Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from June 2006

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from June 2006

Second Injury Fund not liable for post-death benefits.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Missouri's Second Injury Fund is not liable for post-death benefits for the dependents of permanently totally disabled individuals, said a state appeals court in a decision that could save the state millions in...

St. Louis County judge delays ruling on large class-action suit.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A St. Louis County judge said last Thursday he will hold his ruling on the largest class-action suit to be recently tried in Missouri. Meanwhile, a similar case, represented by the same attorneys, is pending in...

Achieving diversity goal requires commitment.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Jane Pribek The homepage of the Jones Diversity Group LLC bears the tagline "Creating a legacy of diversity," along with the word "leadership." Law firm managers, who wish to diversify their ranks and keep them that way, must...

UMB Financial settles wrongful termination suit.
June 1, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick UMB Financial Corp. has settled a wrongful termination suit filed by a former internal audit manager. The two sides reached an agreement earlier this week shortly before the case was scheduled to go to trial...

Commentary: Hiring entry-level paralegals: Why take the risk?
June 1, 2006... Byline: Linda S. Jevahirian One of the most powerful tools a hiring employer has is evidence of how a person performed in prior positions. New graduates, on the other hand, present a unique challenge. Knowing how to evaluate and what to...

Misouri Court of Appeals says former owner must pay for environmental cleanup.
June 2, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Under the current climate of condemnation for commercial redevelopment, a Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, ruling regarding environmental clean-up responsibilities could be crushing. Kansas City...

Minority contractors' conference to focus on access, opportunities.
June 2, 2006... Byline: Michael Krieger The National Association of Minority Contractors will welcome about 200 businesses to its annual conference later this month in Minneapolis. Visitors will learn about design-build project delivery, get an...

High rises present different risks and challenges.
June 2, 2006... Byline: Brian Johnson It's no secret that moisture problems and "toxic mold" are big concerns in single-family residential construction. But what about condominium towers and other multifamily development? One national expert says the...

Commentary: There's a lot of value in getting to know people.
June 2, 2006... Byline: Betsy Nelson We all make transitions in our lives: graduating from school, leaving jobs and moving out of our old neighborhoods among them. In one or more of these situations, all of us have either heard or said the phrase,...

Questions raised about DWI expungement process.
June 3, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A former Missouri resident has requested a 26-year-old DWI charge be cleared from her record, in the hopes of likewise expunging an existing FBI record on the incident. The woman arranged for the filing of the...

Commentary: Recent rulings prove mobile home residents successfully defend rights.
June 3, 2006... Byline: Marshall Tanick Residents of mobile homes, often referred to as trailers, are frequently scorned as low-life. The term "trailer trash," infamously used by political adviser James Carville to describe one of President Clinton's...

U.S. Supreme Court says health plan can be reimbursed under ERISA.
June 3, 2006... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff A health plan's attempt to obtain reimbursement from a beneficiary who received payments from a third party constitutes "equitable relief" under ERISA, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Sereboff...

Commentary: Bluetooth computer adapter provides easy connectivity.
June 3, 2006... Byline: Larry Fiorino Bluetooth connectivity is becoming more popular everyday. It's a feature of many cell phones, PDA's, digital cameras and even cars these days. But what about the most obvious appliance, our PCs? That is where a...

Cross-examination: An iron fist in a velvet glove.
June 4, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher During 27 years as a criminal defense lawyer in Florida, Anthony Natale has conducted hundreds of cross-examinations. It's one of the toughest trial techniques to master, he said. The reason, Natale...

Compensation: Putting the 'earn' back in 'earnings'.
June 4, 2006... Byline: Claude Solnik In an effort to connect an executive's earnings to a company's revenues, some are pushing for "pay-for-performance" models linking compensation to results. Imagine a world where a CEO's paycheck dwindles when his...

How to . . . Choose a credit union.
June 4, 2006... Byline: Bernadette Starzee Rather than a bank, some people turn to a credit union for services such as checking and savings accounts, credit cards and loans. What's the difference? Unlike a bank, a credit union is a not-for-profit,...

