Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from February 2009

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from February 2009

Lengthy trial gets underway in Jackson County Circuit Court.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick Plaintiff in fraud case seeks some $60 million in actual damages A Jackson County jury will begin hearing weeks of evidence today in a highly complex fraud case where the plaintiff is seeking to recover tens if...

Bryan Cave CIO in St. Louis to receive IT director award.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Connie Hoffman clearly enjoys her job. As Bryan Cave's chief information officer, Hoffman is heavily involved in developing computer- and Web-based programs to help the firm's lawyers deliver better services for their...

Kansas City law firms Polsinelli, Shughart combine.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Two Kansas City firms were set to seal the deal on their merger Sunday. Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus and Shughart Thomson & Kilroy are tying the knot to create what will be Missouri's second largest firm,...

Crowd in St. Louis turns out for food, answers about disqualifications.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter When Ken Vuylsteke offered to pay the cost of a free lunch for anyone who wanted to come talk about the St. Louis Circuit Court's new motion practice procedure in civil cases he figured about 20 people would show up....

Kansas City Legal Briefs: February 2, 2009.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Charles Emerick A former high-ranking police official is joining the Municipal Judicial Nominating Commission. Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointed Vince Ortega to the commission on Thursday. He replaces Nelsie Sweeney, a Kay Barnes...

Commentary: What do millionaires know about the poor?
February 2, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier There is no doubt that I supported Barack Obama for president. His message of change rang true with me, my antiestablishment tendencies, and that wannabe teenage punk-rock streak of social justice. But in the early...

8th U.S. Circuit Court upholds district's ban on 'Rebel Pride'.
February 3, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Farmington school district officials did not violate students' free speech rights when it prohibited them from wearing clothing depicting the Confederate flag. It's a good decision because it allows public school...

St. Louis County judge upholds tort reform caps.
February 3, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A St. Louis County judge upheld the constitutionality of tort reform caps on noneconomic damages. In July, a St. Louis County jury awarded $2.58 million, including $1 million in noneconomic damages, to James Klotz and...

Missouri Gov. Nixon makes first court appointment.
February 3, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Gov. Jay Nixon made his first judicial appointment on Monday, naming R. Brent Elliott as circuit judge for the 43rd Circuit. Elliott, of Stewartsville, is currently an associate judge in DeKalb...

Ritchie named prosecuting attorney for Lafayette County.
February 3, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Kellie Ritchie, of Lexington, has been appointed as prosecuting attorney for Lafayette County. The position became vacant upon the resignation of Page Bellamy, who has joined the staff of...

Two St. Louis firms announce merger.
February 3, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Two St. Louis firms, Gundlach, Lee, Eggmann, Boyle & Roessler and the Brasher Law Firm, have merged to become Boyle Brasher LLC. The new firm now has 30 lawyers in three states with offices in...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District affirms $1M jury verdict.
February 4, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Tuesday upheld a $1 million jury verdict from 2007, clarifying a novel question of bad-faith tort law along the way. Quinlock Shobe won $500,000 in actual damages and...

Jackson County jury awards $2.5M for injuries in car crash.
February 4, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck The bad economy apparently made no difference to a Jackson County jury that awarded a woman $2.5 million late last week. The award to Adrienne Garrison Wayman, of Grain Valley, compensates her for injuries she suffered...

Missouri Supreme Court: Criticizing judges could get lawyer suspended.
February 4, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A Kansas City lawyer told the Missouri Supreme Court he acted with intellectual curiosity when he wrote letters to a Jackson County circuit judge challenging her integrity and accusing her of engaging in judicial...

St. Louis jury awards $525K in Washington University suit.
February 4, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A St. Louis jury on Tuesday awarded a famous surgeon $525,000 in his age-discrimination and retaliation claims against Washington University but sided with the university in his breach of contract claim. The jury also...

Robin Carnahan will run for Senate in Missouri.
February 4, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan announced Tuesday that she will seek the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Christopher Kit Bond. Last month, Bond declared that he would not seek...

Martinez confirmation bogs down again in Senate in Missouri.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Final vote might come today Linda Martinez's path to leading Missouri's Department of Economic Development hit yet another roadblock on Wednesday. Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, blocked the St. Louis attorney's...

