Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) articles from May 2008

Daily Record (St. Louis, MO/St. Louis Countian) archives from May 2008

Missouri Court of Appeals rules paid breaks count for workers' comp.
May 1, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man who hurt his knee while playing basketball during a break at work qualifies for workers' compensation benefits, a state appeals court has ruled. But the legislator who led the overhaul of the workers' comp law...

'Pants' defense lawyer seeks more Missouri tort law reform.
May 1, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck The infamous $67 million lawsuit over a pair of lost pants could happen in Missouri, a group of business interests said Wednesday. And to prevent that from happening, the Missouri Justice Alliance is hoping that...

Park policy in St. Louis challenged.
May 2, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A religious group is suing the city of St. Louis after a park ranger threatened to arrest two men who were distributing Gospel tracts at a 2006 gay pride festival. Apple of His Eye Mission Society founder Steve Cohen...

Former Missouri CPA with wire fraud conviction wants to own firm.
May 2, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck The state can yank an accountant's license if he gets in trouble, but can it prevent an accounting firm from opening if one of the firm's owners has had a brush with the law? The Missouri Supreme Court considered such a...

Teacher groups in Missouri fight in court over district bargaining.
May 2, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Missouri's two largest teachers' organizations are fighting in court over who gets to represent teachers in a west St. Charles County school district. Those involved believe it may be the first litigation stemming from...

Stem cell language ruling comes too late for ballot.
May 3, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Despite getting what it called a partial legal victory, a Cures Without Cloning initiative to change embryonic stem cell research in Missouri will not make the November ballot. On Friday, the Missouri Court of...

St. Louis defense firms lay off 12 lawyers.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Two St. Louis area defense law firms laid off a total of 12 attorneys in March and April, illustrating that tort reform that's good for defense clients might not necessarily be good for lawyers. Civil litigation...

John Ashcroft returns to Ozarks, addresses security concerns.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Shortly before John Ashcroft took to the podium at the Lake of the Ozarks, one lawyer stopped by a few of the tables with a little advice for the lawyers: Be nice. Ashcroft, who grew up in Springfield, can be a...

Fix is in for TIF legislation in St. Louis area.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Legislation that could lift a hold on TIF projects in three St. Louis area counties is hunting for a bill to call home. Officials from Jefferson, St. Charles and St. Louis counties and municipalities reached an...

Commentary: A daily affirmation for people who hate them.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier I have been running pretty ragged lately. Money is tight, but my work load is up, which seems counterintuitive. Four years of practice under my belt seems like a long time, the whole time knowing it really is only a...

Missouri bill targeting lawsuits over car problems heads to governor.
May 5, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese People who get a bum deal on a car may have to narrow their case in court under legislation headed to the governor's desk. The bill, which passed the Senate last week without a dissenting vote, forbids people bringing...

Death penalty more frequent outside of Missouri, say law professors.
May 6, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter The death penalty should be reserved for those who commit the most serious crimes, but that's not happening in Missouri, say three law professors who studied how the death penalty is applied here. Where a trial is...

'Dead Man Walking' author to speak at first legal aid volunteering dinner in St. Louis.
May 6, 2008... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report The woman who wrote the book "Dead Man Walking" will be speaking in St. Louis later this month. Sister Helen Prejean, 69, will be the keynote speaker at a dinner to honor lawyers who volunteer...

Bottle chemical suits hit Missouri.
May 6, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A controversial chemical in baby bottles has led to at least two class action federal lawsuits in Missouri seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The Kansas City-based firm Scharnhorst Ast & Kennard filed...

Bill would cut six judges from St. Louis.
May 7, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Legislation moving toward House debate would slash six judges from the St. Louis Circuit Court, while adding new judges to courts in the St. Louis County, Kansas City and Springfield areas. The chances of passage remain...

Couple sues Wachovia over Missouri Higher Educational Loan Authority investment.
May 7, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Clyde and Linda Jenkins wanted their money in a safe place where they'd have easy access to cash. So when an A.G. Edwards broker told them Missouri Higher Educational Loan Authority auction-rate securities were liquid,...

St. Louis County Judicial Circuit Commission.
May 7, 2008... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The St. Louis County Judicial Circuit Commission named a panel of three nominees for associate circuit judge on the St. Louis County Circuit Court. They are St. Louis County Family Court Commissioner...