Issues of material fact send case back to trial court.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Summary judgment granted to a bank over a loan dispute was premature, according to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, given the disputed facts in the case. The case Betty Cridlebaugh v. Putnam...

Eastern District Court of Appeals hears case about new St. Louis University arena.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, heard oral arguments Tuesday in what is yet another saga in the long-proposed redevelopment plans for the Midtown St. Louis area. The court is set to decide...

Compensation consultants come under fire for potential conflicts.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Claude Solnik Sometimes, determining what to pay top executives requires a little help. While some companies carefully craft their own executive compensation packages, others call in executive compensation consultants - and...

Commentary: Jury consultants can foster success in mediation.
June 5, 2006... Byline: Edward P. Schwartz I frequently get calls from lawyers after mediation fails, and they're almost always incredulous that their opponent couldn't see the overwhelming strength of their client's case. Although it's understandable...

Partner votes on a merger of Missouri- and Cleveland-based law firms could be this summer.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole (The following story originally appeared in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication.) Partner votes on the merger of Bryan Cave and Cleveland-based Squire Sanders & Dempsey could be...

Partner vote on merger of legal giants could happen this summer.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole

IP plaintiffs flocking to small town of Marshall in eastern Texas.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl (This article was originally published in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) There's nothing in the outward appearance of this small east Texas city to suggest its prominent role in the world...

IRS revokes counseling agencies' tax-exempt status.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff (This article was originally published in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) The IRS has revoked the tax-exempt status of all 41 credit-counseling agencies it has audited, and is...

IRS clarifies rules for QTIP-IRAs.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff (This article was originally published in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) The IRS has issued a revenue ruling changing the rules for leaving an IRA to a QTIP trust for the...

Commentary: Turning bad news around.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Jim Wirken This week's Wirken Quote is: "nobody calls a lawyer with good news!" Every time I make this comment in front of an audience I get nervous laughter! Yes, it is a humorous comment, but unfortunately as is true with...

Partner vote on merger of legal giants could happen this summer.
June 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole The following story appears in this week's issue of Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Partner votes on the merger of Bryan Cave and Cleveland-based Squire Sanders & Dempsey could be this summer, according to two partners...

Two former Kansas City detectives not responsible for false imprisonment.
June 7, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick Two former Kansas City Police Department detectives were cleared Monday of maliciously prosecuting a man who served prison time for a burglary committed more than 20 years ago. Oren Gamble, who worked with...

8th Circuit rules debtor's failure to list family leave claim as asset not fatal.
June 7, 2006... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff (This article was originally published in Lawyers USA, Boston, MA., another Dolan Media publication). A debtor is not barred from pursuing a Family Leave Act claim by his failure to list the claim as a...

Battle begins as U.S. lawmakers push Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.
June 7, 2006... Byline: Adina Genn This story originally ran in Long Island Business News, another Dolan Media publication). A Capitol Hill battle is brewing over financial reporting requirements in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Lawmakers are pushing a...

Commentary: Outsourcing can reduce practice development investment.
June 7, 2006... Byline: Wayne Davis, Esq. (This article was originally published in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication). Shooting blanks The age-old problem is rooted in the industry's notion that practice development is...

Test-drive crash victim receives $5.9 million settlement.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick A Kansas City firefighter injured in an off-duty accident received a $5.9 million settlement Monday. Steven Underhill was a passenger during a test drive of a Subaru Impreza WRX on Aug. 9, 2002, from the Jack...

When it comes to recruiting, even partners are fair game.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Claude Solnik (This article originally ran in Long Island Business News, another Dolan Media publication.) R-r-r-ring. R-r-r-ring. Who's calling? You'd like to recruit who? If you're a high-ranking accountant - a partner...

A closing argument can arm advocates on the jury, advises expert on juror behavior.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore (This article originally ran in Minnesota Lawyer, Minneapolis, MN, another Dolan Media publication.) At a recent continuing legal education seminar, Dr. Susan E. Jones, an expert on juror behavior, said that when...

