Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) articles from March 2005

Daily Record (Kansas City, MO) archives from March 2005

KC Municipal Court judge sworn in.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Elena M. Franco was sworn in as a Judge for the Municipal Division of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri at a ceremony last Friday in Courtroom E. Judge Franco replaced Judge Deborah A....

St. Louis co.'s bid site offers sellers way to pick a realtor anonymously.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess Selling a house can be an intimidating event. Whom do you trust to give your property the best attention to help move you on to your next home? How do you choose between one Realtor and another? Where can you go to get a...

Privacy rights don't extend to Internet phone directories.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Chris Price (This article originally ran in New Orleans CityBusiness, New Orleans, La., another Dolan Media publication). Internet-based directories and search engines have made finding phone numbers simple and convenient. But...

Commentary: Billing your clients for the postage they use.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken This week's article is yet another article providing "tips" in the area of billing. "Billing," as you will remember, is the fourth area of the five areas that make up every business in the world. The other areas are:...

Commentary: New realities and expectations for nonprofit governance.
March 1, 2005... Byline: Betsy Nelson (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). During the last few years, the issues of ethics and accountability in governance have risen to prominence in both...

Tampering with product affects interstate commerce, 7th Circuit Court of Appeals holds.
March 2, 2005... Byline: David Ziemer (This article originally ran in the Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication). The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals held on Feb. 10 that, under the supply and demand theory of the Commerce...

Surge in bariatric surgeries results in increase of law suits.
March 2, 2005... Byline: David Reich Hale (This article originally ran in the Long Island Business News, Long Island, NY, another Dolan Media publication). Immediately after his New England Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2002, offensive coordinator...

Study shows workers aren't taking full advantage of their 401(k) plans.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). In large numbers, American workers are failing to take full advantage of 401(k) retirement plans,...

Commentary: Employers should instill hope in their workers.
March 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes After spending hours and hours writing this month's column on the subject of tort reform and workers' compensation reform, I have decided to set that article aside and write about Spring. It is, hopefully, a...

MO COA's preliminary plat ruling sheds light on definition of contested cases.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A dispute between the City of Kansas City, Mo. and a company requesting a preliminary plat for some undivided property was contested and therefore not entitled to a de novo review by the trial court, the...

IT insurance becoming more popular option for businesses.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Rachel Brown With new computer viruses wreaking havoc everyday, the business community is waking up to the need to protect themselves beyond just obtaining virus protection software. Information technology insurance, now widely...

Asbestos, mold removed from Missouri Capitol.
March 3, 2005... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The Office of Administration announced that after years of neglect, much-needed maintenance to the capitol's executive branch offices - including the removal of dangerous asbestos and mold - has been...

Commentary: Police dog search decisions demonstrate dual doctrines.
March 3, 2005... Byline: Marshall Tanick (This article originally ran in Minnesota Lawyer, Minneapolis, MN, another Dolan Media publication). State constitutional provisions may be construed more broadly to afford greater rights to citizens than their...

Missouri Supreme Court rules against casino in property tax question.
March 4, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess "What is the proper standard for appraising the real and personal property of a gambling casino for tax purposes?" The Missouri Supreme Court opened with this query, a question which by the end of the opinion the...

Missouri lawyers laud new statute that allows attorneys to serve on juries.
March 4, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin Missouri lawyers are giving high marks to a new statute that allows attorneys to serve on juries. Effective August 2004, attorneys are no longer listed among "persons ineligible for jury service." ...

Commentary: What are viruses, worms and trojans?
March 4, 2005... Byline: Doug Washington Quite simply, viruses, worms, and Trojan horses are damage-causing programs. They can damage your computer and/or information on your computer, slow down your Internet surfing and might even use your computer to...

Commentary: Finance - Insurance needs of early retirees.
March 4, 2005... Byline: Gary Williams Workers retiring early typically worry about how much they'll have to stretch their limited retirement dollars so as not to run out of money. That's certainly an important concern. But many early retirees overlook...

