Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2005

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2005

Attorneys beware of 8/28, implied statute of limitations.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Geri L. Dreiling While it may not be as fast-paced as the Da Vinci Code or as entertaining as 1776, Missouri lawyers should have at the top of their summer reading list the truly-agreed version of the tort reform legislation known...

One of two pre-law institutes to be held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City this summer.(Council on Legal Education Opportunity)
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law is one of two universities hosting a national summer institute offered to pre-law students by the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO). ...

Wage garnishments workshops scheduled in Missouri.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Associated Industries of Missouri (AIM) will sponsor a Wage Garnishments Workshop from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 at AIM's new building in Jefferson City, and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: July 4, 2005.(appointments and awards)
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis Area Polsinelli Shalton Welte Suelthaus is pleased to announce the addition of five attorneys: Joseph A. Bealmear (Real Estate Department); Kelly H. Foster (General Corporate and Banking...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff ERISA Misrepresentation - Rule 60(b)(3) - Evidence Where plaintiffs who brought a class action against their employer for breach of fiduciary duties under ERISA moved for relief from judgment...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Exhaustion Of Remedies - At-Will Employee - Sovereign Immunity (1) Where a city employee's wrongful discharge petition was dismissed for failure to exhaust his administrative...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Judgment - Finality - Parental Rights Where a father attempted to appeal an order terminating his parental rights but the order failed to adjudicate the rights of the...

Armstrong Teasdale named as one of St. Louis' top corporate law firms.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Armstrong Teasdale was named as one of the top corporate law firms in the St. Louis area according to the article "America's Best Corporate Lawyers" in the July/August 2005 issue of Corporate Board...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: July 4, 2005.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Arbitration Requirement - Failure To Exhaust - Judicial Review Where a city employee sought judicial review of his termination, arbitration was required under the city's...

Verdicts & Settlements July 4, 2005: Barry County woman loses med-mal case against dentist.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's Verdict A dental patient, who claimed that she suffered a traumatic loss of her tooth and residual complications from a botched dental procedure, lost her Barry County case against her...

Verdicts & Settlements July 4, 2005: Whistleblower sues for emotional distress.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Verdict - $551,000 An employee, who blew the whistle on her boss for stealing at a not-for-profit, claimed retaliation and sued the organization for intentional infliction of emotional distress....

Verdicts & Settlements: Man settles case against convenience store chain.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Confidential settlement A man has settled his premises liability case with a gas station where he fell and broke his hip. Steven Fischer was a customer at a QuikTrip in St. Charles when, after...

Verdicts & Settlements July 4, 2005: Woman settles wrongful death suit against nursing home.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $325,000 settlement A woman has settled her wrongful death suit against the nursing home where her mother died. Rachel Clayter's mother, Rachel Robinson, became a patient at Saxton Woods Care...

Verdicts & Settlements July 4, 2005: Small award to woman who was pinned between two cars.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1,000 verdict A woman who was pinned between two parked cars has won her Boones County personal injury case. Mary Ann Fitzwilson was standing between two parked cars in a county park. Cee Ann...

Custodial dad can't modify New Mexico's custody order.(cases)
July 4, 2005... Byline: Geri L. Dreiling Even though a divorced father and his child lived in St. Louis for two years, a Missouri court did not have jurisdiction to consider the father's motion to modify the original custody decree entered in New Mexico...

U.S. Supreme Court rules cities may seize private property for development.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin Local governments may seize private property for public use even where the sole purpose is economic development, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision. Despite the ruling, takings issues are unclear in...

Dentist wins defense verdict in malpractice case.
July 4, 2005... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A dental patient, who claimed that she suffered a traumatic loss of her tooth and residual complications from a botched dental procedure, has lost her Barry County case against her dentist. Becky Bolton claimed...

MO Court of Appeals Western District rules compulsory counterclaim rule triggered by cross claims.(cases)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Aaron Brown Cross claims filed between co-defendants have the effect of making the defendants opposing parties and of triggering the compulsory-counterclaim rule, even when the cross claims are so-called permissive claims, the...

U.S. Supreme Court rules software manufacturers liable for inducing piracy.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin There has never been any doubt that people who download copyrighted material like movies and music were guilty of infringement. But with billions of users worldwide, the entertainment industry is targeting software...

Missouri Legal Briefs: July 18, 2005.(cases)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge Glenn A. Norton was elected Chief Judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District by a unanimous vote of the judges of the court. His term began on July 1. The chief judge is the chief...

Missouri businesses face major changes with workers' compensation law.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Missouri businesses will face major changes on Aug. 28 when the state's new workers' compensation reform measure officially becomes law. With that in mind, Associated Industries of Missouri (AIM) will...

Missouri Lawyers In The News: July 18, 2005.(Air Conservation Commission)(Stinson Morrison Hecker )
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Patricia A. Wilcox, an attorney with Weiss & Associates, has been appointed by Gov. Blunt to the Air Conservation Commission. This is an interim appointment and is subject to Senate confirmation for a...

MO attorney McCaine J. Zimmer, of Arnold, passes away at the age of 31.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff McCaine Joseph Zimmer, of Arnold, Mo., passed away July 4, 2005, at the Lake of the Ozarks. He was 31 years old. Born May 7, 1974, in Waterloo, Iowa, Mr. Zimmer obtained a Bachelors of Science...

