Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from December 2008

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from December 2008

Missouri-based Bryan Cave, Polsinelli cancel parties.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Two of Missouri's largest law firms are holding off on annual parties due to the difficult economic times and scheduling problems. Bryan Cave is canceling its holiday party for its St. Louis headquarters in favor of...

Part of the legal team: Paralegals taking on a growing role.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley Forty years ago, the title paralegal didn't even exist in law offices. Today, paralegals have become an integral part of the legal team performing legal research, drafting documents, assisting clients, appearing in...

Arbitration, tobacco cases on U.S. Supreme Court's plate.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear arguments about whether a union contract can compel individual employees to arbitrate employment discrimination claims. The case, 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett, arose when the owners of...

Commentary: I feel like I wasted my vote for mayor of Kansas City on Mark Funkhouser.
December 1, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier Debacle, or derailing, it all seems like so much dysfunction to me. A few years ago I voted for Mark Funkhouser over Alvin Brooks for mayor of Kansas City, and I regret that decision more and more every day. At the...

8th Circuit says state immune in boy's death.
December 2, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Department of Social Services and two of its employees won't be tried for the wrongful death of an 8-year-old foster child. The boy, Braxton Wooden Jr., died three years ago during a game of cops and...

Former Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice John 'Jack' Bardgett Sr. dies at 81.(Obituary)
December 2, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley Former Missouri Supreme Court Justice John Jack Bardgett Sr. died on Nov. 29 at age 81 from leukemia. Bardgett served on the court from 1970 to 1982 and was chief justice from 1979 to 1981. After his time on the high...

St. Louis-based Bryan Cave formally opens Paris office.
December 2, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Bryan Cave's Paris office formally opened last week. The Paris Bar Council approved the St. Louis firm's establishment of a practice in the city, Bryan Cave announced Nov. 25. Bryan Cave had started the office in July...

Kansas City man gets new trial against police he claims set him up.
December 3, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A Kansas City man who spent more than five years in prison will get a new trial against the police detectives he claims set him up. Oren Gamble, who served time for burglary, was on the losing end of a June 2006...

Independence-based Community of Christ sues again over use of name.
December 3, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck For the second time in two years, the Independence-based Community of Christ has filed a trademark lawsuit against an unauthorized branch group that uses the church's former name. In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal...

Federal judge in St. Joseph examines family relationships to apportion settlement.
December 3, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge in St. Joseph ended a family fight over the proceeds of a wrongful death settlement. Donald and Barbara Hodge were killed in July 2005 in a collision with a train at a railroad crossing in Buchanan...

MIssouri tax preparers challenge noncompete agreement.
December 3, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley A class of former employees of a St. Louis affiliate of Jackson Hewitt is challenging the company's noncompete agreement. The class action petition, filed by Gene Swartzenberg, asked the court for an injunction and...

Despite plaintiff's objections, federal judge approves Pfizer settlement.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck A federal judge on Wednesday agreed to enforce a confidential settlement that left all parties except the plaintiff satisfied. In June, Christopher Jenkins Jr.'s attorneys reached a mediated deal with pharmaceutical...

Missouri Appeals Court Western District allows insurance stacking.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick An appeals court had an easy roadmap to follow in deciding an insurance stacking dispute. Robert Bauer II and his wife, Lila, had nearly identical language in their policy as one in a case reviewed by the Missouri...

Jackson County Court plans celebration to remember late judge.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick The Jackson County Circuit Court will hold a day of remembrance to celebrate the life of Judge Kelly Moorhouse, who died following a private fight with cancer in October. In a release from the court, Presiding Judge...

St. Louis federal judge rules bankruptcy doesn't foreclose employment claims.
December 4, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge in St. Louis denied a railroad's attempt to keep one of its employees from pursuing his discrimination claims against the company. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. said Shawn L. Rush, a conductor, lost his...

Commentary: How do you define law firm success?
December 4, 2008... Byline: Christine Hughes A prominent attorney recently told me how successful a particular law firm had become. My response to him was, Define success. If a law firm can pay their partners a million dollar bonus and decline to give a...

Judges Holliger, Spinden to exit Missouri Court of Appeals Western District in January.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Two judges from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District, Ron Holliger and Paul Spinden, are expected to leave the court in January, according to their colleagues. Holliger, a two-time finalist for a Missouri...

A female touch: Rebbecca Lake Wood becomes fourth woman to lead KC Metro Bar Assn.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick For just the fourth time in its 124 year history, a woman will lead the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. Rebbecca Lake Wood became the association's newest president during its annual meeting on Thursday....

St. Louis law firm The Stolar Partnership confirms some layoffs of attorneys.
December 5, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole A St. Louis law firm The Stolar Partnership has joined the ranks of law firms laying off attorneys. Four associates, a partner and an unknown number of staff were told of the layoffs Wednesday, according to an attorney...

