complex at Chesterfield Village in Chesterfield, Mo. The 59,000-square-foot facility will be built...

Claim for legal fees reinstated in Social Security case.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser The denial of a claim for legal fees accrued by a nine-year battle for social security disability benefits was reversed and remanded by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week. The court found in favor of...

Jefferson County Circuit Court judges discuss family court commissioner.
March 14, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The Jefferson County Circuit Court is calling for applications for the existing position of family court commissioner, currently held by Nathan Stewart. Stewart, the first family court commissioner in the Jefferson...

Asynchrony spins off PDA Defense Division, names Melnick as president of new unit.
March 18, 2003... Byline: press release Asynchrony Solutions, a provider of collaboration, communication and security solutions, recently announced it has named David J. Melnick president of its newly formed PDA Defense Division. The new division has been...

Groups opposed to consolidation of state legal services.
March 18, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Legal Services Corp. has decided that Missouri will have a statewide program to coordinate the work and the resources of the state's current legal aid programs. But that decision has met with some opposition from the...

Foreclosure proceedings begin against Union Station in St. Louis.
March 19, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Union Station will soon have a new owner. St. Louis Station Associates, the developer of St. Louis Union Station, has announced that it has reached an agreement with its lender, Regency Savings Bank of Oak Park, Ill., to...

Audit of St. Louis City circuit clerk's office revealing major discrepancies.
March 19, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Missouri Auditor Claire McCaskill announced the results of her latest audit of the St. Louis circuit clerk's office in a Tuesday afternoon news conference. McCaskill's report found that 63 percent of the...

Judge Quigless sworn in as a circuit court judge.
March 19, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Dreams really do come true. Judge Angela Turner Quigless is proof of that, said her friend and former colleague Hope Whitehead at the new circuit judge's formal swearing-in ceremony, held Friday afternoon in the...

Impeachment of Breckenridge Hills councilmember reversed by court.
March 20, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Anita M. Mason will rejoin the Breckenridge Hills City Council following her success in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, which reversed a circuit court's judgment affirming her impeachment and...

State supreme court rules reduction of jury's verdict in wrongful death suit erroneous.
March 21, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A verdict reduction under Section 537.060 is an affirmative defense and must be set out in a defendant's pleadings, said the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday, overturning a trial court's decision to reduce a...

Revisions to Historic Preservation Tax Credit Incentive program considered by state lawmakers.
March 21, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel A bill being considered by the Missouri General Assembly calls for revisions to the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Incentive program. House Bill 378, which was introduced last month, places a $5 million cap on the total...

Immigrants are new "niche" market for home sales.
March 21, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Experts are anticipating changes in residential property sales as the nation stands on the brink of an escalating war. But home builders and real estate agents looking for opportunities to keep their businesses alive...

Renters getting more respect as more people opt for home ownership.
March 21, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon As more people moved into homeownership during the past decade, the world of multifamily housing has been forced to become more competitive. Property owners and managers have watched their occupancy rates drop from an...

Bartosik joins sales promotion dept. at Adamson Advertising.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Diana Bartosik, account coordinator with Adamson Advertising, has been appointed to the sales promotion department. She joined Adamson from Swank Motion Pictures, where she was an assistant team leader. Bartosik...

Goeke joins Shea, Kohl, Alessi & O'Donnell, LC law firm.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release The law firm of Shea, Kohl, Alessi & O'Donnell, LC recently announced the addition of Gwendolyn Froidl Goeke as associate attorney. Goeke has been practicing in the St. Charles area since 1997, when she joined the St....

Thiagarajan joins Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, P.C. law firm.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Maia Thiagarajan has joined Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass, P.C. as an associate lawyer. Thiagarajan, a native of Minnesota, was admitted to the Missouri Bar in October 2002, is a member of the Bar Association of...

Stan K. Hampton joins Forum Studio Inc. as associate.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Stan K. Hampton has joined Forum Studio Inc. as an associate. Prior to joining Forum, Hampton was a principal of another St. Louis architectural firm, and he has held positions with two others, additionally. He holds...

Local accounting firm hires Robyn C. Rakers.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Rubin, Brown, Gornstein & Co. L.L.P. has added Robyn C. Rakers, CPA, as a manager in the firm's tax consulting and small-business services group. With 15 years of experience in accounting, Rakers was a senior manager...

Rotkvic joins Ascent Corp. as facilities assistant.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Jennifer Rotkvic has joined Ascent Corp. as a facilities assistant. Prior to joining Ascent, Rotkvic conducted financial research for Savvis Communications. She is currently pursuing a degree in criminal justice from...

U.S. Bank given partial reversal in suit over illegal PCB dumping.
March 22, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, partially affirmed and partially reversed a judgment that held U.S. Bank vicariously liable for the dumping of PCB-contaminated materials near a mobile home park. The...

