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

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

Meet 2008's Legal Leaders of Kansas City.
March 3, 2008... Byline: The Daily Record's Staff This year's Legal Leaders of the Year announcement represents an expansion of the scope of the award. For 2008, The Daily Record presents nine award winners while Midwest In-House, a Dolan Media...

Bar diversity measure brings three to table.
March 3, 2008... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Mitchell, Shelton, Scott to join Board of Governors The Missouri Bar announced Friday three new members of the Board of Governors whose presence is intended to diversify the board. More than 3,700...

A pitch for judicial review -- will the Supreme Court swing?
March 3, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Baseball players, team owners seek intervention in fantasy baseball case As professional baseball players practice in Florida and Arizona, team owners and the players union are taking on fantasy baseball in...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: March 3, 2008.
March 3, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County jury will soon decide if the maker, seller and owners of an above-ground pool are liable for a man's paralyzing injuries. Chad Stockbauer suffered a spinal cord fracture when he dove headfirst into...

Speedy trial poster boy sentenced to probation.
March 3, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man who spent a year and a half in jail pushing for his trial will get a new start in life. Tracy McKee was sentenced Friday after being convicted about a month ago of felony vehicle tampering. St. Louis Prosecutor...

State and Region Briefs.
March 3, 2008... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Husch, Blackwell set to close merger The combination of Husch & Eppenberger and Blackwell Sanders was to become official on Friday. The firms intended to close their merger deal by the end of the...

Commentary: Court ruling pits 'the man' against 'the people'.
March 3, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier It seems that we've declared war on taking "the man" to court over his poor decisions and hurtful conduct. I say "the man" in a purely pejorative and somewhat sarcastic manner to describe all the companies and people...

Sentencing changes over crack disparity take effect.
March 4, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Harold Simmons is flying the coop. Originally sentenced to 37 months in prison for possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine, Simmons is one of thousands of inmates leaving federal prison after receiving...

Kansas City Legal Briefs: March 4, 2008.
March 4, 2008... Byline: Betsy Lee A lawsuit filed by a couple hoping to form their own village will examine the minutia of a controversial state law that addresses the classification and consolidation of cities and towns. Heath Hawk and Charles Renner,...

Missouri Supreme Court considers civil confinement of sex offenders.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man confined as a sexually violent predator wants the Missouri Supreme Court to let him go, saying he never should have been locked away in the first place. Jackie Holtcamp, whose case the high court heard on...

Controversial Aquila power plant in Kansas City takes legal hit.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey Aquila suffered a setback Tuesday in the latest round of an ongoing legal battle over its controversial power plant in Cass County. The $150 million power plant located just south of Peculiar has been under fire since...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District affirms $13 million verdict.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck It's a familiar scenario. A tree limb lands on the roof of a home. The homeowner calls her insurance company. For Galen Richey, an insurance company's refusal to pay a professional to remove the limb led to his...

Railroad worker wins $1M in St. Louis County.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka In one of the first personal injury suits lodged against a railroad company since the state overhauled its tort laws, a southern Missouri man earned a $1.05 million jury verdict in St. Louis County. Myles Bentley,...

Should a prosecutor try a former client? Missouri Supreme Court to decide.
March 5, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A county prosecutor should be barred from pursing charges against a woman he once represented as a criminal defense attorney, the woman's lawyer said before the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday. But the prosecutor,...

Pensive about pensions.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Change in state law should mean earlier retirement pay, ex-judge says A former state administrative judge should have started receiving pension payments when he turned 62 despite how the law read when he left...

Appeals court considers speedy trial issue.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man found guilty by a St. Louis jury of stealing an elderly woman's purse outside a church wants his conviction tossed out because he wasn't brought to trial quickly enough. A panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals...

Kansas City Legal Briefs: March 7, 2008.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey While the vast majority of the pro se lawsuits filed in federal court come from prisoners, an unusual pro se lawsuit came this week from a Shook, Hardy & Bacon lawyer. Craig M. Edgar filed a discrimination claim...

Salsgiver: Medical marijuana creates dilemma for Oregon businesses.
March 7, 2008... Byline: Mike Salsgiver The Oregon Medical Marijuana Act passed 10 years ago through a ballot initiative. Since then, it has become one of the most contentious public policy dilemmas facing Oregon's employers. In each of the last two...

