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

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

Western District Court of Appeals rules luminol test not conclusive proof of presence of blood.
November 1, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan A man convicted of second-degree murder will get a new trial because the state failed to back up luminol evidence with scientific proof, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled. In State of Missouri v....

Samuel A. Alito, Jr. nominated as Supreme Court Justice.
November 1, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick President George W. Bush Monday nominated Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court. Bush's nomination of Alito as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court was his...

Arbitrator agrees with widow, finds investments were too aggressive.
November 1, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff (This article was originally published in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication.) An arbitration panel awarded more than $85,000 to a widow who claimed her husband's financial...

Commentary: Put the information you have to work.
November 1, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken We are finishing up the second to the last area of the five areas that make up every business in the world. This second to the last area is "billing." You know by reviewing all of the previous articles that I have...

Commentary: Investment strategies for a defensive market.
November 1, 2005... Byline: David Clogg (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication.) In my last column I wrote about the fact that consumers have continued to spend because of low interest rates,...

MO Court of Appeals W. District returns child custody battle to trial court.
November 2, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan A number of issues plagued a child custody case recently remanded by the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District. In Brendan D. Sewell-Davis by his next friend Russell E. Davis v. Jennifer Sewell Franklin,...

St. Louis hospital liable for death in waiting room.
November 2, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff (This article originally ran in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication.) A St. Louis City jury has returned a nearly $2 million verdict against Barnes-Jewish...

American Bar Assn. to address class action litigation at Washington meeting.
November 2, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah will be a keynote speaker as leading plaintiff and insurance lawyers gather to examine the impact of the recently passed "Class Action Fairness Act of 2005." How has the...

Commentary: OPS! (objective, perception, and subjective).
November 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Ann Hughes Lately, there are three words that have been going over and over in my mind. They are objective, perception, and subjective ("OPS"). In the past I have encountered individuals who have judged me based upon...

Kansas City law firm sees four verdicts in one week.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick In the four verdicts returned during the week of Oct. 17 at the Jackson County Courthouse, there was one common link among them. All four cases involved one small Kansas City law firm. Harris McCausland, a firm...

MO Court of Appeals, Eastern District rules fired officer deserved police board hearing.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess (This article was originally published in The Daily Record, St. Louis, Mo., another Dolan Media publication.) Is there a difference in meaning between the phrases "by the board" and "before the board"? The...

MasterCard's study shows automatic payments surpass checks.
November 3, 2005... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff (This article was originally published in St. Charles County Business Record, St. Charles, Mo., another Dolan Media publication.) Automatic payments have for the first time surpassed check...

Software boosts accountant productivity.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Ken Levy (This article was originally published in Idaho Business Review, Boise, Idaho, another Dolan Media publication.) From companies managing their own financial data to certified public accountants helping businesses and...

U.S. Mint issues John Marshall commemorative coin.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff (This article was originally published in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication.) The United States Mint marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Chief Justice...

Commentary: Hidden risks face the underinsured.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Dena Frenkel (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication.) Most people understand that there are many types of insurance available to help protect them and their loved ones...

Jackson County Circuit Court rules driver not responsible for boy's death.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick A 15-year-old by was found to be 100 percent at fault for the accident that took his life three years ago. In October 2002, Jarrod Carroll was killed when a truck driven by David K. Kelsey struck the boy while...

Jackson County jury awards plaintiff $55,000 for injuries.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick A woman who sustained multiple injuries in a car wreck received $55,000 from a Jackson County jury. In April of 2000, Terri Griffin was stopped on Eastwood Trafficway to make a left turn when her vehicle was...

Jackson County jury rules homeowner not responsible for neighbor's injury.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick A Jackson County jury returned a verdict in favor of an Independence homeowner. Dorthy Lane sued her neighbor, Patricia M. Johnson, after Lane allegedly suffered a fractured right foot while walking in front of...