Kansas City mayor's $30,000 settlement plays out in public.
December 9, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Over the past several months, Jim Wirken sometimes found himself working outside his role as attorney. Representing Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser in a closely followed harassment suit, Wirken occasionally took...

U.S. Supreme Court denies Alltel case against city of Springfield over cellular tax.
December 9, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal by Alltel Communications in its case against the city of Springfield's gross receipts taxes on cell phone services. By denying Alltel's appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed...

8th Circuit discrimination case goes to U.S. Supreme Court.
December 9, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up the issue of whether direct evidence is required in a discrimination case before a jury can consider whether discrimination was a motivating factor for an adverse employment...

Missouri Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer's investiture to be held Friday.
December 9, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff Missouri Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer will be formally sworn into office at 3 p.m. Friday at the Supreme Court Building, 207 West High St. in Jefferson City. More than 250 guests are expected to attend the...

Missouri lawsuit holds hospitals responsible for actions of nonstaff doctors who practice there.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District recognized a cause of action for negligent credentialing against hospitals that authorize independent doctors to practice there. The court, in an opinion issued Tuesday,...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reverses denial of workers' compensation claim.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick An appeals court wants more answers before it decides whether an emergency responder, who was injured at her home before leaving for a call, is entitled to workers' compensation. The Missouri Court of Appeals...

Two personal injury suits filed in St. Louis County target Union Pacific.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley Two personal injury suits were filed in St. Louis County against Union Pacific Railroad Co., alleging unsafe conditions at the railroad. Both lawsuits were filed by attorney Drew Baebler, of Bauer & Baebler. He says...

Senator Craig sex sting guilty plea upheld.
December 10, 2008... Byline: Jim Rubin, Bloomberg News A Minnesota appeals court, ruling that U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's rights weren't violated, rejected his bid to withdraw his guilty plea in a bathroom sex sting case. Craig, an Idaho Republican, pleaded guilty...

Kansas City couple claims 'racial animus' by store's staff.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A Kansas City couple is demanding millions of dollars for the harassment they allegedly received while holiday shopping at a sporting goods store four years ago. Terrie Withers and Alvin Smith, who are engaged,...

Kansas City-based NovaStar Financial to settle class action suit for $7.25 million.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick NovaStar Financial Inc. agreed to pay $7.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit earlier this week. The Kansas City-based company, which at one point was a leader in subprime lending, faced accusations that it...

St. Louis County Circuit Judge Wiesman to retire after 42 years on bench.
December 11, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley St. Louis County Circuit Judge Melvyn W. Wiesman will be retiring in January, after serving 42 years on the bench -- the longest tenure of any sitting judge in the state. Wiesman will retire Jan. 30, a few weeks before...

Missouri Supreme Court to decide if psychologist's status affects predator's incarceration.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Attorney General Jay Nixon's office is seeking to reverse the dismissal of an involuntary commitment order for an individual deemed to be a sexually violent predator. But the man's public defender argued that the...

Missouri Supreme Court to decide case on law that changed in time between crime and plea.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The Missouri Supreme Court was asked Wednesday to determine whether a law regarding the registration of the state's sex offenders applies to individuals who committed applicable crimes before the law went into...

Legal advice on money woes now a click away on Missouri Bar site.
December 12, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley To help Missourians manage their money in the current economic climate, the Missouri Bar has launched a money guide on its Web site. The Web site, www.mobar.org/moneyguide, will also inform people of their legal rights...

Zel Fischer, already on court, formally takes oath to join Missouri Supreme Court.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum When Zel Fischer was interviewed for the vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court in August, Supreme Court Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith asked the associate circuit judge how he would contribute to the collegiality...

New Kansas City smoking ban case heard.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County judge is expected to rule soon on arguments he heard on Friday regarding Kansas City's smoking ban. Associate Circuit Judge Richard Standridge took under advisement a criminal case against Georgia...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: December 15, 2008.
December 15, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson says he was the victim during an incident at a Plaza club in October. Attorneys for Johnson last week filed a counterclaim against Ashley N. Stewart, who sued him for...

Missouri defender's office institutes hiring freeze.
December 16, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The Missouri State Public Defender's Office has announced a statewide freeze on new hires for 2009, the first hiring freeze in the system's 36-year history. The unprecedented move was prompted by a sudden plunge in...

Embattled Independence attorney's practice to end in February or before.
December 16, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick An embattled Independence attorney, under fire for mishandling clients' funds, will give up his law license in February. That is if the Missouri Supreme Court doesn't take it first. In an affidavit filed last week...

Commentary: We need to hit bottom before rebuilding.
December 16, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier Boy, this economy is on everyone's minds. At press time the auto bail out had been nudged into a ditch by the powers in Washington, and of course the various lunatic financial markets responded poorly. I don't know...