Jackson County suffers from delayed trials.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick More than 13,000 felony cases in only 10 Missouri circuits are waiting for trial. More than 6,000 of those have been waiting for more than eight months. And Jackson County is no different according to the...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: March 10, 2008.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick References to the movie Erin Brockovich and statements about the price of gas and oil are just a few subjects BP Corp. North America is asking to keep out of an approaching trial. Those requests filed late last...

Commentary: Morning-after pill shouldn't be equal to heroin.
March 10, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier One of the "meta-conversations" appellate lawyers and judges like to have is the concept of good law. They talk about the precedent they are setting and consider whether or not it will create a predictable, stable...

Bryan Cave law firm expands, KC attorneys in mix.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey Bryan Cave announced Monday that it has opened an office in San Francisco. The St. Louis-based firm sent two prominent attorneys from its Kansas City location for the startup, and will add attorneys from California in...

Kansas City Legal Briefs: March 11, 2008.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Betsy Lee A recent motion hearing takes an employment discrimination case involving Clay County Assessor Cathy Rinehart one step closer to trial. Deanna Cluckey, the commercial appraiser with the assessor's office, filed two suits...

Trial for alleged Kansas City serial killer under way.
March 11, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Attorneys for a Kansas City man accused of killing six women nearly four years ago said prosecutors have little evidence linking him to the slayings. David Kenyon, an attorney for alleged serial killer Terry Blair,...

Missouri Supreme Court tackles workers' comp again.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Fourteen months ago, a Missouri Supreme Court decision on workers' compensation payments left employment lawyers scratching their heads and state budgeters predicting doom. On Tuesday, the court heard arguments over...

Proposed changes to Missouri Plan gather steam at Capitol.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese As the debate rages on about how Missouri selects judges for its highest courts, one proposal has taken a step forward in the legislative process. The House's Special Committee on General Laws voted Tuesday to forward a...

8th Circuit OKs evidence gained in disputed search.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Roy Hudspeth didn't want the Missouri State Highway Patrol to search his home computer for child pornography. But his wife agreed to the search. On Tuesday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the trial judge...

The Deposition from Heck.
March 12, 2008... Byline: Mitch Margo All trial attorneys have their deposition war stories. We've all dealt with the uncooperative witness and the obnoxious lawyer. Evasive answers can be annoying. Irrelevant questions can prolong a tedious day. Be...

When wellness goes too far.
March 12, 2008... Byline: David Jordan-Huffman When it comes to managing health care costs, a great deal of common ground exists among employers, employees and health insurers. By some estimates, nearly 70 percent of all health care costs can be attributed...

8th Circuit rules drunk man's consent not good enough.
March 13, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey As law enforcement officers were trying to determine the identity of an intoxicated man, they searched the man's Kansas City bedroom after he "kind of flipped his hand" in that direction. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of...

Injury lawyers take on drug linked to fatal kidney failure in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
March 13, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A drug used to reduce blood loss during heart surgery has been linked to kidney failure, and personal injury lawyers are taking notice. On Monday, lawyers from Carey & Danis sued drugmaker Bayer in U.S. District Court...

Federal court awards Muslim man in discrimination case.
March 13, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter DaimlerChrysler must pay $200,000 to an employee who was fired after he filed charges of discrimination against the company. A federal jury awarded the money to automotive electrician Terak Al-Birekdar, a Syrian Muslim...

Loan to low-income St. Louis vet leads to lawsuit.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Pat Harris was approved for a home loan even though he makes less than $11,000 a year. Now the 60-year-old is trying to stave off foreclosure -- with a court action of his own. The St. Louis resident has filed suit...

Kansas City federal judge defends his questioning of witnesses.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A Kansas City federal judge last week defended himself against allegations made by an area attorney that he has "deep-seated antagonism" toward illegal aliens. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert E. Larsen issued a 20-page...

Overinformed Jackson County jury may derail $1.4M verdict.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A $1.4 million jury verdict may not stand for long. A Jackson County jury mistakenly received evidence it wasn't supposed to see before it returned the award for a woman who sued for the death of her husband....