Jackson County jury finds for defendant in personal injury trial.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick A 66-year old woman injured in a car accident lost her case against the driver responsible for the wreck. Judith B. Fremerman sustained aggravation of osteoarthritis and degenerative disc disease of the...

Jackson County jury's $162,000 verdict leads to another dispute.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick An Independence attorney and entrepreneur must pay for the goods and services he used at one of his restaurants, a Jackson County jury ruled. Kenneth B. McClain, a partner at Humphrey, Farrington & McClain and...

Jackson County jury awards mother of nursing home resident $3.35M.
November 3, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick The mother of a man who wandered from a Harrisonville nursing home and died was recently awarded $3.35 million by a Jackson County jury. Edith Shore's son, Thomas, who suffered from schizophrenia, left Golden...

E.E. Thompson Courtroom to undergo $2.34 million renovation.
November 4, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick One of the most unique teaching courtrooms in the nation is getting a makeover. A $2.34 million renovation of the E.E. "Tom" Thompson Courtroom in the University of Missouri-Kansas City law building will begin...

Failure to poll after inconsistent verdicts leads COA to reverse case.
November 4, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan In a civil trial that involved a dispute over the polling of jurors because of inconsistent verdicts, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case back to the trial court. In...

Construction industry must adapt to new technology.
November 4, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Builders who want to survive must "innovate or evaporate," said Ric Jackson, executive director of FIAtech of Austin, Texas. Jackson was among the speakers at the 14th annual Division of State Facilities...

Commentary: Does saving rate drop hurt people, the economy?
November 4, 2005... Byline: Gary Williams The Commerce Department recently announced the nation's personal saving rate, calculated as a percentage of disposable (or after-tax) personal income, had fallen to a negative number for the first time since October...

With Internet fraud on the rise, banks look for security.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Kathleen Johnston Jarboe With growing prevalence of Internet fraud, banks could soon require customers to pass through more security before paying bills and moving cash online. Last month an umbrella group of regulators who...

Realtors, mortgage brokers troubled by recommendations to reduce tax benefits.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Jen DeGregorio Realtors and mortgage brokers yesterday decried recommendations by a federal tax reform commission to reduce some tax benefits now enjoyed by homeowners, saying they discourage homeownership and endanger the national...

Request for removal of case to federal court was timely.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff An insurer sued in state court for wrongfully denying disability payments could remove the case to federal court nine months after the complaint was filed, even though federal law generally provides a 30-day...

Commentary: Ever heard of the Lautenberg Amendment? You're not alone.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Matthew A. Radefeld Many criminal defense attorneys have never heard of the Lautenberg Amendment. Some know of its ramifications, just not its name. Because there are so many avid hunters, gun collectors and military personnel in...

Commentary: The snake-bit big guy.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Jim Astrachan The most interesting stories are those where the big guy starts out a bully and ends up gettin' snake-bit. It even happens in trademark cases. The Taubman Co. is one big guy for sure, a developer of thousands of...

U.S. Supreme Court looks at possible Miranda violation.
November 6, 2005... Byline: Caryn Tamber A case with potentially broad ramifications for the treatment of suspects who invoke their Miranda rights went to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, where justices peppered lawyers from both sides with questions about...

University of Missouri-Columbia professor's study on race and the judiciary published.
November 6, 2005... Byline: Lawyers Weekly USA Staff Although inroads have been made in remedying past discrimination against African Americans, many blacks still believe the United States has a long way to go to achieve total equality, even in communities...

Online maps detail KC's public improvement project process.
November 6, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Areas receiving public improvements can now be viewed in detailed online maps that access the inner workings of the capital improvement process. The city's Capital Improvements Management Office on Friday...

Commentary: The new Bankruptcy Code - Part I.
November 6, 2005... Byline: Paul Sandler Days before the Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act went into effect on Oct. 17, hundreds of thousands of people rushed to courthouses across the country to file for bankruptcy protection. They were smart to...