Commentary: Continuing education aids all around the country.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes One of the many advantages of belonging to NALS, an organization for legal professionals with worldwide partnerships with all related associations is access to continuing legal education and resources. NALS...

Test-drive crash victim receives $5.9 million.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick A Kansas City firefighter injured in an off-duty accident received a $5.9 million settlement Monday. Steven Underhill was a passenger during a test drive of a Subaru Impreza WRX on Aug. 9, 2002, from the Jack...

When it comes to recruiting, even partners are fair game.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Claude Solnik LONG ISLAND, N.Y. - R-r-r-ring. R-r-r-ring. Who's calling? You'd like to recruit who? If you're a high-ranking accountant - a partner or managing partner - there may very well be a head hunter on the line. While...

Expert on behavior advises arming advocates during closing arguments.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Michelle Lore MINNEAPOLIS - At a recent continuing legal education seminar, Dr. Susan E. Jones, an expert on juror behavior, said that when it came to closing arguments, preparation was the key to success. She also stressed that...

Jackson County jury finds woman 70 percent at fault after tripping in Hy-Vee parking lot.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick A woman who was injured in a fall at a Hy-Vee parking lot received a $4,800 verdict from a Jackson County jury. Joanne Royle suffered a broken left fibula, bruising on her right arm and a scraped right knee when...

Bank of America's free payroll service not seen as threat to small business firms.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication.) As Bank of America prepares to unveil its new free payroll processing service for small business...

Continuing education aids all around the country.
June 8, 2006... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes One of the many advantages of belonging to NALS, an organization for legal professionals with worldwide partnerships with all related associations is access to continuing legal education and resources. NALS...

President Hotel lawsuit heads to trial next week.
June 9, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick The President Hotel and a contractor involved in its redevelopment are set to go to trial next week against a law firm they claim withheld loan information that ultimately delayed the project. The lawsuit...

Building owner who wants to keep 'Power & Light' name files suit in federal court.
June 9, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick After failing to reach a deal, the owner of the Power & Light Building has taken its case against the developer of the downtown entertainment district to federal court. Gailoyd Enterprises Corp. filed a...

Missouri courts see more suits in employment discrimination.
June 9, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka When plaintiffs' attorney Kristin Whittle Parke fielded an employment discrimination lawsuit for her client Tarek Al-Birekdar, an automotive electrician of Syrian decent, she had little doubt as to the preferable...

Western District Court of Appeals Court finds divorce agreement binding.
June 9, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan A preplanned termination of divorce maintenance payments is binding and cannot be used to prove changed circumstances for purposes of modifying support payments, a Court of Appeals judge ruled this week. The...

Setting goals: working to boost bar passage rates.
June 10, 2006... Byline: Marie Price Oklahoma's three law schools say they have made changes to help more students pass the state bar exam, but the University of Oklahoma College of Law has led the pack in 16 out of the 23 bar exams since February 1995....

Estate planners find new niche as states recognize pet trusts.
June 10, 2006... Byline: Dick Dahl A growing number of states are recognizing that just like human beings, people's pets can be protected by trusts. As a result, pet owners in these states are sitting down with estate planning lawyers to craft...

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Attorney not liable for payment of client's bills.
June 10, 2006... Byline: David Ziemer A chiropractor cannot hold an attorney liable for payment of his client's bills, where the attorney did not agree to be liable for them, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held on June 2, even though the attorney had notice...

Top court remands international custody fight to CSA; prior law applies.
June 11, 2006... Byline: Ann Parks Faced with a tricky international child custody dispute, it was proper and reasonable for a circuit court to defer the decision on appointing counsel for the child until it determined whether Baltimore County or India had...

Maryland court rules suit as fraud.
June 11, 2006... Byline: Caryn Tamber A psychiatrist's insurance company was not obligated to defend him against allegations that he fraudulently diagnosed a patient with major depression so she could collect disability benefits, the Court of Special...