Letter to the Editor.(Letter to the editor)
May 7, 2008... Byline: Mariano V. Favazza Editor: This letter is regarding a story published April 30 regarding Sunu-Oke v. Modern Moving Stystems Inc. It would appear from my quoted remarks that I was critical of attorney Jim Martin. My remarks coupled...

Handdowns begin for crack cases in Missouri's federal courts.
May 8, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Federal courts are cranking out their judgments on prisoners' motions to reduce crack cocaine sentences - with some decisions already coming out of the appellate courts. An amendment of sentencing guidelines by the...

Harry S. Truman a 'judge' but not a lawyer.
May 8, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey He may have been known as "Judge," but Harry S. Truman never presided over a courtroom -- or graduated from law school for that matter. As state courthouses close their doors today in recognition of Truman Day, the...

Jackson County jury awards $4.5M over delayed diagnosis.
May 8, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Breast cancer will ultimately claim the life of Linda Reynolds -- possibly within the next year or two. And if she had received timely treatment, a Jackson County jury ruled, Reynolds could have been a survivor....

Critics in Missouri question voter ID law.
May 9, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Opponents are questioning a last-minute effort to resurrect a photo voter identification requirement, saying the latest Missouri proposal might not stand up to a federal court challenge. They say the recent ruling over...

SIF overhaul defeated in Missouri House vote.
May 9, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck An attempt to overhaul the state's Second Injury Fund was defeated Thursday in the Missouri House. By a 65-87 vote, representatives refused to adopt the bill, despite having approved a number of amendments during a...

Suit in St. Louis alleges bank reneged on agreement.
May 9, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter While one bank attempts to collect a $1.1 million judgment against them, Christopher Kersten and his company, Battlefield Center, are trying to recoup the judgment from another bank. In a lawsuit that's now in...

Commentary: Counties, not cities, should determine TIFs.
May 9, 2008... Byline: David Stokes Counties, not cities, should determine TIFs A 2007 change to state law granting more authority to county tax increment financing (TIF) commissions within the St. Louis area, at the expense of municipal TIF commissions,...

Commentary: Mediators: Avoid the temptation to give directive advice.
May 9, 2008... Byline: Louise Phipps Senft Transformative mediators have a strong belief against directing parties during mediation. But directive advice given in mediation or elsewhere can often be good advice, so why discard it? For a mediator, there...

St. Louis law firms announce staffing changes: May 9, 2008.
May 9, 2008... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Edward Hejlek has joined Bryan Cave as a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property Client Service Group. Hejlek prepares and prosecutes patent applications and trademarks and licenses trade secrets....

Receipts still show too much, lawsuit in fed court in Kansas City says.
May 9, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A warning to businesses: More digits, more problems. A Liberty, Mo.-based law firm filed a string of federal class action suits this week against a hodgepodge of businesses for printing receipts containing too much...

Rep. Juanita Head Walton challenges disqualification.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter State Sen. Timothy Green knew a few years ago that he couldn't win an election against Rep. Juanita Head Walton, so he sponsored legislation aimed at keeping her off the ballot, Elbert Walton charged Friday in federal...

University of Missouri law professor sues school over ADA.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole A tenured associate law professor who has focused on gender and race issues in published articles has sued the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law claiming the school didn't accommodate her chronic fatigue...

Attorneys team up with doctors to help the indigent.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese and Aaron Bailey A law professor in St. Louis is trying to launch a program to help poor families whose legal problems are also affecting their health. But even as the groundwork is set for that effort, similar...

Commentary: Put on the Beatles -- my daughter is born.
May 12, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier Once there was a way to get back homeward. Once there was a way to get back home. It was a big week for me in many ways. It may have been the most "lawyerly" Wednesday I have ever had. Two hearings, one a complete...

Commentary: Be a savvy attorney through effective online strategies.
May 13, 2008... Byline: Andrew Wetzler For most legal professionals, marketing through the Internet is a bit of a mystery. There was a time when just being listed in the yellow pages was enough for the phone to ring. But in today's highly competitive...

St. Louis County jury awards record $21 million.
May 13, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man paralyzed in a 2004 car wreck won what lawyers believe is the largest personal injury verdict ever in St. Louis County: $21 million. The case was one of the many lawsuits filed in the final days before Missouri...

Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Missouri says loss in court aids federal case.
May 13, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Missouri lost an effort on Friday to strike down what they say is a burdensome state law. Then again, maybe they didn't lose at all. As the organization wages a two-pronged effort to...

Should experts in Missouri testify in common knowledge cases?
May 14, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Lawyers for a medical malpractice plaintiff asked the Missouri Supreme Court to overturn a 46-year-old precedent and allow expert testimony in cases that are supposed to be based on common knowledge. At issue is the...

McCaskill decries funding snub for court arts program in Missouri.
May 14, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey Try telling Dave Sullivan that writing a politician with a concern is useless. Sullivan contacted U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill after his $1 million federal grant application was passed up. Sullivan is executive director...

Stinson Morrison Hecker combines St. Louis offices.
May 14, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole It's official - Stinson Morrison Hecker attorneys in St. Louis combined offices and are hunkering down in the building of the firm's merger partner in Clayton until the lease is up in 2012. The 49,000 square feet at...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District limits impact of SIF decision.
May 15, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri courts appear willing to limit the effect of a year-old state Supreme Court decision permitting Second Injury Fund benefits to transfer to a worker's dependents upon death. On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of...

Former St. Charles publisher Regina Rickey passes away.
May 15, 2008... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Report Regina P. Rickey, who headed the public notice section for Missouri Lawyers Media, died of cancer Tuesday at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint Louis. She was 41. "I can't begin to...

Missouri governor's administration, state attorney general clash over prescription drug settlement.
May 15, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Gov. Matt Blunt's administration is investigating the attorney general's creation of a grant program to spend Missouri's share of a pharmacy company settlement. The offices already have been battling over an outside...

Correction.(Correction notice)
May 15, 2008... A headline appearing on Craig Napier's May 12 column incorrectly indicated that his daughter had been born. The Napier family has learned the sex of their child but has not yet given birth. We regret the error.

St. Louis County settles suit over stolen money.
May 16, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh has agreed to pay St. Louis County $81,000 to settle a federal lawsuit the county filed to recover money stolen by a former employee. Margaret King, 51, an employee in...

5th District of Missouri senatorial candidate not a resident of district.
May 16, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter State Rep. Connie Johnson is off the ballot for the 5th District senatorial race. Special Judge Douglas E. Long Jr., sitting in the St. Louis Circuit Court, said Wednesday that Johnson isn't qualified to be a candidate...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District: Viacom Outdoor, Inc. v. Max Taouil.
May 18, 2008... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Contracts Existence of contract; evidence ED89022 Viacom Outdoor, Inc., Respondent v. Max Taouil, Appellant. Handdown Date: 05/27/2008 Appeal From: Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Hon....

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District: Calvin Clark v. State of Missouri.
May 18, 2008... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Criminal law Post-conviction relief; timeliness ED90209 Calvin (Kevin) Clark, Appellant v. State of Missouri, Respondent. Handdown Date: 05/27/2008 Appeal From: Circuit Court of the City of St....

Three men nominated to fill St. Louis judicial vacancy.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Three white men have been selected as nominees to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Circuit Judge Evelyn M. Baker, the first black woman circuit judge in the state of Missouri. The 22nd Judicial Commission...

That's all, folks: In Missouri's end-of-session lawmaking, anything goes - and much gets done.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese The final days of a legislative session can be frantic, as lawmakers combine several pieces of legislation into one, and meet until the wee hours of the morning. This year, despite expectations that few major laws would...

Commentary: Moving a little closer to equality.
May 19, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier I do not get really political with this column, though I realize it bubbles up from underneath at times when I least expect it. This column is about a topic that is sure to raise the dander of many people. Despite...

Fake federal agent is among a litany of legal worries in small city of Gerald.
May 20, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Federal lawsuits filed over the past week paint a picture of law enforcement in the small city of Gerald that's straight out of the old "Dirty Harry" movies -- warrentless searches, police brutality and one officer who...

Missouri legislative session's end notable for what wasn't done.
May 20, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Like many public-interest topics this year, the just-concluded legislative session is more notable to the legal community for what failed as for what passed. In some cases, that means The Missouri Bar can breathe a sigh...