Commentary: Supreme Court nominee will be hard to portray as an extremist.
November 6, 2005... Byline: John R. Lott, Jr. It's going to be hard to paint Judge Samuel Alito, President George W. Bush's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, as an extremist. Judging from surveys of lawyers who have practiced before him, academic...

Alito's former classmates praise the Supreme Court nominee.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick Two Missourians who graduated from law school with Samuel A. Alito, Jr. were not surprised by his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Eighth Circuit Court Judge Duane Benton and St. Louis attorney Greg...

Associated General Contractors: material prices on the rise.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The prices of construction materials are up, and Ken Simonson says they might not be going down anytime soon. Simonson, the chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, released a financial...

Workplace survey finds diversity is important to the bottom line.
November 7, 2005... Byline: St. Charles Business Record Staff Reducing costs and improving profits are two key results of a diverse work force, according to a 2005 Workplace Diversity Practices Survey released in October by the Society for Human Resource...

Man injured in truck accident claims other driver blocked.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A Missouri man injured in a two truck accident has settled his counterclaim for a confidential amount. On or about June 25, 2002, defendant Olon Keith Parker, Jr. and plaintiff Catherine Eller were...

Commentary: The Daily Record looking for more young lawyers to submit columns.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Chris Wirken Too much to do? Looking to make a name for yourself, serve the profession, serve the public, get some free marketing? This is a chance for you to "give back" and "get involved" by applying to submit columns, just...

Commentary: The eyes have it: Seeing the signs of fraud.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Tracy Coenen Would you recognize the clues that your client has been ripped off by one of your employees? Or would management conduct business as usual, blindly trusting their employees? Companies make the mistake of not...

Western Dist. Court of Appeals bars claim against already-sued mortgage co.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Tandem cases in two jurisdictions caused the Western District Court of Appeals to dismiss one party in a shady real estate transaction but preserve the case against another party that was left off the first case....

Hundreds attend annual Kansas City Metro Bar Foundation's Liberty & Justice Gala.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick Hundreds of members of the legal community honored a local attorney and showed their support for a metro bar foundation Saturday evening. About 350 attended the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation's Third...

Commentary: Put the information you have to work.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken We are finishing up the second to the last area of the five areas that make up every business in the world. This second to the last area is "billing." You know by reviewing all of the previous articles that I have...

Commentary: When not to worry about price bubbles.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Ben Proctor (This article was originally published in The Daily Record, Baltimore, Md., another Dolan Media publication.) To be sure, today's real estate market is anything but typical: the Office of Federal Housing...

Former athletes share their legal experiences with law students at Univ. of Missouri-KC.
November 9, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick Joe Carter is largely remembered for his homerun that won the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays. And that's exactly how he wants it to remain. While addressing a group of law students at the University...

Jackson County leaders celebrate courthouse preservation project.
November 9, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick At nearly 71-years-old, the Jackson County Courthouse looks as good as it ever has. And at a rededication ceremony Monday, County Executive Katheryn Shields and members of the county legislature celebrated the...

Lawsuits over gaming regulations are causing debate.
November 9, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin (This article originally ran in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication.) Less than 20 years ago, Atlantic City and Las Vegas were the only places in America the avid gambler...

Commentary: Innovative approaches to Internet marketing.
November 9, 2005... Byline: Amy Johnson Conner (This article originally ran in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA, another Dolan Media publication.) Your firm spent a great deal of time and money perfecting its website. But so did every other firm in...

W. District Court of Appeals turns back child custody case because of missing written findings.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Once again, the Western District Court of Appeals has turned back a child custody case because the trial court failed to complete its homework, which in this case proved to be a little difficult. In Sherry...

Four to share their stories of prison, exoneration at premiere of film about their experiences.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick Four men who combined to serve 55 years in prison for crimes they did not commit will tell their stories at tonight's local premiere of "After Innocence." The film, which has won awards at the Sundance Film...

