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

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

Court jurisdiction holds despite union ruling.
May 1, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A worker who brought a claim against his union before the National Labor Relations Board can also bring a claim against the union before a U.S. District Court, even though the second claim stems from the same event,...

Incomplete application for court-appointed attorney not enough to deny representation.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter A father will have another opportunity to fight the termination of his parental rights because the circuit court wrongly denied his application for a court-appointed attorney, according to a Missouri appeals court. ...

Dismissal of workers' compensation case reversed due to improper procedures.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Both the Division of Workers' Compensation and the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission failed to follow procedure in dismissing a workers' compensation case because their dismissal orders did not contain any...

Banks not protected from negligence claims.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Banks are not protected from negligence claims by the Uniform Commercial Code, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The court did find, however, that Missouri banks cannot be sued under the UCC...

Financial crisis means setting priorities to keep mortgage and life secure.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon During his 1980 campaign, former President Ronald Reagan spoke to people facing loss of employment, the threat of foreclosure on their homes and the gain of inflation on their standard of living by stating: "Recession...

Experts watch for real estate bubble to cool.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon Financial investments from time to time will see economic bubbles expand rapidly only to burst when the buying frenzy over a stock or product line has lost its appeal. Bubbles are the periods of time when a given...

Lindenwood Univ. sued for racial discrimination.
May 4, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter A former Lindenwood University student is one step closer to having a jury hear his claims of breach of contract and racial discrimination against the university. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said...

Bar Assn. of Metro St. Louis has new president.
May 4, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Joan M. Swartz, the newest president of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, is excited about the coming year, with the continuance of several established programs and the addition of several new ones, and said...

New trial over failure to allow juror's questions.
May 7, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess In a split decision, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, found that a trial court had erred by failing to ask two jurors' questions central to a farmer's claim that contaminated milk killed several of his...

High court's disability ruling gets mixed reaction.
May 7, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter The tension between employers' well-established seniority systems and the rights of disabled employees to be reassigned to vacant positions came through in last week's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. Airways...

Lack of specific policy language waives sovereign immunity.
May 8, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Political subdivisions of the state of Missouri waive sovereign immunity by having general liability insurance policies that don't include language specifically excluding coverage for liability or lawsuits that would...

Fraudulent conveyance not discharged when debtor files a bankruptcy action.
May 8, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A fraudulent conveyance of property by a debtor to hide assets from creditors is not discharged when the debtor files for bankruptcy protection, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on Tuesday. This is...

State's public utility rule does not violate Commerce Clause.
May 9, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter A Missouri statute that requires public utilities that do business in the state to get prior approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission before buying shares of utilities that operate outside of the state does...

National survey finds personal injury verdicts rising; Missouri survey finds verdicts decreasing.
May 10, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Two surveys on the amount juries are awarding plaintiffs in personal injury cases show that while the award amounts are increasing nationally, Missouri is lagging behind the national average. The result of the surveys,...

Tornado-resistant homes planned for Jefferson County.
May 10, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon A mild winter this year has led to a brutal spring of damaging storms and deadly tornadoes in eastern Missouri and southern Illinois. During the past month, and nearly on a weekly basis, nature's destructive power has...

MoDOT finds funding hope in comments by President Bush.
May 10, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon With state budget concerns and 32,000 miles of major highway projects at some stage of construction, repair or in need of repair, officials at the Missouri Department of Transportation admitted this week that they will...

Council wins battle over fair housing.
May 10, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The Equal Housing Opportunity Council announced this week that it is making gains in the St. Louis market as far as fighting discrimination between real estate companies and would-be buyers but admitted it still has a...

Court of Appeals uphold DWI conviction.
May 11, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Although the law requires police officers to give someone 20 minutes to contact a lawyer before requesting that person submit to a chemical test, an officer who requested a woman submit to the test after only 16...

Jury's verdict in contract case reinstated.
May 14, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A district court's decision to disregard a jury's verdict in favor of a judgment as a matter of law was improper, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, finding that there was ample evidence to support...

The Missouri Bar to hold special election due to resignation.
May 15, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Clayton attorney Thomas M. Lang will resign from the office of Missouri Bar vice president in July. He made the announcement at the bar's spring board of governors meeting, which was held Friday in Jefferson City. ...

Judge's duty to resolve matter of law in legal malpractice case.
May 15, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess In a case of first impression, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, found that with a legal malpractice case, where there remains a question as to a matter of law, it is the judge's responsibility to resolve...

Atty. remembered for integrity, loyalty, courage.
May 16, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Godfrey P. Padberg was an excellent trial advocate and a zealous advocate for his clients. But those who knew him reserve their highest praise for the man himself -- his integrity and his character, especially in the...