Missouri Court of Appeals sends tobacco case back where it was in '07.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck A major tobacco case that has consumed more than five years of court time so far has added another 113 pages to its history. The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Tuesday formally readopted an opinion that...

St. Louis schools takeover upheld by Missouri Supreme Court.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A unanimous state Supreme Court rejected all arguments by those seeking to reinstate the elected board for the St. Louis Public School District. The court found that the State Board of Education acted properly in...

Missouri Supreme Court rules ill woman's loss of job not voluntary.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A woman with ovarian cancer did not voluntarily leave her sales job and was wrongly denied unemployment benefits, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. In a unanimous decision, the court reversed a Labor and...

Missouri Supreme Court upholds Batson challenge.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley In a ruling affirming the trial court's discretion, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a judge's decision to sustain a Batson challenge. The ruling upheld a $212,000 jury verdict for Doris Kesler-Ferguson in her...

Tort reformers warn about Missouri's metro counties.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley While Missouri courts weren't deemed hellholes by a recent survey ranking, they weren't listed as the best courts in the country for defendants either. In its annual Judicial Hellholes Report, the American Tort Reform...

Missouri Supreme Court disciplines two KC attorneys.
December 17, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday handed out punishment for four attorneys. Independence attorney H. Kent Desselle was placed on interim suspension, meaning he is temporarily suspended from practicing while a...

Missouri Supreme Court: Civil evidence standard OK'd for sex-crime commitments.
December 18, 2008... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a bid by two men to overturn their determinations as sexually violent predators, ruling that it was constitutional to use a clear and convincing evidence standard to make such a...

The value of heritage: Missouri Supreme Court outlines reformed eminent domain process.
December 18, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole This week, the Missouri Supreme Court started outlining some of the procedures trial courts should use for eminent domain cases under reform passed in 2006. On Tuesday, the court said a heritage award required under...

16th Circuit names Peterson as Family Court commissioner.
December 18, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck A veteran assistant public defender was selected to join the Jackson County Family Court as a commissioner. Martina L. Peterson, who has served with the Missouri State Public Defender's Office for 13 years, was voted...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals uses new rule in drug-sentence enhancements.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Two Kansas City brothers' enhanced sentences for drug and weapons possession could change under a new standard recently set by the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. In an opinion issued Wednesday, the 8th Circuit said...

Missouri Governor Blunt appoints David H. Miller as 8th Circuit state judge.
December 19, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record Staff David H. Miller will be appointed as circuit judge of the state's 8th Judicial Circuit, Gov. Matt Blunt said Thursday. David Miller's legal background will serve him well as he assumes the responsibilities...

Army Corps sues Ameren over Taum Sauk Reservoir disaster.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The Army Corps of Engineers has filed a federal lawsuit against AmerenUE over the 2005 Taum Sauk Reservoir disaster. The Army Corps claims that the reservoir collapse released debris that traveled downriver to...

Grass Valley funeral home settles.
December 19, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick The owner of a Grain Valley funeral home and cemetery will pay nearly $1.27 million to settle allegations that its deceptive advertising misled military veterans who purchased burial services. The award will be...

Missouri lawmakers oppose raises.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The top lawmaker on the Senate Judiciary Committee announced last week that he opposes a plan boosting the salaries of elected officials and judges if state employees get a raise as well. State Sen. Matt Bartle,...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: December 22, 2008.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Jury returns $469K for accident victim A woman injured in an accident caused by a drunken driver won a $469,000 award last week. Christopher Pickert, of Olathe, had a blood alcohol content of .135 when he ran a...

Undisclosed test results offer thorny problem for Kansas City patient.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley Many times patients are told by their doctor's office that nurses or staff will contact them if their routine tests show negative results, and otherwise they won't be notified. Not so, claims Linda Budrovich. In 2002,...

Commentary: Big Tobacco never mentioned thunder lunging.
December 22, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier Last week the Supreme Court took a break from denying challenges to President-elect Obama's citizenship credentials to say that a Maine woman has the right to present evidence to a jury that cigarette companies...

Kansas City society mags trade punches in legal fight.
December 23, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Two rival Kansas City magazines have quickly begun a litigious battle in a lawsuit not even two weeks old. Monday brought a flurry of filings and orders in the suit filed earlier this month by By Invitation Kansas...

First legal challenge to Missouri's 2010 ballot filed.
December 23, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese The ACLU has filed a lawsuit seeking to dismantle an effort to limit use of affirmative action programs in government before it really gets started. The leader of the effort also has filed a legal challenge. It's...

St. Louis clothing store ruled not liable for fatal shooting.
December 23, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A St. Louis clothing store is not liable for the shooting death of a customer by an off-duty police officer, a federal judge said Friday. The store, Man Alive, did not breach its duty to protect its customers from...

