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

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

St. Louis mayor recognizes Juror Appreciation Week.
May 1, 2003... Byline: staff St. Louis City Mayor Francis G. Slay, issued a proclamation designating the week of April 28 through May 2 as "Juror Appreciation Week." This corresponds with a national recognition by the American Bar Association of this...

Missouri's Law Day recognizes lawyers providing free legal help.
May 1, 2003... Byline: staff On May 1, lawyers and judges throughout the nation will mark the annual observance of Law Day. "Traditionally, Law Day is celebrated with little fanfare -- through public service projects and educational activities," said...

Commentary: Nonpartisan Court Plan needs to extend statewide.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Ann Stith In many ways I believe the judiciary is the most vital branch of the American government. I did not learn this in civics class in grade school nor history in high school nor political science in college. I came to this...

Commentary: Mediation is appropriate way to settle marriage dissolution.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Marjorie Carter Every time I hear about a divorce-related homicide or suicide, I am reminded of the fragility of the clients family law attorneys represent. Since I focus my entire law practice on family law, divorces included, I...

Commentary: Legal community celebrates our justice system.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Susan Rowe On Law Day, we pause to celebrate our justice system and to remember how the law has improved our democratic society. The advances of people of color, of women, and of other disadvantaged individuals, have all been made...

Commentary: America's lawyers promote justice at home and abroad.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Alfred Carlton, Jr. The last few weeks have been historic and emotional for all Americans. As have the generations before us, we have seen our sons and daughters march into battle to bring freedom to an oppressed people half a...

Commentary: We must appreciate the role of law in society.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Joan Swartz When asked to write something about Law Day 2003, my first instinct was to get the "Law Day Theme Kit" from the American Bar Association and go from there. If lucky, maybe the kit would include an already written...

Commentary: Independence not without some costs.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Barbara Wallace Independent courts do not become a reality without controversy. This controversy involves not just the classic civics lesson of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government, it involves everyone...

Commentary: Liberty protected by independent courts.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Nancy Rahmeyer On a bitterly cold day, a 19-year-old theology student was having a conversation with one of his friends. As they passed a neighborhood church, the young man, shivering from the cold wind, made a smart remark wishing...

Commentary: Missouri Court of Appeals here independent, involved.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Lawrence Mooney The Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals strives to be a court that is both independent and involved. Judges must certainly be independent of the corrupting influences of personal financial interests...

Commentary: A Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan for Texas?
May 1, 2003... Byline: Stephen Limbaugh Jr. To celebrate Law Day 2003, and in keeping with the theme of judicial independence, it is appropriate to call attention, once again, to our revered and now venerable Missouri Non-Partisan Court Plan. Since 1940,...

Commentary: Reflections on judicial independence, at home and abroad.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Dale Doerhoff The invasion of Iraq was accompanied by a promise to its people from our president that they would have freedom and democracy after the bombs and bullets stopped flying. From a military standpoint, the invasion was a...

Commentary: The essential independence of the federal judiciary.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Carol Jackson In The Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote, "The complete independence of courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution." Since Hamilton's time, we have come to take the independence of...

Commentary: Judicial independence: Our freedom depends on it.
May 1, 2003... Byline: Michael David Canon 1(A) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, as stated in Missouri Supreme Court Rule 2, states that "[a]n independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society." But, what do we mean when we...

Grant provides translation services in domestic cases.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Women who are not proficient in English can now receive translation services for some legal procedures that protect against domestic violence, thanks to funds from the STOP Violence Against Women Grant Program. The...

Actual innocence claim merits habeas relief.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Deborah Fauver A Missouri death row inmate with clear and convincing evidence of his actual innocence may indeed use the habeas corpus procedure to win a new trial, held the Missouri Supreme Court, 4-3, on Tuesday, ordering the...

St. Louis County Circuit Court to hold anniversary celebration.
May 2, 2003... Byline: staff The St. Louis County Circuit Court is holding a celebration of its 125 years of dispensing justice on Thursday, May 15 at 3:30 p.m. The event will be held in the Jury Assembly Room on the 6th Floor of the St. Louis County...

