Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from February 2009

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from February 2009

Jasper County Circuit Court awards injured worker $550K.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Cathy Kingsley A Jasper County jury awarded a verdict of $550,000 to a 54-year-old man from Seneca against an occupational medicine physician and her employer. On March 27, 2006, plaintiff John Brooks fell at his job at a...

Gadolinium law suits picks up pace.(Missouri)
February 2, 2009... Byline: Correy E. Stephenson With almost 400 lawsuits already filed across the country, gadolinium litigation is heating up. Gadolinium is used in contrast solutions to enhance the images when a patient undergoes magnetic imaging, such...

When incentives drown: some general counsels in Mo. watch their stock options go underwater.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole General Counsel Frank Steeves got 100,000 stock options when he joined Emerson in 2007. Technology and manufacturing company Emerson placed a value of more than $300,000 on those options, according to a December...

Commentary: novel settlement ends in confusion.(Missouri)
February 2, 2009... Byline: Will Connaghan A jury verdict is not usually tied to a settlement. Sure, cases sometimes get settled after a jury hands down a verdict. But in one of our featured cases this week, the two parties reached an unusual settlement...

New rules in Missouri target disruptive physician behavior.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Eric Berkman Imagine a nurse being so intimidated by a condescending and abusive doctor that she decides not to contact him for an emergency while he's on call. Or perhaps a patient suffering from internal bleeding but refusing...

Attorneys in Mo. want approval for more teleconferencing with judges to reduce travel time, expenses.
February 2, 2009... Byline: David Knopf The use of remote conferences to save time and money and reduce clients' legal fees for routine court actions appears to be gaining favor despite some limitations. The issue, lawyers agree, is simple: Why commute...

No pay raise for judges in Missouri this year.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum The Missouri General Assembly has overwhelmingly rejected a pay proposal that could have raised salaries for elected officials and judges. The Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation approved a proposal...

Buffaloed: in his first trial, Missouri attorney faces an impassioned pro se litigant.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka Solo attorney Greg Stewart signaled his young client to join him at the front of the courtroom. The pair stood before Associate Circuit Judge Brenda Stith Loftin in St. Louis County Circuit Court to defend a small...

Missouri Supreme Court preserves the 'magic' of jurisdiction.
February 2, 2009... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco The Missouri Supreme Court this week tightened the concept of jurisdiction by rejecting the term "jurisdictional competence," which has recently appeared in appellate court dicta. In an opinion aspiring to...

Anger from car buyers fuels lemon law suits.(Wisconsin)
February 9, 2009... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher /Dolan Media Newswires A lemon of a pickup truck is going to end up costing General Motors Corp. about $550,000. Last fall, a Wisconsin jury deliberated only an hour before deciding that Todd Van Natta's...

U.S. atty. Catherine Hanaway likely to join Ashcroft Group.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway is planning to join the lobbying and consulting group headed by former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, according to a person she talked with about her plans but who asked not to be...

Gov. Blunt's office led court plan opposition.(Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt)
February 9, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese Public criticism of the state's system for selecting judges was orchestrated from former Gov. Matt Blunt's office, a review of e-mails shows. Missouri Lawyers Weekly reviewed several hundred pages of e-mail...

Federalist members involved at state, national level.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese The Federalist Society insists it takes no stand on policy issues and simply wants to foster debate. But a host of e-mails to and from staff in former Gov. Matt Blunt's office shows key members of the conservative...

Stagnant economy has Missouri divorce lawyers, couples altering how they do business.
February 9, 2009... Byline: David Knopf Money has always played a central role in divorce, but the economy has altered the way couples, divorce lawyers and even family court judges do business. Mark Allen, an attorney in Liberty, juggles about 60 divorce...

For Missouri, new governor different approach.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jo Mannies New Gov. Jay Nixon recognizes the importance of his power in appointing judges. "Governor Nixon believes that judicial appointments are some of the most important selections that a governor can make," spokesman Jack...

E-mails show Scott Eckersley was part of Missouri's high court selection process.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jo Mannies The e-mails obtained by Missouri Lawyers Weekly from former Gov. Matt Blunt's administration do more than lay out the internal debate over the selection of state Supreme Court Judge Patricia Breckenridge. Some of...

No gubernatorial power grabs by Missouri Lt. Gov. Kinder.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum Gov. Jay Nixon and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder would seem to be on a collision course of political conflict. Last November, Democrats won four of the five statewide offices up for election. The only one they missed...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District upholds $1M jury verdict against Allstate.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District has upheld a $1 million jury verdict from 2007, clarifying a novel question of bad-faith tort law along the way. Quinlock Shobe won $500,000 in actual damages and...

