Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from December 2004

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from December 2004

Circuit court errs in awarding litigation expense amount, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A circuit court erred in awarding $2,500 to a father for litigation expenses, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled, remanding and entering a new judgment for expenses owed to the...

U.S. District Court upholds petitioner's murder conviction.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Even though the police lied to the petitioner by telling him an accomplice confessed to a crime involving the robbery and death of an 88-year-old man, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York...

More construction disputes solved by mediation.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Brian Johnson In the world of professional football, a disputed call is oftentimes cleared up with the use of instant replay. If only it were that simple in the world of construction. When you take the sometimes-competing...

Commentary: Avoiding common investor problems.
December 1, 2004... Byline: James J. Eccleston The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has published helpful guidance for investors on its Web site, www.nasd.com, entitled, "Common Investor Problems and How to Avoid Them." These "Investors'...

Political party discrimination claim lacks evidence, Court of Appeals finds.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright An employment discrimination claim based on political affiliations failed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit last Wednesday, not because the employee was from the same party as his employer but because...

MO Court of Appeals reverses credit card lawsuit over Citibank's lack of proof.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Citibank's inability to prove what a man bought with his credit card proved to be a costly mistake as the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, reversed a judgment for more than $5,000 when the trial court record...

Mortgage Bankers Assn. says mortgage apps hit seasonal decline.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Mortgage applications have declined in the fourth quarter and reflect a seasonal pattern and overall slowdown according to the latest mortgage application survey released last week by the Mortgage Bankers Association....

Homebuilders bring wrong relief for nuisance claim, MO Court of Appeals rules.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Two home developers who asserted claims against a city for ballpark lights that shined into neighborhood homes they developed will have a second chance to state the proper claim of relief in their case. ...

U.S. Bankruptcy judge says debt obligations can be maintenance.
December 3, 2004... Byline: David Ziemer U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Martin held on Sept. 29 that, where a marital settlement agreement classified marital debts as being part of the financial support settlement, rather than the property settlement, the...

Gov. Holden's chief of staff resigns.
December 3, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Jane Dueker, chief of staff for Gov. Bob Holden, is rejoining Stinson Morrison Hecker L.L.P. in its St. Louis office. Her resignation was effective Nov. 30. Dueker, the first woman to hold the...

Holiday shopping starts with assurances and little surprise.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon It was really no surprise that the extended Thanksgiving weekend proved successful for retailers. Yet the components in this surge of consumer confidence do offer insight as to where and how holiday shoppers in 2004 have...

Commentary: Turning problems into opportunities during mediation.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Louise Phipps Senft Mediation must of necessity be significantly different from traditional settlement efforts such as the usual lawyer bargaining or settlement conferencing, else why have it? In what ways should it be a different...

8th Circuit rules railroad employees can sue in state court.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright In a railroad case of a different nature, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that two railroad employees could present common-law claims against their employer and a lab that allegedly produced...

MO Dept. of Health & Senior Services validates small percent of abuse complaints.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Cathy Kingsley Not all cases of abuse or neglect at long-term facilities get reported, and of those that are reported, few are validated. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the total number of...

Dean of Washington University School of Law to depart.
December 6, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff St. Louis is losing a great legal scholar next year as Joel Seligman, dean of Washington University School of Law and the Ethan A.H. Shepley University Professor, has accepted the position as the...

Commentary: Raising the Bar - Brush up your bankruptcy, part II.
December 6, 2004... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler When thinking of personal bankruptcy, envision it as an adult's version of a child's "do over." Though the drafters of the modern Bankruptcy Code hoped that filing bankruptcy would not become habit-forming, the...

Court did not err in allowing jury instruction, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District did not reverse a jury verdict in favor of a railroad company in a case involving personal injuries sustained while a railroad employee was on the job....

Five divisions in St. Louis City switch to individual docketing.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter In January, five judges of the 22nd Judicial Circuit will begin an experiment that's expected to pave the way for individual docketing for the entire circuit court. Judges Robert H. Dierker Jr., Joan Burger,...

Mortgage Bankers Assn. backs veterans' benefits.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon The Mortgage Bankers Association voiced approval to the House of Representatives passage of an updated Veterans Benefits Improvement Act just hours before legislators adjourned for the Thanksgiving holiday. Passed by the...

Commentary: Tips for speaking from a collective point of view on behalf of your law firm.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We are continuing to talk about the various rules that we have in our office the enables us to "get the work done" in a timely, efficient and expeditious manner. "Getting the work done" is one of the five areas that...

Commentary: Safe Harbor 401(k) plans beneficial to business owners.
December 7, 2004... Byline: Ben Proctor The creation of the Safe Harbor 401(k) plan has been a significant benefit to business owners who have been limited by their companies' traditional retirement plans. The Safe Harbor plan eliminates the need for...