How to ... select a benefits adviser for any size company.
June 11, 2006... Byline: Bernadette Starzee As companies and their employees are painfully aware, health insurance premiums are on the rise. According to the 2005 United Benefit Advisors/Ingenix Health Plan Survey of 8,700 employers nationwide, average...

Bill of Rights, a monumental controversy?
June 11, 2006... Byline: Phil Riske As was certainly the case in the writing and enactment of the Bill of Rights, politics appears to be playing a role in legislation to establish a monument at the Capitol to the first 10 amendments to the U.S...

Retired Kansas City attorney celebrates 18,250 unique days.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick Bob Hovey always imagined that retired life would be much different. At the age of 74 and after more than 50 years practicing law, Hovey retired in March. He expected days that would begin by reading the paper,...

Western District finds state must pay attorney fees.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan The Western District appeals division determined on rehearing last week the state is still on the hook for attorney's fees in a Medicaid waiver dispute. And the importance of that ruling could be significant...

Workers' compensation ruling doesn't bar ruling that claim was untimely.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Ann Parks An employer was entitled to summary judgment barring a workers' compensation claim that was filed more than two years after the accident, even if the Workers' Compensation Commission implicitly ruled the defense was...

Miranda decision: Prosecutor recalls conviction.
June 12, 2006... Byline: Daniel Burnette The confession, in which a suspect in a crime admits to his deeds, was at the heart of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1966 that affirmed the right of the accused to remain silent. Supporters and dissenters...

Bankruptcy filings start to return to normal.
June 13, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick The number of bankruptcy cases filed in U.S. bankruptcy courts is beginning to return to normal. After a flurry of filings before the new bankruptcy reform law that took effect Oct. 17, the number of cases...

Attack on attorney result of rigid rulings?
June 13, 2006... Byline: David Frank (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA., another Dolan Media publication.) Some defense lawyers suggest that the recent strangulation of a lawyer in open court by his client may be...

Malpractice trial begins in St. Louis County.
June 13, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A few inches of dead tissue from the large intestine are the focus of a medical malpractice suit that started last week in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County. The husband of Genevieve White filed suit against...

Plaintiffs' lawyers eye quick settlement in contact lens litigation.
June 13, 2006... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) Jennifer Samuel, 59, of Miami had been using Bausch & Lomb's ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution for...

Commentary: Peace-of-mind business serves you and your clients well.
June 13, 2006... Byline: Jim Wirken This week's Wirken Quote is: "Lawyers are in the peace-of-mind business!" The past couple of weeks, we have talked about the position that clients find themselves in when they seek a lawyer. Clients are under...

Any lawyer's battle: effective time management.
June 14, 2006... Byline: Sheryl M. Vassallo (The following article was originally published in Michigan Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication). Nothing is more precious than time. Especially for attorneys. Everyone gets the same 24 hours...

Any lawyer's battle: effective time management.
June 14, 2006... Byline: Sheryl M. Vassallo

The evolution of a nightmare legal malpractice dispute.
June 14, 2006... Byline: Michael Dayton (The following article was originally published in North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication). It's every law firm's nightmare - a $2,000 opinion letter that turns into a multimillion-dollar...

Senate Judiciary Committee examines asbestos compensation bill.
June 14, 2006... Byline: Kevin M. Momot (The following article was originally published in the Daily Record, Rochester, N.Y., another Dolan Media publication). The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing last week on the proposed Fairness in Asbestos...

Jackson County Circuit Court rules mistrial due to jury misconduct.
June 15, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick After five full days of evidence, a personal injury case against United Parcel Services was declared a mistrial Monday because of juror misconduct. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Kelly J. Moorhouse made the...

Misconduct by juror leads to mistrial.
June 15, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick

KC law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Browne donates $100K to arts center.
June 15, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick Spencer Fane Britt & Browne issued a challenge to Kansas City area law firms Wednesday. The firm donated $100,000 to the Metropolitan Kansas City Performing Arts Center. And it called on other firms to do the...