Missouri Court of Appeals says driver not covered by underinsured motorist coverage.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy A woman was not entitled to collect underinsured motorist insurance after she was hit by an underinsured motorist, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled in a reversed decision. In Chastity Vega,...

Use due diligence on real estate deals to avoid paying in spades.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess Buying a building requires more than a walk-through and a superficial kicking of tires. For property and development lawyers, this means creating standardized property condition reports whenever their clients go shopping...

'Limited remand' approach to plain error adopted by Seventh Circuit.
March 7, 2005... Byline: David Ziemer In adopting the "limited remand" approach to plain error, the Seventh Circuit takes the middle ground in what has become a three-way division among the Circuits. The Second Circuit is largely in accord with the Seventh...

Commentary: Legal ADvice - Microsoft's copyright suits protect market share.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Jim Astrachan (This article originally appeared in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media newspaper). Wasn't it Bill Gates who quipped, "What's good for Microsoft is good for the country?" If not, he might as...

Inns of Court - From England to the U.S.
March 7, 2005... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler Shrouded in the mystery of medieval times and woven into the fabric of the common law are the English Inns of Court. These Inns serve as they have since at least the 14th century, as small, local universities of...

Lean and clean manufacturing: Maintaining America's core industry.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Marylou Doehrman (This article originally ran in Colorado Springs Business Journal, Colorado Springs, CO, another Dolan Media publication.) Applying the principals of lean manufacturing to production processes could save jobs...

There is a time and a place for your 30 second elevator speech.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Adina Genn (This article originally ran in Long Island Business News, Long Island, NY, another Dolan Media publication.) Everyone praises your elevator speech, the 30-second message that tells prospects the benefits of doing...

Commentary: Don't let your law firm's office supplies become overhead.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken We are still talking about "tips" in the area of billing. You will remember there are five areas that make up every business in the world, they are as follows: "Clients" or "customers"; "Administration"; "Getting the...

Commentary: Using debt to help grow your wealth.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Ben Proctor (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication.) When many people hear "liabilities management" they think of managing excessive consumer debt or poor credit...

Ten chosen as Kansas City's 2005 Legal Leaders.
March 8, 2005... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy The Daily Record's 2005 KC Legal Leaders of the Year award recipients have been chosen by a panel of their peers for going above and beyond the call of duty in the name of justice through civic and...

Court erred in dismissing prisoner's request for recovery of seized items, rules MO Court of Appeals.
March 9, 2005... Byline: Stephanie Mitchum Murphy Even though a man was convicted of homicide and sentenced to life in prison, his family was still entitled to items seized from his home that were later found "irrelevant" to the case, the Missouri Court of...

7th Circuit rules law firm's partner not an employee.
March 9, 2005... Byline: David Ziemer (This article originally ran in Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication). The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held on Feb. 15 that a partner in a law firm with only three other...

Hi-tech trials routine for Missouri litigators.
March 9, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan When it comes to trial technology, price is no object, experts say - the real question is whether a lawyer can afford not to be cutting-edge. "Clarence Darrow couldn't hold a jury for two hours anymore...

Commentary: Educated Investor - Wrong answers could lead to much more than just a bad grade.
March 9, 2005... Byline: David Clogg (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). Okay, so you think you are knowledgeable when it comes to investing your hard earned dollars. After all, you read...

New St. Louis not-for-profit corporation formed to aid construction industry.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Amy Amour The construction industry is the second-largest employer in the nation, preceded only by government employment. According to Deborah Henry, Ph.D., director of special programs at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, by...

ABA business law spring meeting begins this month.
March 10, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff In the wake of new federal class action legislation, increased federal regulation of securities and corporations, and a flood of recent merger and acquisition activity, the American Bar Association Section of...

Commentary: Know when to amend a federal complaint.
March 10, 2005... Byline: John Finerty The statutes and regulations that control when and how a federal discrimination case is heard in federal court require that a plaintiff first file a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...

