Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from May 2004

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from May 2004

Commentary: From lone dissent to majority opinion - separate but equal has no place.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Judge Sherri B. Sullivan Dissenting opinions are unusual on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. In the current term, from July 2003 to February 2004, the court has issued more than 550 opinions with only two dissents....

Brown vs. Board anniversary celebrates `equal justice under law'.
May 1, 2004... Byline: William Corrigan Law Day is an annual celebration of the rule of law. The founder of Law Day, the late ABA President Charles S. Rhyne, introduced the idea of a day specially set aside to demonstrate that "respect for the rule of...

Commentary: Equal protection in the military means equal justice for all.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Joel Seligman Recently a majority of the voting faculty members of the Washington University School of Law, acting as the United Faculty at Washington University School of Law, voted to join FAIR, the Forum for Academic...

Commentary: To win equality by law.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Judge Michael P. David Fifty years. Wow! Sounds like a long time. It is beyond the memory of many who are reading this. Perhaps, however, our reaction ought to be that it was, regrettably, only 50 years ago that the high court of...

Commentary: Mound City Bar members have rich heritage.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Hope Whitehead This article is dedicated to Lloyd Gaines who, I am certain, would have been a Mound City Bar member if only given the chance. May 17, 2004, will be the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking decision that...

Commentary: Keep partisan politics out of the judicial branch.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Judge Jay A. Daugherty ***** CORRECTION: In an article published last week about a recent Missouri Bar Board of Governors meeting the following paragraph should have read:Corrigan added that of the 13 lawyers that have...

Commentary: Sharing Brown vs. Board of Education with a new generation.
May 1, 2004... Byline: M. Terry Poole Often I talk to my two sons about my job in the legal profession. Being 12 and 14 years of age, they'd probably say I talk to them too often about it. When I prepared for trial, we'd play a game of trial. They...

Commentary: The law is the true embodiment of everything that's excellent.
May 1, 2004... Byline: Howard Shalowitz In 1958, President Eisenhower declared May 1 as Law Day in response to the former Soviet Union's display of its military forces on the same day. Four years prior, on May 17, 1954, the landmark decision was...

Armstrong Teasdale L.L.P adds to staff.
May 1, 2004... Byline: staff Gregory A. Iken has joined the law firm of Armstrong Teasdale L.L.P. as a member of the firm's litigation department, where he will concentrate on the areas of tort and complex trial, insurance coverage, reinsurance and...

Citizens for Missouri's Children makes staffing changes.
May 1, 2004... Byline: staff Mary Shea Tucker has been elected to the board of directors of Citizens for Missouri's Children; Lea Ann DeRigne has joined the organization's staff as health policy analyst. Tucker is a senior associate at the law firm...

Husch & Eppenberger adds associate to staff.
May 1, 2004... Byline: staff John E. Collins has joined Husch & Eppenberger L.L.C. as an associate attorney in the environmental and regulatory practice group. Elena Minkin has joined the firm's general business litigation practice group. Focusing...

The Westin St. Louis names new food, beverage manager.
May 1, 2004... Byline: staff South Africa native Kevin McDonald will bring his 15 years of hospitality experience to The Westin St. Louis as a food and beverage manager and a member of the hotel's executive committee. He served a similar position at the...

Community Asset Mgmt. Co. names president.
May 1, 2004... Byline: staff Robert "Bob" Peterson has been named president of Community Asset Management Co., a not-for-profit organization that provides property management to owners of affordable housing and support services for residents. Peterson...

Clayco Construction hires new project director.
May 1, 2004... Byline: staff Bringing more than 25 years of experience in building controls and mechanical systems, John R. Rippy has joined Clayco Construction Co. as a project director. In his new position he will handle design coordination,...

Post-judgment interest allowed in accident suit.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter A plaintiff who cross-appealed a $3.89 million judgment in his favor will receive an additional $560,160 in post-judgment interest, said the Missouri Supreme Court, due to the fact that he failed to file his...

Charles Seigel to be honored with award at Law Day Banquet.
May 4, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Charles Alan Seigel, a partner at The Stolar Partnership, is receiving the 2004 Herbert Harley Award, an award given by the Missouri members of the American Judicature Society, to be presented at the Bar Association of...