Washington University plans appeal of $525K verdict.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Washington University plans to appeal a $525,000 verdict issued against it in an age-discrimination claim by a former surgeon and department head. The university's defense attorney, Joe Conran, of Husch Blackwell...

Madison County, Ill. agrees to fund facilities for mentally ill.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Residents of a Madison County, Ill., facility for the physically disabled and mentally ill failed to force the county to keep Shelter Care Home open, but they succeeded in getting county assistance for at least 10...

New charges brought in Jackson County Circuit Court in alleged fake attack case.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Man and woman now charged with conspiracy A federal grand jury added new charges on Wednesday against a woman accused of staging an attack to bolster a civil lawsuit and the man she allegedly hired to carry out the...

Bridgeton gynecologist seeks to stop abortion protests.
February 5, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A Bridgeton gynecologist says anti-abortion protesters are harassing his patients, and he wants them to stop. Dr. Allen Palmer and his office, WomensCare Gynecology, named members from the Holy Spirit Catholic Church...

Suits in Jackson County Circuit Court claim danger from seats' collapse.
February 6, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck It's hard to think of a front-end car crash as safe, but drivers in such accidents at least have the airbag to stop them. In a rear-end crash, all that stands between occupants and harm is the back of the car seat. In a...

Missouri Senate: Donnelly confirmed; Martinez still on hold.
February 6, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Two of Gov. Jay Nixon's cabinet appointees faced very different fates on Thursday when their nominations were brought up for a vote in the Missouri Senate. Margaret Donnelly's appointment as the new director of the...

Former Obama aide joins Missouri-based Bryan Cave office in Washington, D.C.
February 6, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Jeff Berman, a former campaign aide to President Barack Obama, joined Bryan Cave's new public policy and governmental affairs practice in the firm's Washington, D.C., office. Berman was the...

City of St. Louis settles reverse discrimination suit.
February 6, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter The city of St. Louis agreed to settle a reverse discrimination lawsuit filed more than seven years ago by two white men who had applied to be firefighters. Eric Deeken was awarded $25,000, and Michael Martinez got...

SEC sues former bank officer in U.S. District Court in St. Louis for fraud.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A week after pleading guilty to federal fraud charges, a former president of First Bank Mortgage is facing a civil suit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC suit against Mark T. Turkcan was filed...

'Smut shop' fight in Missouri begins anew.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum A pair of Republican senators argued last week they can constitutionally put restrictions on adult businesses they say produce harmful consequences on local communities. Sens. Matt Bartle, R-Lee's Summit, and Jack...

St. Louis-based Zoltek wins right to sue U.S. contractor.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A St. Louis-based manufacturing company has won the right to proceed in its patent infringement lawsuit against a government contractor after being denied its suit against the U.S. government. As far as we know, this...

Commentary: My brain needs to hit the gym.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier Ever open your mouth and spew mush? It's happened to me a couple of times in the past few weeks. While I have had work to do the past few months, it seems since November I've had little but status conferences and...

Man awarded $300K in Jackson County Circuit Court over police struggle.
February 10, 2009... Byline: David Knopf A Jackson County jury awarded a developmentally disabled man a total of $300,000 in damages on Friday in a civil case stemming from a struggle with Kansas City police that took place in 2003. The award for plaintiff...

Kansas City doctor wins part of health costs suit.
February 10, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck A Kansas City doctor won a jury verdict Friday on claims that his employer tried to classify him as an independent contractor to save on health costs. The jury returned two verdicts of $406,072 and $300,000 for Dr....

Carnahan sued in Cole County Circuit Court over stem cell ballot language.
February 10, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum A group aiming to add funding restrictions on embryonic stem cell research and abortion services into the state's constitution filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the secretary of state's ballot language. The...

8th U.S. Circuit rules 'right to remain silent' still meaningful.
February 10, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Prosecutor repeatedly questioned defendant's use of Miranda rights A federal prosecutor may not question a defendant in court about her decision not to answer police questions after her arrest, the 8th U.S....