Erosion taking place in affordability of homes.
May 17, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The National Association of Realtors has admitted what housing advocates have known for a long time and more affluent would-be residential real estate buyers are learning: There is an erosion taking place in the...

More home owners remodeling instead of relocating.
May 17, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon Builders and Realtors confirm that there is a shift taking place in the real estate market that has homeowners looking for qualified professionals they can count on to make structural modifications in their homes while...

MO Supreme Court clarifies 'mental abnormality'.
May 17, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A Missouri Supreme Court clarification of the term "mental abnormality" will require the rehearing of several sexual predator cases to allow a jury to determine whether the predator can control his behavior or whether...

Fraud claim not barred by res judicata.
May 18, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter Even though a circuit court's partial summary judgment included a finding that there was no fraud, a plaintiff's subsequent claim for fraud is not barred by res judicata or collateral estoppel because the partial...

St. Louis judge remembered as learned, caring.
May 21, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Judge Thomas McGuire, known to be a judge who was fair and who showed no favoritism, died last Wednesday, May 15, at his home in St. Louis. McGuire, who retired from the bench five years ago, died from complications of...

Teachers file suit over unemployment eligibility.
May 22, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Eligibility for unemployment benefits must first be determined by deputies of the Division of Employment Security before any other agency can make a determination, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District,...

Publisher not responsible for delivery truck drivers.
May 22, 2002... Byline: Deborah Fauver A newspaper publisher simply isn't responsible for the poor driving of its independent contractor delivery people, held a unanimous panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on Tuesday, granting...

New associate circuit judge for family court named.
May 23, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess St. Louis County Family Court Commissioner Ellen Levy Siwak has been appointed to the associate circuit bench in St. Louis Circuit Court, filling a vacancy left when Judge Samuel J. Hais resigned. Gov. Bob Holden made...

Homeowners policy's pollution exclusion defeats coverage for lead paint injuries.
May 23, 2002... Byline: Deborah Fauver Missouri landlords may no longer be able to expect insurance coverage to apply to lead poisoning issues, following a recent decision by U.S. District Court Judge Charles A. Shaw of the Eastern District of Missouri....

Discretionary reasons must be explained in new trial orders.
May 24, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A trial court judge who granted a motion for a new trial without stating the reason why violated civil procedure, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, on Tuesday, reversing the order. The court...

MO firm wins federal construction supply contracts.
May 24, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon St. Louis-based Graybar has secured two five-year contracts with the U.S. General Services Administration to provide lamps, ballasts and technology products for federal construction projects in new and existing...

Ban on markups of real estate closing fees opposed.
May 24, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon Lenders and Realtors are both calling a congressional plan to ban all forms of markups on home real estate and mortgage closing fees a "Band-Aid" for the real problem of hidden charges at closing and predict consumers...

Writ prohibits defamation claims against Catholic diocese.
May 25, 2002... Byline: Deborah Fauver Missouri courts do not have jurisdiction over the defamation claims of a parochial school principal who alleges that church officials defamed her in the process of not renewing her contract, a unanimous panel of the...

St. Louis lawyer dies at age 69 from cancer.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess Donald P. Gallop, one of the founding members of the law firm Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C., died last Wednesday from cancer at the age of 69. He was remembered by friends and colleagues as a gentleman and friend who...

Appeals court issues decision on city annexations.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Deborah Fauver Cities do not have to prove that their proposed annexations are reasonable, just that the proposal is reasonably debatable, held a unanimous panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, last week,...

Insurance policy language found to be ambiguous.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess The term "excess" in an insurance policy, used to describe what the insurance company would pay in the case of an injured passenger, was found to be ambiguous by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on...

Realtors focus on housing opportunities for modest incomes.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon During their midyear legislative meetings last week, 7,000 representatives of the National Association of Realtors committed its overall membership of 800,000 real estate professionals to a new program aimed at...

Kansas City mall had duty to protect victim of rape.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Donna Walter In a 6-2 decision, the Missouri Supreme Court found that the owners of a Kansas City mall, and the security guards who worked there, had a duty to protect a 12-year-old girl who was allegedly raped at the mall. The...

Lease contract ruled enforceable.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Erin Suess A contract lacking specifics about what was required of the renters was upheld by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, when the landowner claimed the contract was null and void. The owner argued the payment...

Significance of affordable housing bill questioned for effectiveness.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Mike Nixon The Housing Affordability for America Act (HR 3995), which is working its way through the levels of congressional committees and subcommittees, has already drawn mixed reactions from professionals in the real estate...