Nonexclusive easement cannot serve multiple uses.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Robert Frost once noted that good fences make good neighbors, but the use of an easement led two neighbors to court, where the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, found that parking, landscaping, off-roading and...

Federal court, students examine Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
May 5, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter About 100 students from Riverview Gardens High School and Hillsboro High School found themselves in court on Friday. They were guests of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, which put...

Court of Appeals holds court at retirement community.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess In a unique program, the judges of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, held court on Monday at Meramec Bluffs Senior Living Community. This event, part of the "Have Gavel, Will Travel" program, was the first...

Unemployment benefits revoked for window assembly worker.
May 6, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright The moment Salvatore Capone decided to walk out of a drug-testing site without submitting a sample was the same moment he voluntarily quit his job, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, determined on...

HUD clarifies Section 8 funding.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Reported confusion among local housing authority offices has prompted the Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue a new guide for public housing authorities regarding the implementation of the 2004...

Senator Talent pushes $318 billion highway bill.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon U.S. Senator Jim Talent, R-Mo., has launched an effort to maintain the $318 billion funding level for transportation infrastructure included in a Senate-passed highway bill. Talent, along with 19 other senators, wrote...

Home sales defy expectations.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon In spite of mortgage rate increases during the first quarter that were preceded with warnings of a real estate bubble bursting, builders, lenders and sellers of new and existing homes contend their business is still...

Summary judgment precluded in employment case.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Did a police officer give notice when he told a city administrator he was going to resign, or was he merely venting frustration? Because this question remained unanswered, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern...

Project Angel Tree wins World of Children Award.
May 7, 2004... Byline: staff BAMSL's largest community service program, Project Angel Tree, has won the 2004 World of Children Award, sponsored by Progressive Youth Connection. The award recognizes seven community leaders or organizations that support...

Work begins on Paul Brown Building lofts project.
May 7, 2004... Byline: staff Paric Corp. has begun work on the historic Paul Brown Building at 818 Olive St. in downtown St. Louis, turning the building into 222 loft-style apartments. Paul Brown Developer L.P., an entity formed by Pyramid Construction...

Elks Lodge sues owner, developer of strip mall.
May 7, 2004... Byline: Cathy Kingsley While a lot of residents and city officials might be pleased with the new Crystal City Center development on South Truman Boulevard, the Festus Crystal City Elks Lodge #1721 is not. The new development at the...

Exec. director of Legal Advocates for Abused Women receives award.
May 7, 2004... Byline: staff Lynn Loebner Rothbarth, executive director of Legal Advocates for Abused Women, has been selected as one of the recipient's of the CHANEL Women of Influence Award. Since 1995, Rothbarth has led LAAW from a staff of three...

Fee for disabled placard not an ADA violation.
May 8, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright People with disabilities must pay $2 for a removable windshield placard that authorizes them to park in reserved spaces, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday, despite claims from a class of Missouri...

Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale adds to staff.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Zachary Hammerman has joined the law firm of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale P.C. as an associate in the intellectual property and technology practice group, where he will devote his energy to counseling clients on intellectual...

UniGroup Inc. names general counsel.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Jan R. Alonzo has been named general counsel for UniGroup Inc., the parent company of United Van Lines and Mayflower Transit, among others. She succeeds Morton I. Golder, who is retiring after 20 years with the company. Prior...

Conrad Property names assistant project mgr. for MD Walk Condominiums.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Heather Huffman has been promoted to assistant project manager for Conrad Property's Maryland Walk condominiums, after joining Conrad in 1999 and most recently serving in the sales office. She will assist Jerri Ann Emert, the...

Infinity Commercial Group adds to staff.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Infinity Commercial Group has added Trey Buffington to its team. Prior to working with the group, he worked on industrial retention/attraction projects for the city of St. Louis. He has developed an extensive real estate...

Coldwell Banker Commercial agents earn designation.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Carl J. Conceller, principal - brokerage, and Vicki Dolan, vice president, of Coldwell Banker Commercial CRA L.L.C. have received SIOR designation from the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors. The designation stands for...