Missouri Court of Appeals takes first look at duties of 'trust protector'.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco A trustee stated a claim for breach of fiduciary duty against an attorney designated as a "trust protector," according to the Missouri Court of Appeals, which reversed a judgment in the attorney's favor. ...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: February 9, 2009.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Attorney's Fees - Probate Court - Mootness Where a law firm sought and obtained from the trial court a judgment in the amount of the attorney's fees owed by a client, this was the...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: February 9, 2009.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Pro Se Litigant - Inadequate Brief - Page Numbers Where the brief of a pro se appellant in an unemployment compensation case lacked page references to the legal file and...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: February 9, 2009.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Foreign Judgment - Jurisdiction - Full Faith And Credit Where a trial court denied appellant's petition for registration of a foreign judgment, the denial is reversed and...

United States Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: February 9, 2009.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicare Reimbursement - Wrongful Death Settlement - Missouri Statute Where a family that settled a wrongful death action sought a declaratory judgment that they did not have a...

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Husband recovers $752,507 for wife's death after surgery.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A Greene County jury awarded $752,507 to a man whose wife died from complications from colon surgery. The verdict included $700,000 in noneconomic damages for medical malpractice and wrongful death claims filed...

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Victim's family settles for $1 million.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Kyle Lewis The family of a man who was killed after a traffic accident that involved a semitrailer settled their Jackson County case. The settlement included an agreement that the trucking company shut down its operation. On...

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Families settle over crash that killed two brothers.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale The families of two brothers killed while passengers in a traffic accident and the injured driver have reached a $1 million global settlement of their wrongful death and injury claims against a concrete company whose...

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Man hurt in auto accident settles for $800,000.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Cathy Kingsley David Valenzuela received $800,000 in a settlement regarding an automobile accident. Defendant Ray Pittman rear-ended Valenzuela's vehicle at Southwest Trafficway and Westport Road in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov....

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Jury clears Joplin County truck repair business.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A Jasper County jury returned a verdict in favor of a Joplin truck repair business accused of making faulty repairs to a motor home. Plaintiff had claimed the steering failed on the motor home resulting in a...

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Jury finds doctor not liable for post-surgery complication.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Cathy Kingsley A jury found that a doctor was not liable for the pain and swelling that ensued in a patient after a surgical sponge was left inside him. On Feb. 28, 2001, plaintiff Allan L. Smith underwent surgery by Dr....

Verdicts & Settlements February 9, 2009: Wrongful death suit settles for $1.04M.
February 9, 2009... Byline: Cathy Kingsley Plaintiff Julianne Belt of Republic received a settlement of $1.04 million after her daughter was killed in an automobile accident. On May 3, 2008, Jodie Wharf, 18, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her...

Confidentiality in a wired (and wireless) world.
February 9, 2009... Byline: W. William Hodes The duty of confidentiality is one of the most important professional duties that lawyers owe to their clients. It applies to lawyers of all stripes - transaction, litigation, civil or criminal - and is far...

Attorneys spar over high court retaliation ruling.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Kimberly Atkins/Dolan Media Newswires The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision permitting a worker who was fired after answering questions during an internal sexual harassment inquiry to pursue a Title VII claim has the defense and...

Valentines thoughts about workplace love contracts.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Rich Meneghello /Dolan Media Newswires Problem: A recent survey revealed that approximately 40 percent of U.S. workers have dated fellow employees, and another 40 percent would consider doing so. Inevitably, most workplace...

Mortgage modification scams on the rise.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Sylvia Hsieh/Dolan Media Newswires One of the fallouts of the mortgage foreclosure debacle is a cottage industry of mortgage modification or "mortgage rescue" companies. Consumer advocates say many of these companies are...

Plastic problems: changing credit card terms could put squeeze on some small firms.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole When family and criminal law attorney Lisa Sims recently heard on the news that some credit card interest rates were being raised, she checked to make sure her rates were the same. They were still at an average of...

Missouri Lawyers In the News: February 16, 2009.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Thor Hearne is now heading up the St. Louis office of Lathrop & Gage. Hearne, known for his work as national legal election counsel for President George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, takes over...

Numbers down for February bar exam in Maryland.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole This month's bar exam will have the fewest number of takers in at least nine years. Two hundred and ninety-nine people will take the exam on Feb. 24 and 25, a decrease of almost 20 percent from February 2008. ...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District split on 20-minute rule in DWIs.(driving while intoxicated)
February 16, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka Missouri law is clear on this: When drivers are arrested under suspicion of drunken driving and placed in police custody, they have 20 minutes to try to call an attorney for legal advice. The law is more muddled...