More eminent-domain restrictions not needed, K.C. professionals say.
June 15, 2006... Byline: Mike Trask There is no need to put on the ballot a statewide initiative that calls for prohibiting the government from taking property for private development - a process known as eminent domain. That is because voters are...

Planning begins for no-income-limit Roth IRAs.
June 15, 2006... Byline: Reni Gertner (The following article was originally published in Lawyers USA, another Dolan Media publication). A new law that will abolish the income limits for converting an IRA into a Roth IRA will go into effect in 2010, and...

Two St. Louis-area priests subpoenaed for Alaska abuse case.
June 15, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka A St. Louis County judge has issued subpoenas for two priests employed by a Catholic treatment center in Dittmer, Mo., in relation to a sex-abuse case pending in an Alaska superior court. On May 25, Judge Ellen...

MO COA, Western District rules right decision, wrong reasoning in neighbor dispute case.
June 16, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan A panel of the Western District Court of Appeals found a trial judge used the wrong law to come to a correct decision but erred when awarding actual and punitive damages in an easement dispute between neighbors....

Right decision, wrong reasoning in neighbor dispute case.
June 16, 2006... Byline: Denise G. Callahan

Lawyers debate meaning of malpractice study.
June 16, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A Harvard study touted by tort-reform advocates as showing a prevalence of "frivolous" medical-malpractice complaints may in fact demonstrate the opposite, according to some lawyers and the lead researcher in the...

Search admissible in federal court under 'good faith'.
June 16, 2006... Byline: Helen Nguyen A defendant's motion to suppress cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a firearm seized from his home was granted in a state supreme court, but a U.S. district court determined the evidence obtained from the police search...

Timing is everything for new bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of MO.
June 16, 2006... Byline: Emily Umbright Time has run in favor of Judge Charles "Sketch" Rendlen III, who stepped onto the bench of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on May 23. The Hannibal, Mo., native spent much of his...

Jury finds Kansas City doctor not at fault for patient's total hearing loss.
June 16, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County jury has determined that a Kansas City doctor was not responsible for a patient's permanent hearing loss. Danyelle Cremeen claimed Dr. Mary K. Devers was negligent when she failed to properly...

Not even lawyers must work forever, but start to plan now.
June 17, 2006... Byline: Ann W. Parks (This article was originally published in The Daily Record, Baltimore, Md., another Dolan Media publication). Lawyers looking to spend their golden years on the sun-kissed beach instead of in a frenetically paced...

Not even lawyers must work forever, but start to plan now.
June 17, 2006... Byline: Ann Parks

Voting act requires New York to replace outdated machines.
June 17, 2006... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty (This article was orignially published in the Long Island Business Review, Ronkonkoma, L.I., another Dolan Media publication). The Help America Vote Act of 2002 may be the winning ticket for Precise...

U.S. District Court rules partially executed contract enforceable.
June 17, 2006... Byline: Helen Nguyen (This article was originally published in The Daily Record, Rochester, N.Y., another Dolan Media publication. Concluding a partially executed contract that has not been signed by all parties can still be binding...

Debate examines Fair Tax as national cure-all.
June 18, 2006... Byline: Amy Gillentine (This article originally appeared in the Colorado Springs Business Journal, Colorado Springs, CO, another Dolan Media publication). Americans for a Fair Tax say their proposal - essentially a national retail...

Painful assignment leads to new passion for New York attorney.
June 18, 2006... Byline: Jeremy Harrell (This article originally appeared in the Long Island Business News, Long Island, NY, another Dolan Media publication). Four years ago, attorney Stephen M. Breitstone found himself in an unenviable position. ...

How to ... choose an environmental consultant.
June 18, 2006... Byline: Bernadette Starzee (This article originally appeared in the Long Island Business News, Long Island, NY, another Dolan Media publication). The process of hiring an environmental consultant - the fact that you need one in the...