Commentary: New way to reduce costs with foreign trade zones.
March 10, 2005... Byline: Andrew P. Doornaert (This article originally ran in Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Detroit, MI, another Dolan Media publication). Originally designed to reduce the cost of doing business in the United States by reducing import duty...

'Overwhelming authority' found for exception to rule by MO Court of Appeals.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess Mapping out an uncharted insurance issue, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, held an indemnification clause in a contract must stand, regardless of similar "other insurance" clauses. Under this ruling,...

Women legislators update Women Lawyers' Assn. of Greater St. Louis on status of bills.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Emily Umbright The female legislators who gathered at the Women Lawyers' Associations of Greater St. Louis' legislative luncheon last Friday delivered heartfelt orations of the changes they see happening at the capitol and the way...

Business lenders rely on uniform commercial code filings.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Christine Pearson When looking to finance a new or existing business, independent business owners must look into getting loans, usually through lenders that deal with businesses. Inevitably, business owners will have to deal with...

Commentary: Passwords - don't make 'em easy.
March 11, 2005... Byline: Rick Edvalson (This article originally ran in the Idaho Business Review, Boise, ID, another Dolan Media publication). I know of a medical office where the staff is unhappy. The reason is that the new HIPAA regulations (the...

Commentary: Where is your estate planning practice headed?
March 11, 2005... Byline: Ralph A. Gigliotti (This article originally ran in Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, Providence, RI, another Dolan Media publication). "The only constant is change," wrote the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. That expression...

'Cautious optimism' tints 2004 apartment statistics publication.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Jennifer Anast (This article originally ran in St. Louis Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication). "Cautious optimism" is the theme of the Rubin, Brown, Gornstein & Co. L.L.P.'s publication on 2004...

With GOP takeover of Missouri governorship, new attorneys fill legal positions.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin The Republican takeover of the governor's mansion means that a new cast of attorneys will help set policy for Missourians. To fill these legal positions, Gov. Matt Blunt and Chief of Staff Ken McClure have...

Young attorney enjoys growing field of legal practice, elder law.
March 14, 2005... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff (This article originally ran in St. Louis Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication).If you are never too old to learn, you are never too young to plan for going the distance. When...

Commentary: Ethical choices in settlement talks.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). As in most areas of life, the unseen conflicts in the practice of law can threaten us more than those exposed...

Commentary: Smoking bans at work raise burning legal issues.
March 14, 2005... Byline: Marshall Tanick (This article originally ran in Minnesota Lawyer, Minneapolis, MN, another Dolan Media publication). The number of legal disputes regarding tobacco smoking in public places is constantly increasing. In...

Explanation of decisions could change securities arbitration.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Paul D. Boynton (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication). Investors or employees involved in disputes with brokerage firms could ask for a written explanation of...

Staffing survey says professional work attire affects positive perception.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Mary Pat Sueme Improving outward appearances may be important to television shows like "Extreme Makeover." But a recent study indicates that improving outward appearances is also important in the workplace. A survey, developed...

Proper etiquette emerges as tool for global economy.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Lea Terry (This article originally ran in The Journal Record, Oklahoma City, OK, another Dolan Media publication). The art of making an entrance. The significance of a look. Manners are making a comeback, but they aren't the...

Commentary: The catch-all phrase that could protect you against dispute.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken We are continuing to talk about "tips" in the area of billing that deals with expenses. As you know, billing is the fourth area of the five areas that make up every business in the world. The other four are as...

Commentary: The Art of Appellate Advocacy - Preparing for argument.
March 15, 2005... Byline: Andrew Baida (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). During the course of writing this column, I have often pondered my own version of the philosophical question, "if a...

MO Court of Appeals orders dismissal of defamation suit.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Donna Walter The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, struck a blow for freedom of speech when it ordered a St. Louis County judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by Fred Weber Inc. against an opponent of the...