Tom Mueller to head new division of American Equity Mortgage.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release CreditRight(tm), a new division of St. Louis-based American Equity Mortgage, has named Tom Mueller head of division. Prior to joining CreditRight, Mueller served as assistant vice president and director of sales for...

Governor names Kember as chair of new Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Gov. Bob Holden named R. Crosby Kember III, chairman and CEO of UMB Financial Corporation of Kansas City, as chairman of the newly created Commission on the Future of Higher Education. Holden created the commission to...

John A. Michener returns to Evans & Dixon, LLC in civil litigation area.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release John A. Michener has returned to Evans & Dixon, L.L.C. as a member in the firm's Civil Litigation Practice. Michener has more than 28 years of civil trial experience, 26 of which he gained during his previous tenure...

Coldwell Banker Commercial names Gwinnup as VP brokerage.
March 22, 2003... Byline: press release Stephen H. Gwinnup, CCIM, has joined Coldwell Banker Commercial CRA LLC as a vice president-brokerage. With more than 12 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, Gwinnup specializes in office...

Commercial fax law does not restrict free speech.
March 25, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The federal law restricting unsolicited commercial faxes does not violate the First Amendment because it restricts the manner in which the speech is conveyed rather than the content itself, according to a federal...

Bank lacked evidence on sale of repossessed auto.
March 26, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District ruled Tuesday that a defendant successfully appealed a deficiency judgment from Citizens National Bank by showing that the bank presented insufficient evidence of...

Anti-lapse statute applicable in dispute over will.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser A will that disinherited a testator's heirs at law still protected the inheritance rights of some lineal descendants of a named devisee, determined the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday....

Construction opportunities anticipated in rebuilding Iraq.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon The shock and awe of 3,000 targets hit by missiles and bombs last Friday compounded recent questions both inside and outside the construction industry regarding who will rebuild Iraq when the smoke clears. U.S....

St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers holds monthly meeting.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Six Sigma, which markets itself as an analytical way of solving quality problems and eliminating waste within companies, was the featured topic at the monthly meeting of the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers,...

Vacancy levels stable for industrial property.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon While office space, retail property and multifamily housing have experienced a decline in occupancy levels during the past two years, filling general industrial buildings and warehouses with clients is easier than...

Russian attorneys here learn about U.S. law practice.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Two Russian attorneys visited Jefferson County this week to observe the judicial system at work and meet with area attorneys. Sergey Goryachev and Alexander Plekhanov came to the United States at the beginning of...

Widow, surgeon reach $800,000 settlement.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The widow of a man who died days after being injured during gallbladder surgery reached an $800,000 settlement with the defendant doctor. The settlement was approved Tuesday by Judge Timothy Patterson of Jefferson...

Washington University law school to host biodiversity conference.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Washington University School of Law will host a Conference on Biodiversity, Biotechnology and the Legal Protection of Traditional Knowledge from April 4-6. The conference consists of four themed sessions aimed...

Lockwood receives award from Bar Assn. of Metropolitan St. Louis.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release Joan M. Lockwood, an attorney with the law firm of Gray, Ritter & Graham, P.C., has been named by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis the 2003 recipient of its John C. Shepherd Professionalism Award. The...

Patrick McLaughlin joins Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Patrick T. McLaughlin as an attorney in the St. Louis office and a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group. McLaughlin...

Barnes back as regional president-commercial banking for Midwest BankCentre.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release Ronald T. Barnes is returning to St. Louis as regional president-commercial banking for Midwest BankCentre. Following 20 years in executive positions with Mark Twain Bank in St. Louis, Barnes moved to Kansas City in...

Forum Studio, Inc. has added G. Andy Leek and Wade Rose to its architectural team.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release Forum Studio, Inc. has added G. Andy Leek and Wade Rose to its architectural team. Most recently, Rose served as a project manager and architect with another St. Louis architecture firm. He started his career with...

Linda A. Paradis, CPA, joins Rubin, Brown, Gornstein & Co. LLP.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release Linda A. Paradis, CPA, has joined Rubin, Brown, Gornstein & Co. LLP as a tax manager. Previously, she was a tax manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Venture Stores, Inc. Paradis is a member of the Missouri...

Barnes receives Univ. of Missouri-Columbia Recent Alumni Award.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release Dennis Barnes Jr. is a recipient of the 2003 Recent Alumni Award given by the University of Missouri-Columbia. Barnes, a 1993 graduate, was also recognized as the Phillip Lombardo Communication Executive in Residence...

St. Louis Regional Employee Relocation Council announces 2003 Board of Directors.
March 29, 2003... Byline: press release The St. Louis Regional Employee Relocation Council (ERC) is pleased to announce its 2003 Board of Directors: Terry Snare, Smufit-Stone Container -- president/program chair Larry Sontag, Countrywide Home Loans...

U.S. Supreme Court's decision allows IOLTA programs to continue.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday gave states the go-ahead to continue using interest on lawyers' trust accounts to pay for legal services for the poor. "We are very happy and pleased with the...