Husch & Eppenberger adds to staff.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Alan L. Kennard has become a member of Husch & Eppenberger's tax and estate planning, corporate and land use development, and financing practice groups. His broad practice will involve planning, structuring and analysis to...

Gov. Holden makes appointment to Board of Probation and Parole.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff Gov. Bob Holden has appointed Penny Hubbard to the Board of Probation and Parole, which determines whether a prisoner shall be paroled or conditionally released and for supervising people on probation and parole. She is...

Law partner receives Geyer Award from U of MO-Columbia.
May 8, 2004... Byline: staff W. Dudley McCarter, a partner at Behr, McCarter & Potter P.C., has received the Geyer Award from the University of Missouri-Columbia. McCarter is a former president of The Missouri Bar and the St. Louis County Bar...

Organ donation lawsuit heads back to trial court.
May 12, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright A landmark case set to determine when a transplant service provider has immunity under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act has yet to bring closure to a family who buried their father and husband six years ago. After...

Prosecutor's remark about defendant's pants not improper.
May 12, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter Clothes may make the man, but they didn't make a good defense for a man facing federal drug charges. Richard Davis was convicted on March 8, 2003, of one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 50...

Supreme Court asked to decide visitation case.
May 12, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter A father who sexually abused his infant daughter over a period of 18 months has no right under Missouri law to visit the child, said the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, as it transferred the case to the...

Missouri Bar board of governors fills vacancy.
May 13, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Bar board of governors elected Hope Whitehead, an associate judge with the St. Louis office of the state Division of Workers' Compensation, to fill out the unexpired term of F. Dianne Taylor, who moved to...

Jury will get to hear `ultimate user' defense in drug case.
May 13, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright A man sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of a single Valium pill will have an opportunity to present his "ultimate user" defense to a jury, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in a 4-3 decision....

ARCO Construction building new headquarters for Nooter Construction.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess In a delicate balancing act, ARCO Construction Co. is working on the construction of the new multimillion-dollar headquarters for Nooter Construction Co., adjacent to its current headquarters in downtown St. Louis,...

Middle-market renters gain official recognition.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon They constitute a significant and productive portion of the population and represent more than 35 million Americans with much in common regardless of age, race or occupational fields. They often do not earn quite enough...

Court moves forward with renovation.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter The Jefferson County Circuit Court en banc voted Monday to move forward with plans to turn the old County Commission space and the adjacent space, which formerly housed voter's registration, into two courtrooms - one...

Placing mental patient with roommate not a reduction of services.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess A woman with Prader-Willi syndrome must have a roommate to remain in the Medicaid Waiver Program, said the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District. The unanimous panel explained that with a roommate, there will be no...

Abandoned cabling becomes concern for building owners.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon One of the challenges of uniform policy codes is making sure all elements of a given industry are conducting business based on those guidelines. This is why members of the Building Owners and Managers Association in St....

Court offsets jury verdict in suit over insurance policy.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals completely offset a $100,000 jury verdict awarded to a woman injured in a car accident on Wednesday after considering whether the jury took into account a previous $100,000...

St. Louis Assn. of Legal Assistance members celebrate Legal Assistants' Day.
May 14, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess The St. Louis Association of Legal Assistants packed the banquet room at the Millennium Hotel in downtown St. Louis on Wednesday to celebrate Legal Assistants' Day and to welcome in this year's new officers. More...

Charles R. Wooten joins Law Office of Breeze, Roberts, Ponder-Bates & Zimmer.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff Charles R. Wooten has joined the Law Office of Breeze, Roberts, Ponder-Bates & Zimmer as an associate. Wooten is a 2001 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Law. For the last two years, he has focused his practice...

Pattonville senior wins Missouri Riverboat Gaming Assn.'s Project 21 Scholarship Contest.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff Pattonville High School senior Lauren Sweet has won the Missouri Riverboat Gaming Association's 2004 Project 21 Scholarship Contest and will receive a $1000 scholarship for her feature article that dealt with underage...