Corporate America beginning to push employees to stop smoking, get fit.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Marylou Doehrman In January, Howard Weyers, the owner of Michigan-based Weyco Inc., gave an ultimatum to his employees: Quit smoking or lose your job. Weyers wasn't simply creating a smoke-free workplace. He demanded a...

Supreme Court rules juveniles cannot be executed.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication). The execution of individuals who committed crimes as juveniles older than 15 but younger than 18...

Commentary: An attorney's milestones and lessons learned.
March 16, 2005... Byline: Bob Barton Last week I attended the official investiture of my law school classmate and friend, Mary Rhodes Russell, as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri. (She was privately sworn in late last fall.) The official ceremony...

Jackson County improves property address database.
March 17, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Jackson County has embarked on a project to improve appraisals, address data and emergency response. The Jackson County Assessment Department has contracted with Mobile Video Services, Inc. to digitally...

U.S. Bankruptcy Appellate Panel issue judgment in alienation of affection case.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Donna Walter A wronged wife will have to go back to bankruptcy court to try to collect a $50,000 alienation of affection judgment she won against the other woman six years ago, according to a decision handed down last week by the...

Sen. Gross suggests tax credit caps will help MO balance budget.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Although the country is out of its recession and the economy is humming along fine, the Missouri legislature is still working on getting the state budget under control. One way of doing this, suggested Sen....

Commentary: As an attorney, flying solo does not mean loneliness will take wing.
March 17, 2005... Byline: Pamela Pepper (This article originally ran in Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication). My very first job as a lawyer was as a summer associate at a firm in New Orleans. (I don't remember much...

Jackson County jury awards $8M in wrongful death lawsuit.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan A Jackson County jury awarded $8 million in a wrongful death lawsuit this week. In Taliaferro v. Green Valley Transportation Corp. the parties were haggling over the defense's settlement offer of $2.3 million...

Inmate swapping laws cause MO Court of Appeals to reverse burglary, stealing convictions.
March 18, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Tracking down an inmate who is needed in a dozen different jurisdictions for adjudication of his crimes can be tricky, especially when he is a guest, on loan, from a neighboring state's correction system. ...

American Bar Association conference offers inside look at how jurors make decisions.
March 18, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Like NBC's new series, Law and Order: Trial by Jury, an upcoming conference of the American Bar Association will offer New Orleans lawyers a behind-the-scenes look at the judicial system, from how jurors make...

Commentary: Where are you sending your clients?
March 18, 2005... Byline: Courtney Waits "So what do they do at these F.O.C.I.S. classes, anyway?" a client asked when I handed him the information sheet for Jackson County, Missouri's mandatory parent education class - Focus On Children In Separation. ...

Commentary: Employment law implications of NCAA tourney pools.
March 18, 2005... Byline: John Finerty (This article originally ran in Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication). The NCAA college basketball tournament started this week. Tournament time also means that someone in the...

'Unlikely Lawyer' works to improve children's quality of life.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Anthony F. Shop In her own words, Greta Erhardt is "a rather unlikely lawyer." One of two staff attorneys with Court Appointed Special Advocates of Jackson County, she has found a way to fulfill her life's mission: helping...

'One family-one judge' system upheld by the Missouri Supreme Court.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Donna Walter Editor's note: This article is the first of two parts about the Missouri Supreme Court's decision in In the Interest of S.M.H. In a 4-3 decision, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the idea of the "one family-one...

Bryan Cave associate takes reigns of Platte County Bar Association.
March 21, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff William Jeffrey Maloney, an associate with the international law firm Bryan Cave LLP in its Kansas City office, was elected president of the Platte County Bar Association. Maloney practices within the firm's...

Through CASA, attorneys can put in pro bono hours.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Anthony F. Shop CASA serves as guardian ad litem for just under 600 children, roughly one quarter of those in the family court system. The organization could do more, but a lack of volunteers is holding it back, according to the...

Commentary: Raising the Bar - E-discovery evolves.
March 21, 2005... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler Not long ago, electronic data discovery might have been something a litigator could have managed to know only a little about. No longer. E-discovery is a fact of life for trial lawyers and law firms, and it will...