Legislation works to eliminate childhood lead poisoning.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel The Missouri General Assembly is considering a bill that would further regulate the prevention and screening of lead poisoning in the state. Senate Bill 92 proposes numerous changes to the current Missouri system of lead...

Remodeling remains strong as home sales slow down.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon More than a year ago, home builders and real estate agents predicted that while they anticipated a slight slowdown in the overall sales market for their industry remodeling would see an increase in 2003. New data from...

Habitat for Humanity breaks ground in Hillsdale.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Despite damp and chilly weather, community members gathered in Hillsdale, Mo., to welcome Habitat for Humanity St. Louis to their neighborhood last week. The ground-breaking ceremony celebrated the construction of 12 new...

Disclosure required and supported concerning meth making residences.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Missouri is one of a handful of states that requires the seller of residential real estate to fully disclose whether that property had ever been the site of methamphetamine production. According to the titles and...

First retail store opens at WingHaven retail center.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Dave's on the Boardwalk, an old-time grocery story, located at WingHaven in O'Fallon, Mo., is the first retail store to open at Boardwalk Market Place, a pedestrian-oriented retail center in the heart of McEagle...

Luxury apartments to rise in Richmond Heights.
May 2, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel A new luxury apartment complex may soon be a place Richmond Heights residents call home. Koch Development Co. has announced its plans to convert the current apartment complex known as Town and Country Apartments on Eager...

Law firm opens new St. Louis office.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff Evans & Dixon L.L.C. is expanding its practice areas to include elder law and estate planning and has opened a new office in response to the growing legal needs of senior citizens and persons with disabilities in the St....

Law firm adds associate to Land Use Development and Finance Practice Group.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff Matthew T. Stack III has joined Husch & Eppenberger L.L.C. as an associate of the Land Use Development and Financing Practice Group in the firm's St. Louis office. Stack was previously an associate with a Dallas firm. He...

Construction labor mgmt. organization names mgmt. co-chairman.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff Scott Wilson has been named management co-chairman of Productivity and Responsibility Increase Development & Employment, a voluntary construction industy labor-management organization that works to maintain harmony and build...

Gov. makes nomination to Missouri Housing Development Commission.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff Gov. Bob Holden nominated Jane Klieve of St. Louis to the Missouri Housing Development Commission. Klieve, retired executive director of the Coro Leadership Center, serves as vice chair of the Missouri Women's Council and on...

Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative names two to board.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff Paramount Mortgage Co. president H. John Frank, Jr. and vice president Dave Griege have been named to Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative's Advisory Board. Members serve three-year terms and determine the functional policy of...

Former St. Louis Univ. law professor passes away.
May 3, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Gerald T. Dunne, former Saint Louis University law professor and vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, died Thursday, May 1, at the age of 83. A SLU alumnus, Dunne taught full time at the...

Progressive Youth Connection holds annual silent auction.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff The Progressive Youth Connection held its Fifth Annual World of Children Awards Banquet & Silent Auction on Friday, April 25, to celebrate 31 years of enriching the lives of youth and their families. PYC's 2003 Honorees in...

Cole & Associates hires new exec. vice president.
May 3, 2003... Byline: staff Kevin Riggs, P.E., has joined Cole & Associates as executive vice president and principal engineer in charge. Prior to joining the firm, Riggs was vice president of engineering for Stock & Associates, Consulting Engineers...

High schools participate in federal court Law Day program.
May 6, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Students from four area schools got a bird's eye view of the world of law at the Thomas F. Eagleton Courthouse on May 1. One hundred thirty students from Hillsboro, Riverview Gardens, Soldan and Vashon high schools...

Bar Assn. of Metropolitan St. Louis installs new president.
May 6, 2003... Byline: staff Howard Shalowitz, an attorney in private practice in St. Louis, was installed May 1, 2003, as president of The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis for 2003-2004, at the association's Law Day Banquet at the new...