G. William Kennedy joins Thomas E. Hilton's valuation and litigation services group.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff G. William Kennedy, Ph.D., CPA/ABV, joins Thomas E. Hilton, MS, CPA/ABV, ASA CVA, in the valuation and litigation services group at Anders Minkler & Diehl L.L.P. They are two of the nation's top 50 business valuation and...

Clayco Construction Co. announces staffing changes: May 17, 2004.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff Robert B. Borawski has joined Clayco Construction Co. as a help desk support specialist, where he will assist employees with computer, printing or copy-related problems. Skilled in C++, Visual Basic and HTML programming, he...

Gary Rogowski joins Roseman & Associates P.C.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff Gary Rogowski has joined Roseman & Associates P.C., bringing extensive experience in hospitality, financial, retail and health care projects. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he earned a bachelor of...

Paul Willenberg of Coldwell Banker Commercial promoted to facilities services manager.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff Paul Willenberg of Coldwell Banker Commercial CRA L.L.C. has been promoted to facilities services manager. In addition to maintenance, his new position includes expanded property management assignments and the implementation...

Kemba L. Thomas elected vice chair of the workers' compensation section for St. Louis Bar.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff Kemba L. Thomas, an associate at the law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson, has been elected vice chair of the workers' compensation section for the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. Thomas focuses her practice on the...

Lewis, Rice & Fingersh L.C. announces employment of three new associates for St. Louis office.
May 15, 2004... Byline: staff The law firm of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh L.C. has announced the new associates for its St. Louis office: Jennifer E. Behm, Amanda R. Gerhardt, David L. Grebel, Maurice R. Griffithe, Bridget G. Hoy, Matthew J. Madsen, Theresa A....

Women Lawyers' Association of Greater St. Louis awards scholarship, honors judges.
May 15, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter The Women Lawyers' Association of Greater St. Louis presented a $6,000 scholarship to a first-year law student who is a survivor of domestic violence. The Linda J. Murphy Scholarship was presented to Danielle Pelot...

Suit names husband alone, wife exempted from liability by MO Court of Appeals.
May 15, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess A suit meant to cover a married couple only contained the name of the husband, exempting the wife from answering, ruled a divided panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, on Monday. The dissent held the...

House upholds Gov. Holden's tort reform veto.
May 19, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright Despite efforts to push through a bill shooting toward closure for tort reform and the doctor-declared medical malpractice crisis, Missouri's House of Representatives ended yet another legislative season upholding...

State judiciary survives legislative session.
May 19, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri judiciary came through the second session of the 92nd General Assembly in good shape. It is particularly pleased with the legislature's decision to fund the third branch of government at roughly the...

Victim's violent reputation may be admissible in murder case.
May 20, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright No one saw who started the Halloween scuffle that ended in an alleged murder, which is why Ronnie D. Gonzales will have another opportunity to prove he acted in self-defense, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern...

Travel insurer required to pay for unfinished vacation.
May 20, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess In a case of first impression, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, held that a travel insurance company must reimburse, with interest, an insured woman for her missed trip, even though she completed the...

Safe property precautions encouraged for landlords and renters.
May 21, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Warm weather has arrived, and along with it comes an increase in criminals looking for ways to take advantage of unsuspecting property owners and their renters. In response to the threat of crime -- from drug activity to...

Lawsuits filed for damage from chlorine leak.
May 21, 2004... Byline: Cathy Kingsley On the morning of Aug. 14, 2002, many residents in the Blue Fountain Mobile Home Park in Festus awoke to a massive, greenish-yellow cloud that swept through the park and the surrounding community. A nearby...

MO General Assembly passes legislation to require mediation in construction disputes.
May 21, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon On the final day of their regular session Friday, members of the Missouri General Assembly passed legislation that would require dissatisfied homeowners to take contractors to mediation before being able to file a civil...

Increased adjustable rate mortgage activity seen as shifting trend.
May 21, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon The share of adjustable rate mortgages being applied for has increased to its highest level in 10 years, according to information complied and released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. While the market composite...