8th Circuit has yet to rule on '07 dismissal of $20 million case.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole U.S. Senior Judge Dean Whipple turns his chair to face the witness stand and defendant Sara Lewis-Goetz, a petite young woman with long brown hair streaked with blond. The white-mustached judge leads Lewis-Goetz...

Missouri Bar wants young lawyers' thoughts on civility.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka When The Missouri Bar's new task force on professionalism sent out a survey on civility in the profession to a sampling of 2,000 of the state's lawyers, it received a relatively hearty response. But there was a...

Commentary: Looking for ways to improve Top Verdicts & Settlements report.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Will Connaghan Three weeks ago we published the state's most comprehensive look at the top reported verdicts and settlements of 2008. It was an ambitious effort and included a record number of reported cases. But not content to...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District: no cause of action in mold-exposure case.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco An insurer that learned of toxic mold in a tornado-damaged home but did not disclose the danger to the homeowners or construction workers has won dismissal of personal injury claims in two cases in the Missouri...

Better Business Bureau grading of law firms draws complaints from Missouri Bar, others.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka When Better Business Bureaus across the nation rolled out a new ratings system last month, a few surprises surfaced in the report cards for some prominent Missouri law firms. Legal heavies Bryan Cave and...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: February 16, 2009.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Order Of Protection - Mootness Where a husband appealed a trial court's judgment granting his wife a full order of protection against him, the order expired during the pendency...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: February 16, 2009.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Transcript - Missing Testimony Where the record on appeal in a driver's license case was inadequate due to missing testimony and the appellate court could deduce that the...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: February 16, 2009.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law First- Degree Murder - Deliberation - Juror Misconduct (1)Where a defendant admitted that he fired a gun five or six times into a parking lot stopping to un-jam the gun between...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 16, 2009.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Post- Conviction Relief - Guilty Plea - Altered Agreement Where a defendant's attorney did not object when the state at a plea hearing added a caveat to the defendant's plea...

United States Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: February 16, 2009.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Timeliness - Equitable Tolling - Preemption Where a competitive local carrier sued an incumbent local carrier alleging violations of telecommunications laws, the district court...

St. Louis lawyer making documentary films about circus, monks.(Missouri)
February 16, 2009... Byline: Betsy Lee Jay Kanzler always said he'd make a film one day. As he pursued his legal career, the goal was always pushed to the bottom of seemingly never-ending to-do lists. It wasn't until he became a partner at the St....

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: Fatal I-44 crash in Missouri settles for $1.4M.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Scott Lauck A trucking company agreed to pay $1.4 million to the family of a grandmother who died in a car accident in St. Louis County. According to documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: Jury awards $127,500 for breach of lease.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A St. Louis County jury awarded $127,500 in rent and related charges to a property management company accusing a tenant of breaching a commercial lease. The company and landlord also prevailed on constructive...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: $90,000 awarded for injuries from falling tree limb.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Kelly Wiese A boy who sued St. Louis after a tree limb fell on him won $90,000 from a city jury. According to the family's attorney, Robert Taylor, then 11, was playing outside near his home on a hot but calm July 2005 day when...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2099: Elderly woman settles with motorcycle school.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka An elderly couple settled with a motorcycle training school for $975,000 over a 2006 parking lot accident that left the 82-year-old woman with a broken hip. The woman, Doris Friend, was loading items into her...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: Woman settles uninsured motorist claims for $400,000.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A motorist claiming that her multiple sclerosis was aggravated by injuries suffered in a collision with an uninsured drunken driver has settled her claims with her uninsured motorist carrier for $400,000. The...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: Trucking accident settles for $2 million.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Cathy Kingsley A tragic accident in which the defendant initially denied wrongdoing ended in a settlement of about $2 million. Cathie Dolter and her husband, Michael, of Albuquerque, N.M., were truck drivers who had stopped at...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: Emergency response company agrees to pay customer $750K.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale An elderly woman who required a leg amputation after her distress call failed to activate an emergency response system has reached a $750,000 settlement of her federal case against the emergency service provider. ...

Verdicts & Settlements February 16, 2009: Witness scheduling blamed for mixed verdict.
February 16, 2009... Byline: Angela Riley Dr. Joel Cooper is just the kind of plaintiff any lawyer would want on the stand: esteemed, funny, warm, knowledgeable. So his attorney Jerome "Jerry" Dobson had mixed feelings when the St. Louis jury came back...

U.S. Supreme Court to decide punitive damages, preemption issues.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Kimberly Atkins/Dolan Media Newswires The U.S. Supreme Court is on its four-week winter break, marking the midway point in its October 2008 term. But most of the drama of the term is still to come, as a new solicitor general is...