Commentary: Prostitutes and johns need help, not jail.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier OK, I'd like to take care of something right up front. Some very nice people in the know have informed me that I messed up last week. I described the mifepristone drug as the morning-after pill after reading a couple...

Prostitutes and johns need help, not jail.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier OK, I'd like to take care of something right up front. Some very nice people in the know have informed me that I messed up last week. I described the mifepristone drug as the morning-after pill after reading a couple...

Univ. of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law hosts first jury trial.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick The first jury trial ever held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law went into the records as a defense verdict. In the case tried before Jackson County Judge Michael Manners, the jury determined...

O'Fallon-based Synergetics reports record Q2 revenues.(Financial report)
March 17, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Synergetics USA Inc. reported record net revenue of $11.6 million during its second quarter, which ended Jan. 31. That's a 2.5 percent jump from the same period one year ago. However, the O'Fallon-based maker of...

St. Charles-based LMI has record earnings, sales.(Financial report)
March 17, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff St. Charles-based LMI Aerospace Inc. last week reported record earnings and sales for 2007. The record amounts were due, in part, to the company's acquisition last year of San Diego-based D3 Technologies, said...

Ameristar Casino St. Charles' revenue falls in February.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Despite a negligible rise in admissions in February, Ameristar Casino St. Charles saw its revenue decline by 3 percent last month over the same period last year, according to the Missouri Gaming Commission....

Augusta winery expands to Branson.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta will hold a grand opening ceremony April 11 at its 9,200-square-foot facility in Branson. The new facility will offer more than 1,500 square feet of wine-tasting rooms, and...

Mattress Firm opens store in O'Fallon.
March 17, 2008... Byline: Daily Record Staff Mattress Firm, a nationwide specialty mattress retailer, has opened a store at 313 Winding Woods Drive in O'Fallon. The store will be open seven days a week. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in...

Sports law a competition all its own.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey When Mike Glazier was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs before ever getting an opportunity to throw a pass in a game, he knew football might not be his calling. So the former Indiana University quarterback went to law...

Missouri town wins $12M verdict over trucks' use of city streets.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Two companies that moved crushed stone by the truckload through a small Jackson County town now must pay for that traffic's damage to the roads. A jury on Friday returned verdicts totaling nearly $12 million for the...

Missouri lawmakers mull laws for public defenders, judges.
March 18, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Missouri's public defenders could have a clear-cut way to rein in their bulging caseloads if a Senate bill goes on to become law. Missouri's public defender system has spent the past year looking for ways to lighten the...

Mo. Court of Appeals Western District splits hairs over wrongful death case.
March 20, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Three appellate judges wrestled with the proper way to treat a state Supreme Court precedent set last year. In an unusual hand-down from the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District on Tuesday, the court upheld...

Money is missing in Pagedale court, state audit finds.
March 20, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Poor recordkeeping, at least, is to blame, report says More than $1,000 -- perhaps more than $30,000 -- could be missing from a small St. Louis-area town's municipal court, according to a report issued by the state...

Supreme Court rules in nursing-home suit.
March 20, 2008... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record The Missouri Supreme Court was busy this week, issuing nine opinions. Among them were a number of important legal issues across the state. Bellefontaine suit moves forward A woman can move forward...

Hospital agreement in Missouri could affect 'tens of thousands'.
March 20, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese People lacking health insurance could see their bills reduced, or even get money back, under a settlement with BJC Healthcare that has won preliminary approval in St. Louis Circuit Court. Some uninsured patients filed a...

High court ruling may negate local death sentence.
March 25, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A U.S. Supreme Court decision in a Louisiana death-penalty case could affect a man sentenced to death 15 years ago in St. Louis County. St. Louis County Circuit Judge William Corrigan sentenced Herbert Smulls to death...

Embattled adult shop files speech complaint against Jackson County.
March 25, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey A Jackson County adult entertainment business is taking its First Amendment fight to federal court. An attorney for Erotic City filed an injunction request against a Jackson County ordinance enacted in January to...