St. Louis University students receive law clinic award.
May 21, 2004... Byline: staff The advocacy torch has passed to two Saint Louis University School of Law graduating seniors, upholding the tradition of an attorney and early figure in St. Louis' civil rights movement. Nathaniel Plucker and Faye Kolly...

Washington University School of Law hires two Harvard professors.
May 21, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Washington University School of Law recently hired two Harvard Law School professors, Samuel Bagenstos and Margo Schlanger, rounding out its faculty to 40. The two, who are married, were called "sensational hires" by the...

8th US Circuit Court of Appeals gives worker second change for disability benefits.
May 22, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess A woman with fibromyalgia gets another shot at receiving Social Security disability insurance benefits, ruled a 2-1 panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. The majority reversed a district court's...

8th US Circuit Court of Appeals upholds split-fee provision in store's arbitration agreement.
May 22, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright Because there was no proof of his financial state, a former home improvement store employee must take his age discrimination claims to arbitration, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday, in accordance...

Appearance of impropriety enough to mandate recusal.
May 25, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess The appearance of impropriety alone can mandate a commissioner's recusal, ruled the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, last Thursday, in response to a commissioner's ex parte communication with a witness. ...

Arrest was proper despite delay in signing Miranda waiver.
May 26, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter Police department paperwork that shows a defendant signed his Miranda waiver 45 minutes after he was booked is not enough to prove the waiver was invalid in light of testimony from two law enforcement officers who said...

High court asked to clarify tax on construction equipment.
May 27, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess A dispute over the taxation of construction equipment, ruled on by three different judicial bodies, is headed to the Missouri Supreme Court for clarification of the word "situated," found in the section governing what...

Defendant gets new trial over Batson claim.
May 27, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright Race was the basis for the state of Missouri's peremptory strikes that removed three venirepersons from a panel set to determine the fate of a murder suspect, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, ruled on...

Missouri Supreme Court upholds death sentences.
May 27, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter Jurors may not impose a death sentence based on speculation, argued the defense counsel for the man who robbed and murdered an elderly couple from DeSoto, but the Missouri Supreme Court held the defense argument that...

Reduction of wrongful death award denied.
May 28, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess A second trip to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, turned out to be fruitless for a doctor seeking to reduce a wrongful death award. The court ruled on Wednesday the doctor could have brought up the...

Realtors begin upgrading Multiple Listing Services policies.
May 28, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Officials with the National Association of Realtors confirmed last week that they have begun work on changing to their policies and procedures regarding Multiple Listing Services for the first time in 33 years. The...

Commercial property comeback predicted.
May 28, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Going into summer with an upswing in the economy, real estate experts are anticipating improved activity among commercial properties. Looking toward the second half of the year, and into 2005, David Lereah, chief...

McEagle developing South County office/retail complex.
May 28, 2004... Byline: staff With south St. Louis County's low office vacancy rates, the time is right for a new development to accommodate the area's growth. And developer McEagle is there to meet such demand with its new office/retail complex, Sunset...

Bill to change child protection system won't have big impact on juvenile division.
May 28, 2004... Byline: Cathy Kingsley A new bill that will change the child protection system in Missouri will not have a huge impact on the operations at the juvenile division of the associate circuit court. House Bill 1453 was supposed to...

Saint Louis Planned Giving Council Founders' Award presented.
May 29, 2004... Byline: staff Larry Katzenstein, a partner in Thompson Coburn's private client practice area, recently received the Saint Louis Planned Giving Council Founders' Award for his leadership in promoting and supporting planned giving nationally...

Coldwell Banker Commercial announces promotion.
May 29, 2004... Byline: staff Al Fowler of Coldwell Banker Commercial C.R.A. L.L.C. has been promoted to director of maintenance and operations. In his new position, he will supervise, schedule, train and coordinate duties for a staff of 12 technicians....

Anders Minkler & Diehl named No. 1 in annual Best Places to Work awards.
May 29, 2004... Byline: staff The St. Louis Business Journal recently named accounting and consulting firm Anders Minkler & Diehl L.L.P. number one in its fifth annual Best Places to Work awards for the Corporate Culture category of companies with 50 to...