How jurors weigh emotional testimony.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Richard Gabriel/Dolan Media Newswires A mother sobs gently in her deposition, describing the last moments of life her teenage daughter experienced after a head-on collision. She cries as she talks about the plans her daughter had to...

Using videos to portray victims' suffering.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Justin Rebello/Dolan Media Newswires When Laura White sued her doctor for a birthing malpractice incident that left her child with severe mental retardation and physical handicaps, her attorney was faced with a challenge. ...

Freshman year report card: merged Missouri-based Husch Blackwell scores higher partner profits.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole It's almost a year later, and Husch Blackwell Sanders still has a trace of that new firm smell. Husch Blackwell is coming out of 2008 with average profits per partner at around $560,000, higher than they were the...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: February 23, 2009.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Steven Hamburg on March 2 is opening Steven M. Hamburg in the Clayton offices of Frankel, Rubin, Bond, Dubin, Siegel & Klein. Hamburg stepped down in February after 34 years at the 22-attorney Summers...

Wrongful convictions prompt questions about Missouri criminal justice system.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka Last Tuesday, as word flew across the state about a 45-page ruling clearing defendant Joshua Kezer of the 1992 murder of a young southeastern Missouri woman, one person remained in the dark. Kezer sat in his cell...

Taking on wrongful convictions: Missouri law firms fork over hours, money to reopen long-dead cases.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Allison Retka Scott County Sherriff Rick Walter took significant steps to reopen Joshua Kezer's case. But most investigations into wrongful convictions begin with defense attorneys or legal aid groups, and they're not easy. ...

Ballot summaries can lead to full-fledged court battles in Missouri.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Jason Rosenbaum It can be difficult for Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office to produce ballot summary language that pleases everybody. Take, for example, a measure aimed at curtailing state funding of stem cell research....

Commentary: use online assets during voir dire.(Missouri)
February 23, 2009... Byline: Will Connaghan As a lifelong resident of the city of St. Louis, I have been called to jury duty every three years since 1979. I was always happy to put in my time, and I ended up serving on several juries over the years. I also sat...

Missouri Court of Appeals says gamblers can sue casino over rewards program.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco Gamblers whose breach-of-contract claims against a casino were dismissed by the trial court in St. Charles County are back in the game, according to the Missouri Court of Appeals. The Ameristar Casino in...

Two Missouri firms up partner contributions.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Heather Cole Stinson Morrison Hecker talked for three years about increasing the amount equity partners must pay up front to buy into the firm. The firm took action this year, increasing the upfront amount for capital...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: February 23, 2009.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Notice Of Appeal - Timeliness Where an appellant filed an untimely notice of appeal, the appeal must be dismissed despite appellant's dispute with the date of the denial of...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: February 23, 2009.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Enforcement - Waiver - Removal Where an auto manufacturer sued by several dealers sought to compel arbitration, the trial court properly denied the motion because the manufacturer...

United States Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: February 23, 2009.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Truth- In-Leasing Law - Statute Of Limitations - Damage Claims Where owner-operators of leased trucks sued a motor carrier claiming violations of the Truth-in-Leasing...

Doing well by doing good: volunteering on community boards gets your name out.(Missouri)
February 23, 2009... Byline: Betsy Lee Serving on the board of a local organization takes a time commitment and an understanding family. But according to attorneys who participate, the ends justify the means. "I tell people that my civic involvement has...

Attracting referrals: getting lawyers and former clients to recommend your firm.
February 23, 2009... Byline: David Knopf The Internet, television spots and phone-book advertising are relatively new tools for marketing law firms, but attorneys say that old standby referrals remains their best friend. "Our two big sources of business...

Sponsoring public events promotes branding for attorneys.
February 23, 2009... Byline: David Knopf Sponsoring events may not bring new clients to their waiting rooms, but attorneys agree that the publicity can only help a firm's name recognition or reputation. And benefits accrue, whether it's a 350-lawyer firm...

Practice practice: sponsoring public events promotes branding.(Missouri)
February 23, 2009... Byline: David Knopf Sponsoring events may not bring new clients to their waiting rooms, but attorneys agree that the publicity can only help a firm's name recognition or reputation. And benefits accrue, whether it's a 350-lawyer firm...

Verdicts & Settlements February 23, 2009: Jury clears OB-GYN of malpractice.
February 23, 2009... Byline: Anne C. Vitale An obstetrician-gynecologist and her practice were cleared of negligence in a Clay County medical malpractice case brought by a patient who gave birth to a stillborn baby at 21 weeks. Laurie Carter, 24, underwent...