Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from February 2003

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from February 2003

Award of attorney fees against Division of Child Support Enforcement overturned.(Missouri)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Even though a father successfully challenged an administrative modification of his child support -- partly on separation of powers grounds -- he could not recover statutory attorney fees against the Division of...

Missouri Eastern District Court enforces post-nuptial agreement.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Kelly Kress A husband could enforce a post-nuptial agreement that was made in contemplation of continuing the marriage where it apportioned marital assets equally and fully disclosed his assets, Eastern District has ruled in a case...

Missouri Supreme Court rules plaintiffs can get jury trials in MHRA cases.(Missouri Human Rights Act)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A woman who sued her employer in state court only for damages under the Missouri Human Rights Act had a constitutional right to a jury trial, the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled, rejecting over a decade of lower...

Missouri Court of Appeals rules policy was effectively cancelled by letter.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Where an insurance company sent a letter to a policyholder advising that coverage would be "void" if the premium were not paid by the due date, the letter complied with the cancellation provision of the policy, the...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules skier couldn't sue resort after falling on slope.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A teenager who fell when she hit a bump on a ski slope could not sue the resort for her injuries, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in a case of first impression under Missouri law. This was...

Collaborative law makes headway in Missouri divorce cases.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Some Missouri family lawyers are practicing "collaborative law," a new approach to divorce litigation that combines the best aspects of mediation and a full-blown trial, say observers. Under the collaborative...

Missouri jury awards plaintiff who didn't wear seatbelt $2.8M.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Kelly Kress A mentally disabled woman has won a $2.8 million verdict against the driver of her medical transport van because he failed to make sure she was wearing a seat belt before an accident. The St. Louis City case...

What Would Jesus Argue?: Associated Press Reports Branson Man Can Have Jesus Christ As His Attorney.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A Branson man can have Jesus Christ as his attorney, but only one licensed to practice Missouri law will be allowed to speak for him during trial on charges he tampered with a judge, the Associated...

Missouri's Washington University Professor To Argue Before Supreme Court.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Peter Joy, professor of law at Washington University, will represent the ACLU this spring before the United States Supreme Court as an amicus in Sell v. U.S. The case involves standards for medicating...

Lawyers In Fiction At Missouri's Washington University.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis attorney/novelist Michael Kahn joined fellow authors Scott Turow and Marianne Wilson in a discussion of lawyers in fiction at Washington University on Jan. 29. Kahn, a partner at...

Verdicts and Settlements February 17, 2003: Mo. jury rules for defendant in med-mal suit.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The family of Howard Olmsted sued Freeman Hospital after he died of a pulmonary embolism, which they claimed could have been prevented by pro-per medication. Olmsted, 32, had an ischemic stoke on...

Verdicts and Settlements February 17, 2003: Mo. jury rules for defendant in negligence suit.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Moe Ankney sued the company and subcontractors who built his home after his wife Carla died of cancer, which he believed was caused by an uncapped sewer vent pipe inside a wall. Moe and Carla...

St. Louis City Jury Awards $18M For Boy's Death After Fall From Window.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A St. Louis City jury awarded $18 million on Feb. 4 to the mother of a 4-year-old boy who was killed when he fell out the window of the family's 11th-floor apartment in a public-housing complex. ...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Rules Driver Can't Sue City Over Broken Streetlights.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A driver who was hit by another car at a dark intersection could not sue the city for failing to make sure its streetlights were functioning, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Southern District has ruled in a case of...

St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Rules Man Wasn't Father But Is Awarded Visitation.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Kelly Kress Even though a man was not a minor girl's natural father -- and even though her mother was not found to be unfit -- he could get visitation after his divorce from the mother, St. Louis County Circuit Court judge has...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: February 17, 2003.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Notice of Appeal - Corporation - Unauthorized Practice Where the appellant in a civil lawsuit was a corporation and its notice of appeal was signed by someone who was not a...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: February 17, 2003.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Rule 84.04 - Brief - Inadequate Where the brief of an appellate in a civil case did not contain a table of authorities and the points relied on do not summarize why...

10 Years Ago In Missouri Lawyers Weekly: Harassment Claim Preempted By Comp.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A woman sexually harassed on the job by her boss could not sue him for intentional infliction of emotional distress without first having the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission decide whether her...

Verdicts Would Be Greatly Reduced By 'Tort Reform'.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones While the public policy underlying the proposed "tort reform" bills in the Missouri legislature is drawing significant comment, little attention is being paid to the practical effect the measures would have on real...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 17, 2003.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 29.15 Proceeding - Counsel - Ineffectiveness Where trial counsel for a murder defendant argued that hairs found at the crime scene and outside of defendant's motel were not...

Verdicts and Settlements February 17, 2003: Mo. jury delivers split verdict in auto crash case.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Dorothy Dace sued Mehlville School District and Dorothy Wilson after she collided with a school bus driven by Wilson. On June 5, 1997, Wilson, a bus driver for Mehlville School District in south...

Verdicts and Settlements February 17, 2003: Mo. jury awards $1.7M in legal malpractice suit.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Roberta Carmons sued R. Gregory Gore for legal malpractice after he advised her to plead guilty to child endangerment charges, based on his belief that no judge would sentence a 70-year-old woman to...