Missouri Legal Briefs: March 25, 2008.
March 25, 2008... Byline: Betsy Lee A Platte County judge issued a temporary restraining order against Timothy and Julie Swanson, prohibiting the sale of a Platte County restaurant called the Final Approach Bar and Grill. Kent and Kimberly Coxe brought the...

Missouri Atty. General Jay Nixon seeks order to halt spring rise.
March 25, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' planned "spring rise" on the Missouri River. In a press release Monday, Nixon said he asked the...

Missouri expected to feel 'the pulse' after judge refuses to block man-made spring river rise.
March 26, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A judge denied a last-minute attempt by Missouri officials to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from plans to release water into the Missouri River, leaving state officials to brace and hope their fears of further...

Turmoil, turbines lead to lawsuit filed in federal court in Kansas City.
March 26, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck A man who claims a county commissioner took a swing at him is fighting back in court -- and also hitting a high-profile wind farm in northwestern Missouri. Charles Allen Porter filed a lawsuit in federal court in Kansas...

St. Louis-area high school basketball coach Floyd Irons gets one year in prison.
March 26, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese After hours of emotional testimony from former students about his impact on their lives, former St. Louis-area high school basketball coach Floyd Irons was ordered by a federal judge to spend a year in prison and pay...

Former Applebee's lawyer joins Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal's Kansas City office.
March 26, 2008... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Lance J. Formwalt, formerly an associate general counsel at Applebee's International, has joined Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal's Kansas City office. Formwalt will serve as of counsel in Sonnenschein's...

Missouri group fights stem cell language.
March 27, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Secretary of State's ballot summary is unfair, group says A Missouri group that opposes human cloning accused the secretary of state on Wednesday of trying to impair its attempt to change language in a...

Plaintiff, K.C. firm see nonmonetary value in Walgreens settlement.
March 27, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey Johnny Tucker has a few more bucks in his pocket, but that's not what has him excited about a massive settlement in his race discrimination law suit against Walgreens. "I'm looking forward to seeing fairness and...

28 suits against BP reach final, confidential end.
March 28, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Four years after taking a legal battle other lawyers refused, Lon Walters is about to close the book on an unpredictable victory. Walters and BP Corp. North America recently reached an agreement to settle his...

Drug court funding favored.
March 28, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Judicial budget, other bills move in Legislature The state's drug courts would see a slight boost in funding if the House's budget plan holds. The judiciary budget is among several bills of interest to the legal...

Missouri Legal Briefs: March 28, 2008.
March 28, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey It began with a missing watch. And after more than a decade of litigation, attorney sanctions and allegations of judicial misconduct, the legal odyssey of Elgie L. Long Sr. et al. v. Cross Reporting Service et al....

Terry Blair found guilty of murder.
March 28, 2008... Byline: The (Kansas City) Daily Record Despite misgivings about the way Kansas City police handled the case, a Jackson County judge on Thursday found accused serial killer Terry Blair guilty of six counts of murder. Blair, 46, faces life...

Corps negates spring rise on the Missouri River.
March 28, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that it would negate the spring rise on the Missouri River, a day after it released water from an upstream dam. In a press release, Larry Cieslik, chief of the Missouri...

Kansas City-based Western Container settles suit with EEOC.
March 31, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey and Kelly Wiese A Kansas City carton and paperboard manufacturer will pay $126,250 to settle a federal employment discrimination lawsuit. Attorneys for Western Container Co. and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...

Back surgery case leads to $2.5M award from St. Louis County jury.
March 31, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man who sued his surgeon after unsuccessful -- and, he claims, unnecessary -- back surgery has won more than $2.3 million from a St. Louis County jury. His wife was awarded another $175,000. Keith Haley, 40, of...

Kansas City Courthouse Roundup: March 31, 2008.
March 31, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Seven years after suing and two trials later, a man has more than $1.1 million for his claim that Blue Springs Ford knowingly sold him a wrecked vehicle. But before Lance Scott can collect, the Missouri Supreme...

Commentary: Need information? Find a lawyer who's 'nuts'.
March 31, 2008... Byline: Craig Napier I'm a National Public Radio listener, and though this week I've been sliding over to the sports channels to see what they're saying about the NCAA tournament, I did have the opportunity to hear an audio recording of a...