Beneficiary deed invalid, MO Court of Appeals rules.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess One man's death altered his family irrevocably, leaving a wife and a stepson embroiled in a legal battle over a trust sorted out by a divided Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, the majority of which found...

Survey shows in-house attorney compensation is on the rise.
December 8, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff According to the Altman Weil Law Department Compensation Benchmarking Survey of U.S. corporate law departments, published in partnership with the Association of Corporate Counsel, 2004 showed an...

Mortgage Bankers Assn. offering new designation for residential underwriting.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon The Mortgage Bankers Association is expanding its educational opportunities by offering both MBA members and non-members a new advanced designation of Certified Residential Underwriting for residential real estate....

Commentary: Tax law changes bring new plans.
December 8, 2004... Byline: Gary Williams April 15 is months away, however, year end is a great time to start planning for next year's tax-filing season. As a result of many recent tax changes, early tax planning is crucial, and it's not too early to...

Traffic stop search and seizure was unlawful, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A search and seizure at a routine traffic stop which produced evidence that resulted in the conviction of a man as a persistent drug offender was unlawful, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western...

Trial court had jurisdiction to enforce back-pay order, rules COA.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright A St. Charles County trial court has jurisdiction to determine the enforcement of a commission's back-pay order, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, said Tuesday, attributing the delay in the employee's...

Some St. Louis investors see real estate as attractive alternative investment to Wall Street.
December 9, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Many investors were burnt by the dot-com bubble burst during the immediate years of the latest century change, so they began looking for other places to put their money. Some might have considered taking a lesson from...

Commentary: Can your personal computer actually help humanity?
December 9, 2004... Byline: Larry Fiorino IBM recently launched a global grid-computing project that will harness unused computing power to help solve a variety of health issues and other scientific problems. IBM said the project, the World Community...

MO Court of Appeals reverses trial court's dismissal of property dispute lawsuit.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess A trial court's abrupt dismissal of a case with no explanation left the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, little choice but to send the case back for the trial court to finish what it started. Judy...

MO Supreme Court rules couple failed to follow statutory requirements in demand letter.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright A couple seeking a 10 percent penalty for a mortgage company's failure to timely release their deed of trust did not follow statutory requirements in their demand letter, the Missouri Supreme Court held Tuesday in a...

Home prices outpace other consumer costs, reports federal oversight agency.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight announced last week that average home prices increased nearly 13 percent from the third quarter of 2003 to the third quarter of this year -- surpassing the pace of...

Commentary: Stay away from the phish.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Doug Washington In the world of computers, phishing (pronounced "fishing"), short for password harvesting fishing, is the luring of sensitive information, such as passwords and other personal information, from a victim by...

Commentary: Legal ADvice - Tales of the cyber-griper.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Jim Astrachan Copyright ownership bestows a virtual monopoly over use. Trademark ownership does not. This became very clear recently when I decided how best to protest the terrible service I had received at a Maryland-based car...

Telemarketing statute did not contain 'use it or lose it' policy, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The statute governing the maximum allowed prices for telecommunications services does not include a "use it or lose it" clause, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled. In State of...

KC Metro Bar Assn. convenes 120th Annual Meeting.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association convened its 120th Annual Meeting last Thursday at the Downtown Marriott hotel. The event featured the signing of the Diversity Action Plan, honoring Bar...

David L. Hoven to fill 20th Circuit associate judgeship.
December 13, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Gov. Bob Holden announced on Wednesday the appointment of David L. Hoven of Pacific, Mo., as associate circuit judge for the 20th Judicial Circuit in Union, Mo. Hoven replaces Associate Circuit...

Commentary: A young attorney's argument against Missouri tort reform.
December 13, 2004... Byline: Mark A. Kille When I was a young kid growing up, I recall my father at times cursing the government because of an increase in income tax or the soaring rate of inflation. Not only was it a challenge to support his wife and six...

Commentary: Projecting rate of return when planning retirement.
December 13, 2004... Byline: David Clogg (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media paper). Probably the most common question put forth to an investment adviser is: What rate of return should I expect from the...

Plaintiff gets second chance in electrocution suit, MO Supreme Court says.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright, St. Louis Daily Record (This article originally ran in The St. Louis Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). A man allegedly electrocuted by Union Electric power lines will have a second chance...

City had no right to seize autos prior to DWI convictions, MO Court of Appeals says.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess, St. Louis Daily Record (This article originally ran in The St. Louis Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). A city's pre-emptive strike against two repeat drunk drivers received a blow when...

Report plays up impact of creative industries on MO's economy.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Mike Trask, The St. Louis Daily Record (This article originally ran in The St. Charles County Business Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). Those starving artists you keep hearing about may be more important...