Missouri Lawyers In The News: February 17, 2003.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas J. Walsh has been named a member of the Kan-sas City firm of Bottaro, Morefield & Kubin. Walsh, who has been with the firm since 1999, practices in workers' compensation and civil litigation. ...

Commentary: Two Views On 'Tort Reform'.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Sen. Delbert Scott, R-28th District, sponsor of the "tort reform" bill in the Missouri Senate, wrote an article in the Jan. 29 Cedar County Republican concerning his legislation. The paper printed a...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: February 17, 2003.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 24.035 Proceeding - Timeliness - Custody - Drug Treatment Program Where a defendant was delivered to a long-term drug treatment program administered by the Department of...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: February 17, 2003.
February 17, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Collateral Estoppel - De Novo Review Where the district court articulated several reasons why defendants' summary judgment motion should be granted and concluded plaintiff's...

Bounty Offered For DVD Copying.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A maker of DVD-copying software is offering $10,000 bounties for tips about people who are using the product to pirate movies -- but the company says the move is not directly related to its legal fight...

Ford Settles Bronco II Case.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A Kansas City law firm has recovered an undisclosed amount in a settlement involving a SUV rollover that killed two Kansas residents. Randall Rhodes and R. Douglas Gentile, of Douthit Frets Rouse &...

Missouri Lawyers In The News: February 24, 2003.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Janette M. Lohman has joined the St. Louis office of Thompson Coburn as a partner in the taxation practice area. Lohman, a former partner in the St. Louis office of Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, will...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Rules Refusal To Exclude Next Witness From Courtroom OK.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A defense expert in a medical malpractice case did not have to be excluded from the courtroom while the defendant-doctor was testifying, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District has ruled. The plaintiffs...

Verdicts and Settlements February 24, 2003: Auto crash suit leads to $525K settlement.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Garrett T. Johnson, 14, sued the City of Kansas City after he was injured in a collision with a trash truck on July 7, 2000. He also sued the truck driver and his stepmother, who was driving the car he...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: February 24, 2003.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Prior Offender - Court- Martial Where defendant was sentenced as a prior offender and his prior conviction resulted from a military court-martial, the court-martial...

United States Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: February 24, 2003.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Inverse-Condemnation - Ripeness Where a land developer brought a constitutional takings claim in U.S. District Court before seeking relief in a state-court inverse condemnation...

10 Years Ago In Missouri Lawyers Weekly: Largest Law Firms Reverse Decline.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Largest Law Firms Reverse Decline Missouri's largest law firms got larger in 1992... but not by much. In its annual survey, Missouri Lawyers Weekly found the state's 50 largest firms had a "growth...

'Freedom Suits' On Display In St. Louis.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff In 1819, a black slave known only as Winny did something unusual: She took her owners to a St. Louis court and argued she and her children should be free. Winny contended that since she and her family...

U.S. District Judge In Kansas City Rules Woman Couldn't Sue For Same-Sex Harassment.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A woman who claimed sex harassment by a female co-worker could not sue for a hostile work environment, a U.S. District judge in Kansas City has ruled. This was because the harassment was not...

Missouri Lawmakers File Legislation To Crack Down On State Securities Fraud.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Kelly Kress With all the attention being paid to corporate scandals in the state and around the country, Missouri lawmakers have filed legislation in an attempt to crack down on securities fraud. Key provisions of Senate Bill...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: February 24, 2003.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Rule 84.04 - Inadequate Brief Where appellant's brief failed to contain a table of content, statement of jurisdiction, a statement of facts, any points relied on or any...

Verdicts and Settlements February 24, 2003: Insurance co. pays $120K for breach of contract.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Shelter Mutual Insurance was sued after it issued a check to Debra Louderback and her former boyfriend, even though he was not named on the homeowners policy and she had a temporary protection order...

Verdicts and Settlements February 24, 2003: Mo. jury rules for defendant in auto crash suit.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Vera Taylor sued Floyd Seibert after she claimed that he had caused her to run off the road and into a ditch. Taylor was driving southbound on Campbell Street in Springfield, approaching...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Rules 'Vicious Propensities' Not Needed For Dog Bite.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones EA girl who was bitten by a dog at a neighbor's house could sue even though she did not show that the dog had vicious propensities, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled. This was because...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: February 24, 2003.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Default Judgment - Motion To Vacate Where appellant failed to file a motion to set aside or vacate a default judgment, a default judgment may not be directly appealed and...

Verdicts and Settlements February 24, 2003: Breach of fiduciary duty leads to $138,940 award.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Elizabeth Tudor filed an arbitration claim against Morgan Stanley Dean Witter after she lost approximately $138,000 when her technology information stocks plummeted. Tudor, of northern Arkansas,...

Verdicts and Settlements February 24, 2003: Nursing home negligence leads to $287,500 settlement.
February 24, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The family of Dale Edwards, 70, sued SSM Regional Health Services after he fell out of his nursing home bed, broke his hip and died from resulting complications. Edwards was a resident of SSM-owned...