Challenge to casino measure rejected by Missouri Court of Appeals Western District.
February 11, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck A Missouri appeals court denied a legal challenge to November's casino ballot measure -- three months after voters approved it. The ballot item, known as Proposition A, was challenged in court in August 2008. The trial...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District splits over verdict in shooting death.
February 11, 2009... Byline: David Knopf The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District affirmed a circuit court's guilty finding Tuesday in the case of a Kansas City man serving life in prison without parole for a 2004 shooting death. The appeal stemmed from...

Missouri Supreme Court orders new hearing over altered plea deal.
February 11, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley The Missouri Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing for a man who argued the state altered his plea agreement. The court decided on Tuesday that the circuit court erred when it denied Gary Roberts' motion for...

Martinez approved after long delay: Missouri attorney will head Department of Economic Development.
February 11, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Attorney will head Department of Economic Development Gov. Jay Nixon's pick for director of the Department of Economic Development was approved by the Missouri Senate on Tuesday, but not before a St. Charles...

Jackson County Circuit Court tosses guilty plea in abandoned body case.
February 12, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Prosecutor said to have 'perpetrated a fraud' on court A Jackson County judge issued a sharply worded opinion that threw out a man's 22-year criminal sentence and saying the county prosecutor's office perpetrated a...

Illegal practice of law suits move against auto dealers in Missouri.
February 12, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A lawsuit filed last week against Don Brown Automotive in St. Louis alleging an illegal practice of law is the most recent in a string of dozens of lawsuits filed in the wake of a 2007 Missouri Supreme Court decision,...

McDonald's wage suit OK'd in U.S. District Court in Missouri.
February 12, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A federal judge allowed a group of McDonald's employees to go ahead with their lawsuit to collect McOvertime. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Charles Shaw said the plaintiffs could continue with their class action...

Missouri-based Bryan Cave lays off 58 attorneys.
February 13, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Cost cutting also slashes 76 staffers, freezes salaries Citing a deteriorating economy, Bryan Cave is laying off 58 attorneys and 76 staff members firmwide and freezing salaries for 2009. The steps followed efforts...

U. S. District Court, Western District of Missouri denies officers immunity in excessive force suit.
February 13, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck A federal judge allowed key allegations to go forward in an excessive force lawsuit against several Kansas City Police Department officers. Judge Ortrie D. Smith on Tuesday denied summary judgment on excessive force...

Credibility issues center of woman's asylum case in 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
February 13, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Irene Clemente-Giron wants to live in the United States. Shortly after her visitor's visa expired, the El Salvadoran woman applied for asylum, claiming the police in her native land persecuted her for her religious...

St. Louis attorney Phillip B. Polster dies at 89.
February 13, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Longtime intellectual property attorney Philip B. Polster will be remembered for accomplishing much very quietly, his son and law firm partner said. Pol-ster died Monday; he was 89. Polster practiced law for 60 years...

Hearne named new head of law firm of Lathrop & Gage in St. Louis.
February 13, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Thor Hearne is now heading up the St. Louis office of Lathrop & Gage. Hearne, known for his work as national legal election counsel for President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, takes over from Brent...

How a civil lawsuit in Missouri inadvertently exposed 'a fraud upon the court'.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck How a civil lawsuit inadvertently exposed 'a fraud upon the court' One word. Well into a scathing opinion that threw out the guilty plea of a man accused of abandoning his girlfriend's corpse, Jackson County Judge...

8 Missouri lawyers among 58 laid off by Bryan Cave.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Eight of the 58 attorneys laid off by Bryan Cave on Thursday had worked in the firm's Missouri offices, according to former Bryan Cave attorneys and lawyers at other firms who received phone calls about possible job...

Murray named manager for eastern Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Almost a year and a half after the death of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri's Immigration Law Project manager, attorney Kim Allen Murray has been named managing attorney for the project. Murray was promoted after...

Commentary: Give repeat DUI drivers the tube.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier Got a call from a guy I knew in high school recently. He was one of those wild guys, smart enough to do about whatever he wanted but crazy enough to take the hardest road to get there. I can remember so many stories of...

K.C. demonstrators call for immigration reform.
February 17, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Kansas City's federal immigration court hasn't yet brought in its first live judge, but it's already been the focal point of a local protest. The Immigration Justice Advocacy Movement, a faith-based group in Kansas...