Contract provision valid, enforceable.
May 7, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser A contract must be valid for a charge of specific performance to hold, and only the beneficiary party of a contractual addendum may waive a contingency, upheld the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on...

Panel tackles tort reform discussion.
May 7, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Harvard law professor Arthur R. Miller led a panel discussion on the topic of tort reform Friday morning at the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. The panel consisted of Ken Vuylsteke, a plaintiffs attorney...

Lower court told to determine facts in insurance case.
May 8, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A federal trial court will have to take another look at an insurance case to determine whether the man who applied for the coverage was an undisclosed agent acting for his parents, whose company owned the property. ...

Luxury townhouses now open in Brentwood.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Nestled among trees as something reminiscent of a bungalow hideaway, the newly opened Villas at Brentwood provide residents a peaceful and amenity-rich living environment. Located at 1800 S. Brentwood Blvd., the Villas...

Clayco Construction teams up with Edward Jones Dome for improvements.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Clayco Construction Co. has been named by America's Center as the new capital improvement program manager for the Edward Jones Dome, home of the St. Louis Rams. Clayco is no stranger to working on major athletic team...

Workshop covers all aspects of housing project financing.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Jim Lutz and Rick Bonasch, directors of technical assistance at Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance, conducted a housing finance workshop at Saint Louis University on Tuesday, April 29. The workshop was...

Consumer survey finds homebuyers unprepared for post-close expenses.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon A consumer expenditure survey released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics states that an increasing number of first-time, new home buyers are finding themselves caught financially off guard due to expenses...

Residential niche emerges for villa living communities.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Some reports insist the residential real estate market remains hot because of low interest rates and available inventory. Some claim it is in decline because of a tightened economy, loss of jobs and a reduction in...

St. Louis assn. celebrates Legal Assistants' Day with luncheon.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser The St. Louis Association of Legal Assistants gathered at the Missouri Athletic Club on Wednesday to celebrate its 2003 Annual Legal Assistants' Day. Guest speaker Nancy Ripperger, Missouri Office of the Chief...

Evans & Dixon L.L.C. adds two associates to staff.
May 10, 2003... Byline: staff Edna L. McLain and Scott S. Smith have joined Evans & Dixon L.L.C. as associates in the firm's Workers' Compensation Practice, where McLain and Smith represent major insurance carriers and self-insured exmployers in workers'...

Fox Galvin LLC adds partner to staff.
May 10, 2003... Byline: staff Deirdre Gallagher joined Fox Galvin LLC as a partner specializing in pharmaceutical product liability and complicated epidemiological issues. Gallagher has 17 years of trial experience, focusing on the document-intensive work...

Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum name new VP in St. Louis office.
May 10, 2003... Byline: staff Nancy E. Coleman has been promoted to vice president in the St. Louis office of HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) Inc. A member of HOK's Healthcare Group, Coleman worked as an interior designer on projects in Indiana, Texas...

Cass Commercial Bank names new vice chairman of the board.
May 10, 2003... Byline: staff John J. Vallina, former president of Cass Commercial Bank, has been elected vice chairman of that firm's board and has been appointed permanent secretary to the board of directors of Cass Information Systems Inc. Vallina was...

Clayco Construction names new vice president.
May 10, 2003... Byline: staff P. Kirk Warden, AIA, has been promoted to vice president of Clayco Construction Company. Warden has served as Clayco's director of design development and as a project executive for Clayco Sports since joining the company in...

St. Louis jury awards $4.1 million to railroad man for ruptured disc.
May 10, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A St. Louis City jury awarded $4.1 million to a Clinton, Iowa, locomotive engineer who was injured in a slow-motion train derailment. Patrick Johnson, 44, was in the lead locomotive traveling at roughly 6 mph when...

Hinshaw & Culbertson appoints partner-in-charge of St. Louis office.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Terese A. Drew, partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson, has been appointed partner-in-charge of the firm's St. Louis office. Drew, whose promotion makes her one of the few women to serve as a managing partner in a St....