Commentary: Educated Investor - The key is to take the long view.
March 21, 2005... Byline: David Clogg After observing a great final six weeks in 2004, we saw the market do an about-face in January and it tanked. Of course that sent shivers to the investors because of the old adage - "as January goes so does the year."...

Western District Court of Appeals says state must wait for written remand from federal court.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Haste makes waste ought to be the watchwords where jurisdictional jockeying is concerned. The Western District Court of Appeals says the state court jumped the gun when it went ahead with proceedings before...

Gaming industry watches as MO legislators struggle to balance this year's budget.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Mike Trask Passage of legislation that would raise the taxes Missouri's casinos pay to state government remains problematical, although some legislators are at least considering the possibility in order to balance what is again an...

Nation's highways hit end of the road.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan (This article originally ran in The Daily Reporter, Milwaukee, WI, another Dolan Media publication). Nothing lasts forever, not even freeways. Next year, the country will hit the 50-year anniversary of the 1956...

Commentary: Billing your clients for outside and contract counsel.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken We are continuing to talk about "tips" in the area of "billing." "Billing" is the fourth area of the five areas that make up every business in the world. The other four areas are as follows: "Clients" or "customers";...

Commentary: Planning Ahead - The 'all American' way to invest.
March 22, 2005... Byline: Dena Frenkel For generations of Americans, investing in government securities meant buying U.S. Savings Bonds. In fact, U.S. bonds have consistently been labeled the "all American investment," perhaps because they were first...

'One family-one judge' upheld by MO Supreme Court.
March 23, 2005... Byline: Donna Walter Editor's note: This article is the second of two parts about the Missouri Supreme Court's decision in In the Interest of S.M.H. The first article, which covered the issue of the request for a change of judge, was...

Schiavo situation points up need for advance directives.
March 23, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Missourians who want to be clear about their desires for medical care if they become incapacitated should make those wishes known through advance directives, according to Attorney General Jay Nixon and the...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals defines union solicitation.
March 23, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess What constitutes union solicitation? Is it a shirt? An invitation? A suggestion? A divided panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found only the last act amounted to a union solicitation, ordering Wal-Mart to...

Commentary: The death penalty dilemma: Lessons from the Ross case.
March 23, 2005... Byline: Michael Meltsner (This article originally ran in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication). If it didn't involve a series of brutal rapes and murders, a psychopath who can't get the state to...

Uninsured motorist case nets $400k in Jackson County.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Ginger Lamb A 59 year-old motorcyclist, who was rear-ended by an uninsured motorist, thrown off his bike and later developed pulmonary emboli as a result of his injuries, has received a $400,000 jury verdict. In William Pinney...

'Too nice' employers could find themselves facing employment suits.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Stephanie Cline (This article originally ran in the Colorado Springs Business Journal, Colorado Springs, CO, another Dolan Media publication). Being honest isn't always the easiest thing to do, and its absence can make matters...

Policymakers to gather at ABA antitrust law spring meeting.
March 24, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Discussions of the latest developments in competition, antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, sentencing guidelines, corporate regulation, consumer protection, and the attorney-client privilege will be among the...

Panel named for vacancy on St. Louis City Court.
March 24, 2005... Byline: St. Louis Daily Record Staff The St. Louis City Judicial Commission on Monday announced the panel of three nominees to be submitted to Gov. Matt Blunt to fill the vacancy on the St. Louis associate circuit court created by the...

Commentary: Three ways to survive today's job-change pace.
March 24, 2005... Byline: Malka Weintraub (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication). The pace of job change is constantly accelerating. Today, the average worker spends only four years in a job and...

Western District Court of Appeals again faces real estate dispute.
March 25, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan The attorney on the losing end of a lease/purchase agreement dispute says the Missouri Court of Appeals in the Western District just set dangerous precedent. The appeals court resolved SD Investments, Inc. v....