8th U.S. Circuit approves asylum for Chinese family.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Erin Suess (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, St. Louis, MO, another Dolan Media publication.) Tu Kai Yang and Xue Lin Wu have reason to fear China's strict one-child-per-family policy. With five pregnancies, two...

Finance-related starting salaries to increase in '06, says staffing research firm.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith (This article originally ran in the Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, OR, another Dolan Media publication.) Heightened competition for accounting and finance professionals will lead to increases in base...

Commentary: Mixing retirement and your business.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Gary Williams (This article originally ran in The Daily Record, Baltimore, MD, another Dolan Media publication.) As a small business owner, planning for retirement may be the last thing on your mind. Your day-to-day duties may...

The U.S. Department of Justice vs. the National Association of Realtors.
November 11, 2005... Byline: Kennedy Smith Almost eight years ago, Steve DelBianco became an investor in what he thought would be the real estate equivalent of the hugely successful discount travel sites Expedia.com and Travelocity. The Web site, eRealty.com,...

Density, open space have high economic value for residential properties.
November 11, 2005... Byline: Bill Clements A new study for the McKnight Foundation turns the tables on the well-established idea that bigger lot sizes in residential developments mean higher property values. The report, "The Economic Value of Open Space,"...

October construction jobs set record.
November 11, 2005... Byline: Daily Journal of Commerce Staff New construction employment, spurred largely by rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, rose in October, and overall construction employment reached a record high in...

Commentary: Everybody's playing nice, and nobody wants to rule.
November 11, 2005... Byline: Mike Boyd A couple of interesting office-related surveys landed on my desk last month. The results of one survey indicate that most of the rank-and-file in the working world have no designs on the corner office, which is...

COA finds Commission's appeals process too harsh.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Some attorneys say the Western District Court of Appeals has told the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission with a recent decision to quit being so harsh and "nit picky" in dealing with business owners. ...

Real estate agent stirs things up as 'new construction Realtor'.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Bob Geiger Sharon Soby says she dislikes most real estate agents, but that hasn't stopped her from trying to make a place for herself in the industry as a "new construction Realtor." Soby, who is the 31-year-old wife of Blake...

Missouri's snub of medical transport company's bid may not add up.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Kathleen T. Brady Gov. Matt Blunt and the state Office of Administration have been busy touting how they were able to save Missourians millions of dollars in taxes by dropping O'Fallon-based Medical Transportation Management Inc....

Commentary: The economy's new 'bell weather': you won't like the sound.
November 12, 2005... Byline: David Clogg The older generation might recall when General Motors was considered a "bell weather" stock. In other words, the stock market focused on General Motor's financial results. If GM was doing well as a company, it was...

Commentary: Have some fun on the links this fall.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Joe Rahnis It goes without saying that golf is a game that is meant to be fun. All too often though, golfers take the game and themselves way too seriously. Sometimes, you need to step away and get back to basics with the game we...

COA finds stolen lawnmower does not qualify as motor vehicle.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan There are many definitions of a motor vehicle under Missouri law. And The Western District Court of Appeals says the key is finding the right one for the right circumstances. In Troy Fainter v. State of...

Employers running the risk of resume screening lawsuits.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher A boom in Internet-based screening tests is helping employers cull through thousands of resumes. But they could face legal challenges if they're not careful about how these pre-employment tests are designed and...

Corporate gift giving could prove taxing.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Amy Gillentine 'Tis the season for additional employee taxes. Business owners planning to give employees bonuses of any kind should be prepared to give Uncle Sam a little extra gift as well - in the way of employee taxes. Gift...

Commentary: The new Bankruptcy Code - Part II.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Paul Mark Sandler Last week we discussed how the new Bankruptcy Abuse and Consumer Protection Act, passed in response to heavy lobbying by the credit card industry, makes attaining Chapters 7 and 13 protection more difficult for...

Commentary: American science is in hot water.
November 13, 2005... Byline: J. Donald Capra For as long as most of us can remember, the United States has been the world's undisputed scientific leader. The vitality of our scientific enterprise has driven our economy and paid the dividends to which we've all...