8th Circuit rules private antitrust case untimely.
December 14, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff (This article originally ran in The St. Louis Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a private antitrust...

Commentary: Thank you letters help your firm get the work done.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken This week we are still talking about the various rules that we have in our firm that enables us to "get the work done." You will remember that "getting the work done" is the third area, of five areas, that make up every...

Commentary: Online holiday shopping: What you should know.
December 14, 2004... Byline: Larry Fiorino (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). The days following Thanksgiving raised optimism for online retailers concerning this year's holiday shopping...

MO court says attorney had right to report non-lawyer to Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.
December 15, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy When an attorney sent a letter to the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel about a non-attorney who may be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, it was neither abuse of process nor defamation the...

Trial court proceeds with divorce case despite husband's absence.
December 15, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A trial court was not wrong to go ahead with a marriage dissolution even though the husband requested a continuance due to his poor health. In Pamela S. Foster, Respondent, v. John C. Foster, Appellant,...

William T. Lohmar Jr. appointed to fill 11th Circuit Court vacancy.
December 15, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff Gov. Bob Holden announced last week the appointment of William T. Lohmar Jr. of St. Charles as associate circuit judge for the 11th Circuit Court in St. Charles. He replaces Judge Ted House, who will...

Commentary: End of the year brings a look back ... and ahead.
December 15, 2004... Byline: Bob Barton Well, another year has almost come and gone. Parents love this time of year because of that disciplinary tool known as the "What will Santa think when he finds out." reminder. (My wife likes to use this with our 5...

Commentary: Roth IRA conversions about to improve.
December 15, 2004... Byline: Gary Williams (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). Affluent retirees who have wanted to convert sizable traditional individual retirement accounts into Roth IRAs but...

Life insurance proceeds must go to second wife, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright (This article originally ran in The St. Charles County Business Record, St. Charles, MO, another Dolan Media publication). Proceeds from a life insurance policy created as part of a marital settlement agreement...

MO appeals court finds Second Injury Fund liable for worker's injury.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter There is a difference between the date of an injury and the date it becomes disabling, said a Missouri appeals court, finding that a retired grocery buyer's knee injury pre-existed his carpal tunnel syndrome, which...

Debt elimination scams come under scrutiny of MO, federal officials.
December 16, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). Federal and state officials have confirmed increased activity in their efforts to stop unscrupulous lending agents...

ABA offering info. to help consumers avoid hidden fees in gift cards.
December 17, 2004... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Nearly 70 percent of consumers plan to present gift cards this holiday season. A new American Bar Association consumer information Web site can help prevent those cards from becoming "the incredible shrinking...

Mixed economic message induces looking out.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Various groups of economic experts have begun forecasting predictions for the coming year while evaluating current conditions. Some offer a clearly a positive economic picture. Some do not. And others prompt workers and...

Commentary: 10 financial tips just for women.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Dena Frenkel (The article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). On average, women earn 76 cents for every dollar men earn in the workplace. Because women typically spend...

Housing authority exempt from assessment foreclosure, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy In two separate cases grouped into one opinion, the Missouri Court of Appeals found Kansas City, Mo. could not foreclose on Housing Authority property for failure to pay tax assessments. In the first...

Marriage dissolution hearing by drug court commissioner not valid, MO Court of Appeals says.
December 17, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright Given that no evidence entered the proceedings, a Stoddard County circuit judge must dismiss a dissolution of marriage case at one of the party's request, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, ordered...

Railway presents irrelevant testimony in Federal Employer's Liability Act case.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy An injured railroad worker will get another chance to try his case for damages after the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District found the Kansas City Southern Railway Co. tried to defer the blame...

Missouri appeals court upholds Arnold's sewer tax ordinance.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Donna Walter A real estate foreclosure did not eliminate a special tax bill issued by the city of Arnold three years before the foreclosure took place, said a Missouri appeals court in what the Arnold city attorney described as a...

Communication between hospital, nurses critical, MO groups say.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Communication in a job setting is very important for an organization to run smoothly; when that job involves caring for the sick, it becomes critical. The importance of communication between nurses, doctors...

Commentary: Inclusive wisdom and experience justifies job for justices.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Stability and volatility begin to blur when a lack of comprehension or excess of assumption drive the making of decisions. Quick fix judgment calls might provide temporary satisfaction but fail to stand the test of time....

Commentary: Raising the Bar - Brush up your bankruptcy, part III.
December 20, 2004... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). Known frauds, swindlers and thieves do not generally fare well in bankruptcy court no matter how dire their...

Award for breach of warranty was too high, rules MO Court of Appeals.
December 21, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A breach of warranty award erroneously put a couple in a better position than they would have been if the warranty hadn't been breached, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District found in a...