Law student in St. Louis fasts for her native Sri Lanka.
February 17, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Not many Americans are familiar with the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka. But Washington University law student Sadena Thevarajah and seven others from People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, or PEARL, have been on a...

Cole County Circuit Court exonerates man for 1992 murder.
February 18, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka Joshua Kezer could go free in 10 days An Illinois man convicted of the 1992 murder of a southeast Missouri woman has been exonerated by Cole County Circuit Judge Richard B. Callahan. Joshua Kezer was found guilty...

U.S. Magistrate judge for Eastern District of Missouri rules red-light camera suit to proceed.
February 18, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley In a broad-ranging order earlier this month, a federal judge has allowed for a lawsuit challenging the city of Arnold's use of red-light ticket cameras to proceed. U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas C. Mummert III, of the...

Voter ID back in Legislature in Missouri.
February 18, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Missouri Republicans are engaging in another fight to establish a requirement to present photo identification before voting. But the proposal in its current form might not actually impact any Missouri voters for...

Maximum fine urged for asbestos violations at Lambert St. Louis International Airport.
February 18, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Lawyers for a group of current and former Bridgeton residents on Tuesday asked a federal judge to order the city of St. Louis to pay the maximum penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act connected with a runway...

Cole County Circuit frees inmate Kezer.
February 19, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka Hulshof responds to judges' criticism of his prosecution Inmate Joshua Kezer walked out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center on Wednesday, just a day after he was exonerated for the 1992 murder of a southeast...

Plaintiffs in deadly crash seek new trial in Missouri Supreme Court.
February 19, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Evidence improperly excluded from closings, Supreme Court told Almost six years after a fiery crash on Interstate 70 killed a state trooper and severely injured another driver, lawyers for the victims asked the...

Testimony in meth case was hearsay, defense argues in Missouri Supreme Court.
February 19, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum An attorney for a St. Charles woman convicted of manufacturing meth argued before the Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday that prosecutors inappropriately used hearsay evidence to help secure her conviction. Jessica...

Wood resigns as U.S. attorney in Kansas City.
February 19, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck John Wood, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced his resignation Wednesday afternoon. Wood, who has been at the post less than two years, has accepted a position as a partner in the...

House fire wrongful death appears close to settlement in Jackson County Court.
February 19, 2009... Byline: David Knopf Kelly Caine, the father of a girl who died in a December 2006 house fire in Bates County, declined Tuesday to agree to a settlement proposed before a hearing at the Jackson County Court Annex in Independence. Caine...

Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission announces interview rescheduling.
February 19, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff The Appellate Judicial Commission has suspended the process to fill Judge Booker T. Shaw's vacancy on the Eastern District Court of Appeals until at least late summer because of scheduling...

Who employs municipal judges a thorny issue for appeals court in Missouri.
February 20, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck Municipal judges in Kansas City are part of the state's 16th Judicial Circuit, but their paychecks come from the city. They are selected through a system very similar to Missouri's Nonpartisan Court Plan, but the Kansas...

Missouri Court of Appeals upholds workers' comp injury definition.
February 20, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A Missouri appeals court issued a decision this week likely to please the state's Republican-led Legislature. On Tuesday, the appellate court in St. Louis said a Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission employee...

Class actions sought in suit against St. Louis-based Monsanto.
February 20, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley A group of residents from Sauget, Ill. have filed suit against Monsanto, and its subsidiaries alleging that for years the company dumped toxic, carcinogenic chemicals that poisoned their town. The suit asked for two...

8th Circuit rules bank robbery wasn't a 'necessity'.
February 20, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Faced with the choice of living in prison or on the streets, James Richard Cook says he had to chose prison. Then he tried to use that choice to stay out of prison. A federal judge, however, refused to allow Cook's...

Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City allows looser condemnation rules.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A Missouri appeals court may have made it easier to condemn private property for redevelopment. In a decision handed down last week, the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City said the condemnation of property that...

Attorneys in Missouri mixed on mortgage proposal.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Modifications might help some, but too expensive for some others As part of his plan aimed at preventing home foreclosures, President Barack Obama last week announced his support for legislation that would allow...