Failure to pass budget puts strain on federal clerks' offices.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick Working without a budget has become the norm for Patricia Brune. As clerk of court for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, it's been years since she and others in her position across...

Honors handed out at UMKC Alumni Association Dinner.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Charles Emerick Emotions ran high for two University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law alumni at this year's annual meeting. Local attorneys Cindy Reams Martin and Charlie Harris, Jr. both said they were "humbled" for the...

Radio frequency market capitalizing on the 'wireless revolution'.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Mergers and acquisitions are on the rise nationwide and the radio frequency market is capitalizing on what Loren Lancaster refers to as a wireless revolution. From January through September, mergers and...

Commentary: A liberal's opinion of Alito.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Andrew Baida Prior to reading the newspaper this past Sunday, I was poised to put the final touches on an article about how to write a persuasive legal argument. Although I've discussed the subject in various ways throughout the...

Commentary: The latest online vermin: RATs.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Larry Fiorino RATs are taking over as the nastiest Web creatures since phish and viruses. Cyber crooks are deploying new attacks against online banks called "Remote Access Trojans," or RATs, according to experts. Trojan...

Timely filing does not make all future filings timely, rules Western District Court of Appeals.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan Untimely and incomplete filings were enough to set aside an approved motion to dismiss a default judgment in a car crash case. In Chrystal D. Lunde v. Carol A. Scardacci, the Western District Court of Appeals...

Jurors come with deeply held beliefs.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Tony Anderson (This article was originally published in Wisconsin Law Journal, Milwaukee, Wis., another Dolan Media publication.) Each person's attitudes and opinions develop slowly, over a long period of time. Litigators need...

American Bar Association pro bono guide helps lawyers overcome public service obstacles.
November 15, 2005... Byline: KC Daily Record Staff Most lawyers want to do more public service, as evidenced by the thousands volunteering to help victims of this year's hurricanes. Balancing work responsibilities with the desire to volunteer can be difficult,...

Commentary: Keep one eye on the hours, the other on the billers.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Jim Wirken We are almost finished with the fourth area of the five areas that make up every business in the world. This fourth area is "billing." As you know, the other four areas are that make up every business in the world are:...

MO Court of Appeals, W. District rules expired permits have no bearing on reclamation-based penalty.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Denise G. Callahan The Western District Court of Appeals took a page from federal laws in deciding whether the Missouri Land Reclamation Commission had the authority to penalize a mining company whose permit had expired. In...

Application service providers (ASPs) seem to be on the verge of a comeback.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Reni Gertner (This article was originally published in Lawyers Weekly USA, Boston, MA., another Dolan Media publication). Application service providers (ASPs) - which allow law firms to rent a wide range of software services...

Alterations made to medical records discovered after patient's death.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff (This article was originally published in Missouri Lawyers Weekly, another Dolan Media publication. The family of a 47-year-old man who died from colon cancer has settled its wrongful death claim...

Commentary: The Supreme Court - a great place to work.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Bob Barton While "channel suffering" over the weekend I saw a tape of Associate Justice Stephen Breyer addressing a group of lawyers that made me think that about the work that awaits Judge Alito should he be confirmed. Justice...

Western District defines 15-minute observation period for DWI cases.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Joy Simmons Police officers must "carefully watch" drunk drivers for the required 15-minute observation period preceding a blood alcohol concentration test, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled. However, the...

Gov. Blunt wants 'parameters' placed on eminent domain.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Mike Trask It appears more likely than ever that Missouri legislators next year will approve legislation to restrict local government's ability to grant private developers the right of eminent domain. This week, Gov. Matt Blunt...

Having no recovery plan can be a bottom-line disaster.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Marylou Doehrman Small businesses are vital to economic recovery in the aftermath of a disaster, according to a national poll of 325 business owners taken last month. Yet, 79 percent of the responding business owners and managers...