MO Court of Appeals rules jury coordinator's comments warrant mistrial.
December 21, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Hopefully the fourth time at trial will be the last for a woman suing her health care providers, as the Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, overturned the jury verdict for the defendants after deeming credible...

National Association of Home Builders confirms affordable housing shortage.
December 21, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Residential construction industry officials did last week what housing advocates had been calling on them to do during the past five years. They gave official group acknowledgement that affordable housing is in short...

Commentary: Using a calendar system to get the work done.
December 21, 2004... Byline: Jim Wirken We have two topics to talk about with regard to the area of "getting the work done". We will be finished with this section. You will remember that "getting the work done" is one of the five things that makes up every...

Commentary: 'Tis the season to be wary - of drinking too much at the company Christmas party.
December 21, 2004... Byline: John Finerty Every year at this time, I get questions from employers about potential liability that may arise from company holiday parties. Aside from the obvious problems associated with employees who drink and drive, Christmas...

Drafting ordinance is first valid step in annexation, MO Court of Appeals finds.
December 22, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy There is only one first valid step towards annexing an area of land, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled in an affirmed decision. In City of St. Joseph, Missouri, Appellant v....

Lawyer's Assn. of KC's Young Lawyer's Section awards scholarship and participates in drive.
December 22, 2004... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff The Lawyer's Association of Kansas City's Young Lawyer's Section found several ways to help others this holiday season. At the LAKC's 2004 Annual Holiday Dinner, held on Friday, Dec. 10 at the Kansas City...

ABA committee seeks to improve juror service.
December 22, 2004... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff At a news conference last week, American Bar Association President Robert J. Grey Jr. presented Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with the ABA American Jury Project's "Principles for Juries and...

Communication law conference to focus on election, court access.
December 22, 2004... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff The American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law's 10th Annual Conference will present three plenary sessions that review hot-button issues facing the media and their lawyers, providing analysis of...

Commentary: IRS looks more kindly on family limited partnerships that serve business.
December 22, 2004... Byline: Gary Williams (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). Wealthy families thinking of establishing a family limited partnership in order to save gift and estate taxes need...

Jackson County 16th Circuit Court has new presiding judge.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy At a recent Jackson County 16th Circuit Court en banc meeting, Judge J.D. Williamson received a new addition to his office - a red felt and paper crown with gold trim. The crown has long been a symbol...

Missouri Housing Development Commission plans to roll out low interest loans.
December 23, 2004... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Missourians seeking to purchase homes for the first time will have greater access to low interest loans as the result of an allocation to the Missouri Housing Development Commission announced today. ...

KC lawyer to lead Missouri Press-Bar Commission group.
December 23, 2004... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff The Missouri Press-Bar Commission has unanimously elected Kansas City attorney John S. Black to a one-year term as president of the commission. Black, who served as president of The Missouri Bar in...

Defendant cannot be forced to take antipsychotic drugs, appellate court rules.
December 23, 2004... Byline: Erin Suess Courts cannot force medication on the delusional when the treatment has little probability of success, ruled the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri...

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals remands securities case.
December 23, 2004... Byline: David Ziemer The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that although it can review a trial judge's authority to remand a case to state court, it will not review the lower court's reasoning. Between 1998 and 2001,...

MO Court of Appeals rules mechanic's lien was invalid.
December 24, 2004... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A trial court erred in enforcing a mechanic's lien on a couple's property because it was filed against the wrong party, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District ruled in an affirmed in part,...

Remodeling market ending strong in '04, says Nat. Assn. of Home Builders.
December 24, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon Third-quarter results for the remodeling market moved one point ahead of the seasonally adjusted second quarter of 2004. Continued low interest rates and stable consumer confidence are attributed as key elements,...

Commentary: Christmas experience offers calm over common headlines.
December 24, 2004... Byline: Mike Nixon There is something different about Christmas. Beyond disagreements and traditions regarding religious expression, or complaints that it is too secularized and commercial, there is still amazement about how one day of...

Commentary: The Art of Appellate Advocacy - Running for the jugular.
December 24, 2004... Byline: Andrew Baida You may be the kind of person who relates less to the thought of running a marathon than to the idea of walking to the kitchen to eat a pint of ice cream, but you should know that lawyers who argue appeals have a lot...

MO Court of Appeals says no probable cause found in search and seizure.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright A warrantless search that turned up drugs and paraphernalia and led to the arrest of a Ralls County man was illegal, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, ruled Tuesday, finding that an affidavit did not...

Illinois Court of Appeals rules jury not obliged to fully rely on expert testimony.
December 27, 2004... Byline: Emily Umbright A Brown County trial court should have issued jury instructions requiring a decision based on how carefully a person would have acted under the circumstance, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District, found...