Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from January 2003

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from January 2003

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District rules girl couldn't sue church over sex assault.
January 6, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A girl who was sexually assaulted by a church youth minister could not sue the church for intentional failure to supervise clergy, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled. The girl argued that...

Missouri Supreme Court rules hearing officer can order child support modifications.
January 6, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A statute that allows administrative hearing officers of the Division of Child Support Enforcement to modify child support orders without the signature of a circuit judge does not violate the separation of powers...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District rules homeowners couldn't get replacement cost after loss.
January 6, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Where homeowners lost personal property in a fire, their insurance company did not have to pay the cost of repair or replacement until the items were actually repaired or replaced, the Missouri Court of Appeals'...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: January 6, 2003.
January 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Award - Child Abuse Review Board - 'Agency Proceeding' Where a man exonerated of child abuse by the trial court in a de novo review of a probable cause determination by the...

Verdicts and Settlements January 6, 2003: Auto accidents results in $450K settlment.
January 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Rosemary Atkins was injured in a May 13, 1998 accident with a lumber truck. Atkins was driving on Highway K in Platte County when the truck pulled out in front of her from a stop sign on a gravel...

Verdicts and Settlements January 6, 2003: Mortgage co. pays $6M for invasion of privacy.
January 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Stanley and Pat Stark claimed in an arbitration proceeding that EMC Mortgage Corp. and its law firm violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act after the Starks defaulted on a loan. The Starks,...

Missouri Lawyers In The News: January 13, 2003.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Evans & Dixon has added three new partners to the firm. Kate M. Justin will join the St. Louis office's civil litigation practice. Justin was previously with the offices of Mark Mc-Mahon and received...

St. Louis trial court takes away $8.5M products liability verdict.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A jury's award of punitive damages in a products liability case -- even though no punitives were requested -- has led a St. Louis City judge to take away an $8.5 million verdict. The judge said he should have...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District rules UIM coverage impossible under terms of policy.(underinsured motorist)
January 13, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Even though a driver's underinsured motorist coverage would never be available because of her policy's definition of "underinsured motor vehicle," the policy should not be construed to give her UIM benefits, the...

GM hit for $80M over 'sudden acceleration'.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Diana Digges A Jackson County jury on Dec. 20 awarded $80 million — including $50 million in punitives — against General Motors for an accident in which a woman's car suddenly raced backward out of her driveway and...

The Week In Review.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The Missouri Supreme Court on Jan. 8 set an execution date of Feb. 5 for Kenneth Kenley, convicted of killing a southeast Missouri man nearly 20 years ago. The execution would be the first in Missouri...

Verdicts and Settlements January 13, 2003: Fire loss suit results in $347,089 settlement.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff John and Myra Stauffer of Taney County sued their homeowners insurance carrier over coverage of a theft claim and a fire loss claim. The theft of personal property occurred on Sept. 21, 2001. On...

Verdicts and Settlements January 13, 2003: Dr. settles for $390K for operating on wrong disc space.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A 56-year-old man filed a medical malpractice suit after his neurosurgeon operated on the wrong disc space during back surgery. The plaintiff was injured at work in 1998. He was diagnosed as having...

Verdicts and Settlements January 13, 2003: Plaintiff gets $1M settlement for injury by dump truck.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Steve Fitzgerald, a mechanical engineer, suffered severe head injuries when his car was hit by a dump truck that had been stolen by a vagrant. Fitzgerald and his wife sued the contractor that owned the...

Verdicts and Settlements January 13, 2003: Family gets $2.45M for relative's death by 18-wheeler.
January 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The wife, parents and seven children -- ages 17 to 37 -- of Paul Bradshaw sued Bigbee Transportation, Inc. after he was run over and killed by a tractor-trailer. Bradshaw, 57, was a truck driver...

Missouri Supreme Court rules lawyer is disbarred for stealing from firm.
January 20, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A lawyer who took more than $160,000 in fees without notice to his partners in an effort to "self-enforce" a fee-division agreement has been disbarred by the Missouri Supreme Court. The court said that while...

OCDC unveils changes in Missouri's lawyer discipline system.(Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel)
January 27, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Change is in the air for the Missouri disciplinary system because of new Supreme Court rules that took effect Jan. 1, according to Chief Disciplinary Counsel Maridee Farnquist Edwards. Under one new rule, the...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules Missouri Farm's agent contract was terminable at will.
January 27, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A State Farm agent who was fired after being charged with murder could not sue State Farm because his contract was terminable at will, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled en banc, reversing a panel...

Legally Speaking: 40 Powerful Presentation Principles Lawyers Need to Know.(Book review)
January 27, 2003... Byline: Paul D. Boynton Legally Speaking: 40 Powerful Presentation Principles Lawyers Need To Know David Dempsey Miranda Publishing; 314 pages $49.45, plus $6.50 for shipping and handling Unlike many "how-to" guidebooks...