Missouri law firm Simon Passanante splits up.
December 23, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole After 19 years in practice together, plaintiffs' attorneys John Simon and Paul Passanante are going their separate ways. Passanante will open Paul J. Passanante & Associates on Jan. 1. He is bringing with him associate...

Top Stories 2008: Lawyer layoffs now part of Missouri's landscape.
December 24, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole 2008 was diaper-clad when the first news of legal layoffs broke. Among the 505 corporate cuts announced Jan. 31 by Kansas City-based H&R Block were some in the legal department. The move came as the tax preparer, which...

Top Stories 2008: Kansas City priest abuse cases settle, but hurt still lingers.
December 24, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Priest abuse settlements across the country have gained attention not only for their shocking allegations but also for their jaw-dropping settlement amounts. Yet in a field where plaintiffs have walked away with...

Missouri Governor Blunt to appoint new Jackson County circuit judge.
December 24, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick With Gov. Matt Blunt's time in office coming to an end, Jackson County could have a new circuit judge within the next two weeks. Blunt will pick from a panel that includes Rod Chapel, Joel May and Dale Youngs. The...

Missouri's Gov. Blunt will turn over e-mails to investigative team.
December 24, 2008... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Court-appointed attorneys and lawyers for Gov. Matt Blunt came to a settlement on Tuesday afternoon over a festering controversy concerning records retention in the governor's office. In 2007, Nixon appointed a...

Emerson attorney exits for Armstrong Teasdale's St. Louis office.
December 24, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record staff Carl Bauer, a 16-year veteran and associate general counsel of Emerson, is heading to Armstrong Teasdale's St. Louis office to become a partner. Bauer, who created the International Trade Compliance Group...

Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan fight overcomes opposition on varied fronts.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley In 2008, the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan was tested on every level, with an appointment of a new Supreme Court judge, the election on whether to add a new county to the plan and attempts to pass legislation to...

Large verdicts, settlements made for a quick start to 2008 in Jackson County.
December 26, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick It took little time for big dollar amounts to appear in Jackson County cases this year. Just five days into 2008, a jury returned a verdict of $104 million in a class action lawsuit claiming several mortgage lenders...

Bad faith lawsuit against Allstate Insurance that began small yielded trove of documents.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Allstate Insurance Co. has paid to settle a drawn-out and litigious bad faith lawsuit. All that remains is the sorting out of an issue concerning a small amount of court costs. Whatever that confidential payment...

St. Charles, St. Louis counties sue state over fees.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley St. Louis County and St. Charles County have filed a lawsuit alleging that a $10 sheriff fee increase is unconstitutional. The lawsuit filed in Cole County Circuit Court seeks a declaratory judgment on the...

Newly minted Missouri Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer's philosophy will slowly unfold.
December 29, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Supporters and critics of the Nonpartisan Court Plan will be keeping a close eye on its most notable beneficiary of 2008. Newly minted Supreme Court Judge Zel Fischer has made a quick rise up the judicial ladder, but...

Top Stories 2008: Jay Nixon, Chris Koster prepare for office in Missouri.
December 30, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka At an early November rally before a parking lot full of bright-eyed canvassers, Chris Koster stands shoulder to shoulder with Jay Nixon and addresses the crowd. My job is to fly under Jay's wing, he said, his voice...

Top Stories 2008: With new judges, Kansas City Municipal Court breathes easier.
December 30, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick For a Kansas City court that often finds itself mired in controversy, 2008 turned out to be a relatively quiet year. In fact, it was likely one the best years in recent history for the Kansas City Municipal Court....

Judge Joseph Dandurand tapped as deputy AG for Missouri.
December 30, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Another judge from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District is leaving to join Attorney General-elect Chris Koster's team. Judge Joseph Dandurand, who was appointed to the court just one year ago, will become...

Commentary: Dylan's tune still rings true today.
December 30, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone. If your time to you Is worth savin' Then you better start swimmin' Or...

Mergers rule in Missouri in 2008: Trend not likely to be slowed by economy.
December 31, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Tomorrow marks the official consummation of two of the five merger deals announced or completed by large law firms in Missouri in 2008. Bryan Cave is set to add Atlanta firm Powell Goldstein as of Jan. 1. Also...

Top Stories 2008: Kansas City municipal judge dispute remains alive.
December 31, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick On her claim that being white cost her one of the highest paid judgeships in the state, Melissa Howard came away with one of the most extraordinary verdicts of 2008. Howard, a prosecutor in Clay County, received a...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District says some injuries need no expert testimony.
December 31, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission doesn't need to hear testimony from an expert witness when the injury in question is not technical, an appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The Missouri Court of Appeals...

Effort to guarantee secret ballots begins in Missouri.
December 31, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese An outgoing state senator has filed ballot language that would ask voters to spell out in the state constitution the right to a secret ballot. The effort is being launched in response to federal legislation, backed by...