U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Preemption - Eminent Domain - Right- Of-Way Where a city sought to acquire part of a railroad's right-of-way for use as a bike trail through eminent domain law, the Surface...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Animal Abuse Statute - Vagueness - Spoliation Of Evidence (1) Where 120 horses were seized from their owner because of abuse and neglect and some were later destroyed by the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Habeas Petition - Denial - Jurisdiction Where a party sought an appeal from the trial court's denial of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the party's remedy would be...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Rule 84.04 - Brief - Inadequate Where the brief of a pro se appellant failed to comply with the requirements of Rule 84.04(d) regarding points relied on and the statement of...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: July 18, 2005.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Motion To Compel - Unconscionable - Merchandising Practices Act Where a cellular telephone customer sued his service provider for allegedly improper charges under the Merchandising...

Verdicts & Settlements(July 18, 2005): SBC Yellow Pages to pay $21,692,980 in settlement.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $21,692,980 settlement Two companies settled a class action lawsuit with Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages after SBC started charging a late fee to advertising customers who failed to pay their bill on...

Verdicts & Settlements (July 18, 2005): $1M settlement for death in accident with 18-wheeler.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 Million Settlement The surviving family of an 85-year-old man, who was killed when a tractor-trailer collided with his pick-up truck, has settled their Jackson County wrongful death case against a...

Dallas County Circuit Court rules against plaintiffs in personal injury case.(Woodyard, et al v. Bolin)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's verdict Two people who were injured after losing control of their car have lost their Dallas County personal injury case against a truck driver who they claimed caused the accident. The...

MO Supreme Court rules dangerous road barrier placed by landowner may be held liable for injuries.(cases)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Aaron Brown Farmers who placed a dangerous road barrier on their property where they knew that trespassers "constantly" intruded could be held liable for injuries caused by the barrier to an adult trespasser, the Missouri Supreme...

Verdicts & Settlements (July 18, 2005): $399,999 awarded to patient's family from nursing home.
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $399,999 Settlement The estate of a 56-year-old man suffering from multiple sclerosis obtained a $399,000 settlement from a nursing home. The man had fractured his skull when he slipped from a...

Green County jury finds plaintiff and defendant equally at fault in auto accident.(cases)
July 18, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's verdict A Green County jury found two drivers equally at fault after an apparent act of road rage led to an accident. Marion C. Deaton alleged that Micheal Ashley intentionally struck...

How new tort reform laws will impact medical malpractice cases prompts uncertainty.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Geri L. Dreiling Predicting how the new tort reform laws will impact medical malpractice cases come Aug. 28 is a lot like trying to figure out where a hurricane will hit and how much damage it will leave in its wake. Like the...

American Bar Association advocates jury trial innovations.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Nora Lockwood Tooher In an endeavor that could affect millions of Americans called for jury duty each year, the American Bar Association has produced a progressive set of jury principles, aimed at increasing jury participation and...

Missouri lawyers begin to feel impact of changes to state's Medicaid program.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin In just over a month, sweeping changes to Missouri's Medicaid program will become effective. Elder Law attorney Lois M. Zerrer hosted an update on the changes for the Missouri Bar and urges lawyers to take a close...

St. Louis Bar Foundation elects Lori W. Jones president.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Lori W. Jones, an attorney with the firm of Thompson Coburn, and past president of The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, has been elected president of the St. Louis Bar Foundation. Since...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court - App. Panel Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Preference Action - Antecedent Debt - Settlement Agreement Where a landlord made a payment to a tenant 90 days before filing its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition and the payment was...

Federal courts in 2004 reduced number of citizens called for jury service and then rejected.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Federal courts in 2004 succeeded in reducing the number of citizens who were called for jury service, but then never got selected or challenged as part of the jury-selection process. The national...

Missouri Bar seeks nominations for three awards.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The Missouri Bar is seeking nominations for three awards to be presented at the tenth annual Missouri Lawyers' Assistance Conference. Nominations are open until August 15. The James T. Britt...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis Area Spencer Fane has added four attorneys to its St. Louis office. Deirdre C. Gallagher has joined the firm as a partner and her practice is focused on pharmaceutical and medical device...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 25, 2005: Lack of safety rail causes elderly customer to fall.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $975,000 settlement An elderly customer settled his premises liability case with a discount store where he fell before filing suit. Bennie Ferguson, 76, was shopping with his wife Lois at Dirty...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 25, 2005: Woman accuses St. Louis firm of legal malpractice.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's verdict A law firm successfully defended itself at jury trial against a legal malpractice lawsuit where the plaintiff claimed the firm failed to sell her late husband's stock options in...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 25, 2005: College student drops classes after car accident.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $100,000 settlement A Kansas City man has settled his personal injury case against a motorist after an automobile accident left the plaintiff with a broken arm. On July 16, 2004, James Bennett...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 25, 2005: Jury finds man injured in fall at fault.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's verdict A social guest who was injured after a fall has lost his premises liability case against the home owners. Carthel English was a social guest at the home of Mike and Tami...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Motion To Compel - Scope Of Clause Where a plaintiff filed a motion to compel arbitration in a dispute over an alleged breach of the parties' agreement and violation of a...

Verdicts & Settlements-July 25, 2005: Hospital found not liable for child's brain damage.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A nearly 7-year-old boy who suffered catastrophic brain damage at birth has lost his Greene County medical malpractice case against Lester E. Cox Medical Centers. Representatives for Jeremy Richards claimed that...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Specific Performance - Real Estate Sale - Statute Of Frauds (1) Where an agreement regarding a real estate sale failed to include the legal description of the property and was not...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Witness Tampering - Evidence - Sufficiency Where a defendant admitted he participated in phone calls threatening the life of an undercover narcotics officer, the state presented...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: July 25, 2005.
July 25, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 29.15 - Witness - Failure To Call Where a defendant convicted of robbery and armed criminal action claimed witness testimony would have provided a viable defense to the...