Show-Me Institute Study: State of Missouri's court plan as good as any.
May 21, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A new study being released today by the Show-Me Institute finds Missouri's plan for selecting judges to the state's highest court is as good as any other in the country, giving fresh support to staunch backers who say...

Taylor loses state challenge in Missouri, but federal appeal remains.
May 21, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Death row inmate Michael Taylor lost another appeal on Tuesday when the Missouri Supreme Court refused to order a circuit judge to reopen Taylor's post-conviction case. The appeal was Taylor's last chance in state...

Thousands of drug court pros coming to St. Louis.
May 22, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter The National Association of Drug Court Professionals will honor Sen. Claire McCaskill for her support of drug courts when the group hosts its annual training conference next week in St. Louis. McCaskill began the drug...

Veterans court awards $906,000 to Missouri.
May 22, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Missouri's veterans homes will get an additional $900,000 after an appeals court ruled last week on a seven-year-old lawsuit. Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, touting the decision at a press conference in Kansas...

Memorial proposed to mark Kansas City skywalk tragedy of 1981.
May 22, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey When the Hyatt Regency skywalk collapsed 27 years ago, 114 lives were lost and hundreds others were forever altered. Not only did Kansas City's physical landscape change, but so did the template for mass tort...

Attorneys in St. Louis County: Hurry up and wait.
May 23, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter The wheels of justice are turning slowly in St. Louis County. Court clerks there are about a month behind issuing summonses in civil cases. Court administrator Paul Fox blames it on state-mandated court automation....

Residual doubt issue causes split in federal courts.
May 23, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A high-profile civil rights murder trial in federal court in Kansas City last week raised an issue of first impression for the 8th Circuit. Federal courts have been split regarding the ability of defendants in capital...

A matter of debate: Missouri's three leading Democrats seeking office of attorney general.
May 27, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick There are few noticeable policy differences between the three leading Democrats seeking to become Missouri's next attorney general. Instead, attorneys Margaret Donnelly, Jeff Harris and Chris Koster are touting...

Missouri Supreme Court says apprentice earnings must follow prevailing wage.
May 27, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka Apprentices across Missouri got a boost in their legal right to higher wages last week when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in favor of four apprentice electricians from Butler County. The case interested the state...

Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh affirms ouster of Rep. Walton from ballot.
May 27, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Rep. Juanita Head Walton is off the ballot in the race to become the Democrat's candidate for senator of the 13th District. Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, of the federal court in St. Louis, said Friday...

Commentary: It's OK to be greedy if you have kids, right?
May 27, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier In a week that the new Indiana Jones movie came out in theaters alongside "Che" at the Cannes Film Festival, and a Texas judge sent many of the little polygamy kids home to see their mothers and father, it has been an...

Should non-payment of marital property be punished by jail time? Mo. Supreme Court to decide.
May 29, 2008... Byline: Bryan Utter The state Supreme Court was asked Wednesday whether failure to pay marital property can result in incarceration. After Robert and Melanie Fisher divorced in 2006, the Circuit Court of Phelps County jailed Robert Fisher...

Attorney's discrimination claim against Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon settled.
May 29, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey An attorney has settled a lawsuit against Attorney General Jay Nixon's office that claimed she was not hired because she was a quadriplegic. Marla Grothoff will receive $26,000 if the release and settlement agreement...

Last days for Missouri attorneys to evaluate judges.
May 29, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka Missouri attorneys have until Saturday to complete surveys of judges facing retention elections in November. For the first time, attorneys can use online surveys to grade the performance of judges in their area....

Decades-old deseg suit may be resolved in Kansas City.
May 30, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A 31-year-old lawsuit that began over desegregating Kansas City public schools and morphed into a fight for funds has entered its last stages. Jenkins v. Missouri has been bounced around from the district level to the...

Federal judge rules Missouri prisoner can sue over mail-order bride catalog.
May 30, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A prisoner who is suing because his mail is allegedly being unlawfully censored -- including being denied access to a mail-order-bride catalog -- has been given the green light to proceed. A federal judge on Thursday...

Drug courts get close-up look at St. Louis Drug Court.
May 30, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter What happened, man? St. Louis Drug Court Commissioner James Sullivan asked a young man who missed an appointment last Friday for a urine drop. The man, Alexander, had a flare up of Crohn's disease last week, and his...