Wal-Mart wage lawsuit in Missouri reaches $90M settlement.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck At least half will go to Missouri plaintiffs After nearly eight years of legal wrangling, Wal-Mart and attorneys for a class action wage lawsuit in Missouri have reached a $90 million settlement. Under the terms of...

Missourians in the News: February 23, 2009.
February 23, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Stinson Morrison Hecker elects four partners in K.C. Stinson Morrison Hecker elected of four new partners in its Kansas City office. Jack Bowling advises publicly- and privately-held companies...

Commentary: Cabin fever hits hardest in February.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Craig Napier The subtle monotony of February and wintertime is starting to get on everyone's nerves. It's very different from the smiling faces you see those first few brisk days or snowy mornings at the end of fall while you walk...

U.S. Supreme Court refuses St. Peters free speech case.
February 24, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Brian Hodak's fight against city hall is finished. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not review the appeal sought by Hodak, whose wife is the former owner of C. Blake's Bar & Grill in St. Peters, in a...

Jackson County Circuit Court rules firefighter had no contract.
February 24, 2009... Byline: David Knopf A Jackson County judge dismissed an Independence firefighter's breach of contract suit, noting that an agreement between Kelly K. Scott and the city met none of the traditional contract elements. In sustaining the...

AG appoints retired St. Louis judge to head new division.
February 24, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Attorney General Chris Koster has appointed St. Louis County Senior Judge Barbara Crancer as chief counsel of the newly created Division of Civil, Disability and Workers' Rights. Crancer served as an associate circuit...

Missouri Supreme Court rules lethal injection protocol not subject to rulemaking.
February 25, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter Lethal injection protocol not subject to rulemaking, state high court says A divided Missouri Supreme Court has removed a hurdle to resuming executions in the state. In a 4-3 decision issued Tuesday, the high...

Missouri Supreme Court: Injury denied? Go to court.
February 25, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck and Allison Retka Supreme Court splits over workers' compensation case, issues rare apology for 15-month delay in opinion Workers whose injuries are no longer addressed by the workers' compensation system have the...

Bill in Missouri encourages 'truth in sentencing'.
February 25, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee seemed amenable to legislation prompting convicted felons to serve 85 percent of their sentences, even as a defense lawyers' organization and a civil liberties group...

Lawsuit filed in St. Louis City Circuit Court in towing scandal.
February 25, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and a local towing company conspired to steal a 2005 TrailBlazer that had been stolen from a St. Louis wom-an, the woman and her son allege in a lawsuit filed Monday in the...

Missouri Senate OKs fathering court bill.
February 26, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Idea modeled on Jackson County program The Missouri Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that could pave the way for fathering courts to handle child support cases across the state. Sen. Jeff Smith's bill would...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates civil rights suit against Jackson County jail.
February 26, 2009... Byline: Donna Walter A man who says Jackson County jail officials kicked and choked him got another shot to pursue his claims against most of the officials. On Wednesday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the record presents...

Family sues in St. Louis County Circuit Court over body mix-up at funeral home.
February 26, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Family sues over body mix-up at funeral home Dealing with the death of a loved one can difficult for anyone -- mourning while still trying to make arrangements and plans for a burial. Any way to alleviate the...

St. Louis Circuit Court rules Georgia telemarketers to pay $300K to Missouri.
February 26, 2009... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Staff Attorney General Chris Koster on Wednesday announced a telemarketing operation in Georgia that made repeated calls to Missourians on the No Call list has agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties to...

New round of legal layoffs: Armstrong Teasdale cuts 30 in Missouri, including 7 lawyers.
February 27, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Armstrong Teasdale cuts 30 in Missouri, including 7 lawyers Armstrong Teasdale has joined the ranks of Missouri law firms laying off attorneys and staff. The St. Louis-based firm this week let go seven lawyers and...

Short tenure, no regrets: John Wood left mark on U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City.
February 27, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck In two years, John Wood left mark on U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City John Wood has the distinction of being the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri who wasn't touched by the national attorney...

Jackson County judge tosses $150K verdict.
February 27, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck A Jackson County judge threw out a $150,000 jury verdict in favor of a Kansas City lawyer, saying too much time had expired since he did the work for which he was seeking compensation. Philip Koppe won the verdict in...