Judgment automatically placed lien on real estate.
May 14, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser A general judgment automatically places a lien on real estate, held the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, in an opinion handed down Tuesday. The decision awarded more than $100,000 to a woman owed half a...

MoBar Board of Governors approves legal assistance for Missouri storm victims.
May 14, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Bar Board of Governors approved a program on Friday to provide free legal assistance to people affected by last week's storms. The board of governors meeting also touched on the areas of fee disputes and...

Commission votes to reconsider plan for statewide legal services.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The merger of Missouri's four legal services programs is not necessarily a done deal. Last Friday the Commission on Statewide Legal Services decided to take another look at its plans. The commission first voted to...

Probationer gets new day in court over employment issue.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Rules that restrict felons from employment in fields that involve the retail sale of liquor can be subject to the circumstances of the felon's crime, ruled the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. The case was...

Residential high-rise in Clayton more than half reserved.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Maryland Walk, the soon-to-be newest building on the Clayton skyline, has reserved more than half of its units in the first five days of presales. Of the 100 units within the 17-story residential high-rise, 54...

Washington Avenue renaissance in full swing.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel In 1902, Louis McCall of the Civic Improvement League said, "It is gradually dawning upon everyone that a nice, clean, well-kept city is `money in the pocket' of everyone who lives in the city. . . . Politicians are...

Lenders, legal experts welcome flipping crackdown.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Real estate professionals from established agents to mortgage brokers and bankers have praised the announcement of a new anti-flipping rule issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding home...

Storm victims warned about home repair scams.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon As more than 300 tornadoes tore across the nation's midsection during the early days of this month, leaving multiple paths of destruction in a one-week period, law enforcement agencies issued warnings that victims...

Hampton Inn opens as newest hotel in downtown.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel The Hampton Inn, located at 333 Washington Ave., celebrated its arrival in downtown in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 8. Francis Slay, mayor of St. Louis, Phyllis Young, St. Louis City alderwoman, Jim Shrewsbury,...

Class action limited to Missouri plaintiffs.
May 17, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A class of Missouri plaintiffs may sue American Family Mutual Insurance Co., but a multistate class action lawsuit is out of the question, said the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. Lawyers from both sides say...

St. Charles native Tony Linson heads county bar association.
May 20, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Meet Tony Linson, the 2003 St. Charles County Bar Association president. The first person to attend college in his father's family and the family's only lawyer, Linson said he has always had a natural proclivity to...

Summary judgment improper in dispute over Chesterfield signage.
May 21, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser A genuine dispute existed as to whether a Chesterfield ordinance allowed additional signage to be placed on a commercial development in that city, ruled the Eastern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals on...

St. Louis City not proper venue for Doe Run Resources suit.
May 22, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The city of St. Louis will not try a lawsuit filed against Doe Run by plaintiffs who own residential property in Herculaneum. City venue was based solely on the addition of Marvin Kaiser as a defendant. Kaiser is...

New bankruptcy court judge praised at investiture.
May 22, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser Kathy A. Surratt-States took the oath of office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri last Friday afternoon. The investiture was held at the St. Louis Zoo's McDonnell Center at River...

Lawmakers miss protecting homeowners from policy cancellations.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Missouri legislators rushed through a stack of bills to meet a session closing deadline last Friday. But lost in the shuffle were two measures victims of devastating tornadoes earlier this month and other homeowners...

New administration building opens in Hillsboro.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Jefferson County now has a new administration building to help it run county business a little more efficiently. The building, located at 729 Maple St., finished its moving process over the weekend and many county offices...

St. Louis bar assn. holds continuing legal ed. seminar.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis held its monthly Real Property and Development Committee continuing legal education seminar on May 13, covering such topics as the Comprehensive Environmental Response...

St. Louis-based architectural firm ranked No. 1 in survey.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Erin Suess Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc., a St. Louis-based architectural firm, was recently ranked the nation's No. 1 architect-engineering firm in an annual benchmark survey of the nation's top design firms. Engineering News...

Drug court graduates two, announces state approval of drug court commissioner.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Two Jefferson County residents graduated from the Jefferson County Circuit Court's drug court program last Friday, and Missouri Supreme Court Judge William Ray Price Jr. was on hand to congratulate them and to...

Mortgage delinquencies not as common as feared, yet lenders offer help.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon Job losses and overextended household budgets during the past year have had many real estate observers concerned that lenders would be seeing a skyrocketing number of delinquencies on mortgage payments. Apparently, not...

Maintenance award based on ambiguous findings.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser A monthly maintenance award for a medically-challenged spouse will be reexamined, but the property and attorney fees awarded her by a circuit court were upheld on Tuesday by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern...

Drone & Mueller and Associates adds to staff.
May 24, 2003... Byline: staff Drone & Mueller and Associates has added two new members to its team. Staci Falk, senior copywriter, will direct and develop copywriting for the company's corporate/business-to-business clients and assist with new...

Coldwell Banker Commercial names new sales associate.
May 24, 2003... Byline: staff Noel T. Fehr has joined Coldwell Banker Commercial CRA LLC as a sales and leasing associate. Previously, Fehr served as general manager and head golf professional at Pevely Farms Golf Club, where he was responsible for...

Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum promotes Fehrmann to associate in St. Louis office.
May 24, 2003... Byline: staff Ben Fehrmann has been promoted to associate in the St. Louis office of HOK (Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum), Inc. Fehrmann most recently served as a project designer on the Indianapolis International Airport, the College of Lake...

Cole & Associates names Hill survey manager.
May 24, 2003... Byline: staff Thomas G. Hill has joined Cole & Associates as a survey manager. He will be responsible for client contact and construction services, including proposal preparation. Hill worked for James B. Becker Consulting Engineers for...

COA rules circuit courts can't transfer petitions to appellate courts.
May 24, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Circuit courts do not have the authority to transfer petitions for review to the appellate court level, said a unanimous panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, on Tuesday. The issue arose when...

Clayco Construction hires new director of business development.
May 24, 2003... Byline: staff Gary Church has joined Clayco Construction Company as director of business development. He plans to split his time between the firm's St. Louis and Detroit offices, working to develop new markets and expand the company's...

The strange alliance of two American historical figures, Part I.
May 27, 2003... Byline: Joseph Simeone Editor's note: This is part one of a two-part article. Part two will be published in the Tuesday, May 27 edition. Introduction Fate often makes strange bedfellows. This was true of two early American giants...

The strange alliance of two American historical figures, Part II.
May 27, 2003... Byline: Joseph Simeone Editor's note: This is part two of a two-part article. Part one was published in the Saturday, May 24 edition. Witnesses for the people The first witness called was Catherine Ring. She testified that Weeks...

Shelter Insurance to get tax refund on items sold in employee cafeteria.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter Shelter Mutual Insurance Co. will receive a $110,053.97 tax refund, plus interest, from the state of Missouri on taxes it paid for food and drink sold to its employees. Affirming the decision of the Administrative...

Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass completes move to new space.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Weisser The law firm of Rabbitt, Pitzer & Snodgrass P.C. has relocated to new offices in downtown St. Louis. The move completed in late April allows the practice to add six new attorneys to a firm already 70 members strong....

Paric Corp. completes Maryville University housing.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Erin Piel Paric Corp. recently completed construction of on-campus student apartment buildings at Maryville University, offering upperclassmen a choice in on-campus living for the first time since 1961 -- the year when the school...

Jefferson County public defender's office gains fifth attorney.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter The public defender's office in Jefferson County will soon have another attorney to help with its ever-increasing caseload. Tony Manansala, who was the first attorney hired by defender Lisa Clover when she became head...

2-year-old sues medical center for mom's death.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Donna Walter A 2-year-old girl is suing Arnold Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and one of its doctors for failing to diagnose her mother's heart disease and causing her death just four days after the examination. Rebecca...

Service professionals respond to housing affordability.
May 30, 2003... Byline: Mike Nixon A study released this month by the National Housing Conference supports what real estate professionals and housing advocates have consistently said is a serious problem in a majority of the nation's largest cities --...