Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from July 2008

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from July 2008

Land case in Missouri leaves its mark.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The Missouri Supreme Court used one of its opinions from the first half of the year to hit a nerve on an already sensitive topic in the state: eminent domain. In a unanimous opinion that's worrying cities and...

Business-of-law cases in Missouri spike in first half of 2008.
July 7, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco When I was a law student working for Missouri Lawyers Weekly in 1991, I was told to dig for stories that would "help a lawyer make a buck." No digging has been necessary so far in 2008 because the appellate...

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch: BUD FIGHT.(Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.)
July 7, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole If InBev's first gambit to oust Anheuser-Busch's entire board of directors doesn't work, the Belgian brewer may have a few other options. In late June, the Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. board unanimously rejected the...

Missouri's judicial selection process removes the worst of politics.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Charlie J. Harris Jr. Dear Editor, On July 31, Judge N. Stephen Limbaugh Jr. will leave his seat on the Supreme Court of Missouri to accept his appointment to the federal bench. Our state courts will lose an excellent jurist....

Commentary: Expert witness selection vital to winning complicated cases.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Will Connaghan Expert witnesses can make or break many trials for both plaintiff and defense attorneys. In some cases there are gray areas that must be explained. The success of experts' testimonies may hinge on their ability to...

St. Louis estate planning firm Glick Finley: He Sues, She Sue.(Tom Glick and Karen Finley)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Tom Glick and Karen Finley were law school classmates, then friends who helped each other in their solo practices, then partners in St. Louis estate planning firm Glick Finley. But when Glick decided it was time to...

Future of arbitration clauses up in the air.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka Dorothy Lawrence did not sign an arbitration clause when she was admitted to Beverly Manor nursing home in Maryville. But the arbitration clause signed by the 87-year-old's daughter will be now be examined by the...

Kansas City partners' pocketbooks affected in possible merger.(Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus and Shughart Thompson & Kilroy)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The announcement last week of a possible merger of two large Kansas City firms could mean a partnership with a hefty combined revenue of $175 million. Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus and Shughart Thompson &...

Federally pre-empted cases could head to state courts in Missouri.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A federal appeals decision pits the ability of accident victims to find redress for injuries against the separation of powers between Congress and the judiciary. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said an...

AG race in Missouri picks up steam with first two TV spots.(attorney general)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Aaron Bailey The Democratic nomination race for attorney general just hit the television airwaves. Both Chris Koster and Jeff Harris rolled out 30-second campaign commercials last week in the St. Louis and Kansas City markets....

Missouri Supreme Court grants permission to riff on MAI.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco Among the 89 opinions summarized for this issue, Judge Michael Wolff's lesson on eliciting expert testimony caught my eye and should help attorneys hold the ears of jurors. In the Missouri Supreme Court's...

Mo. Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.(Missouri)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Directed Verdict - Statute Of Limitations - Submissibility Of Claims :(1) Where an administrative director and an office worker for a youth soccer association sued the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Standing - Party Not Identified - Credit Dispute Where a credit company sued to collect on a debt based on a credit agreement between a bank and consumer but the company's name...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Application For Review - Motor Vehicle Franchise Practices Act - New Franchise Location Where an auto dealer filed an application for review under the Motor Vehicle Franchise...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Retirement Fund Contributions - County Prosecutors - Equal Protection Where the retirement system for prosecuting and circuit attorneys challenged a disparity in compensation...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.(Brief article)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Defective Mortgage - Legal Description - Avoidability Where a mortgage company appealed a bankruptcy court order avoiding its claimed mortgage on the homestead of Chapter 7 debtors,...

U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: July 14, 2008.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative FRSA - Preemption - Minnesota Statute :Where railroads sought a declaratory judgment that a Minnesota statute was preempted by the Federal Railroad Safety Act, the Internal...

Fatal misdiagnosis was not malpractice, Jasper County jury.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A Jasper County jury has cleared a doctor of malpractice in a lawsuit accusing him of misdiagnosing chronic pulmonary emboli resulting in the death of a 28-year-old patient. In November 2001, Kenneth Lakhdar...

Commentary: The mark of a professional.
July 14, 2008... Byline: Maridee F. Edwards In days of yore, craftsmen placed their mark on all their wares. Above their shoppes, a unique symbol hung proudly proclaiming the identity of the master craftsman within. Protective of their reputation, nothing...

Commentary: Relationships make retaining lawyers worthwhile.(Column)
July 14, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll My perspective in these columns is that of the legal practitioner, but every so often it's useful to raise issues from the client's perspective. One such example recently came to me in the form of a question: From...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules no Fourth Amendment problem with arrest outside jurisdiction.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco A driver arrested by a city police officer who was outside of his jurisdiction could not show a violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, according to a decision...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District rules nightclub shooting falls under exclusion.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Will Connaghan Restaurants, bars and other similar venues buy insurance policies for a variety of reasons. With a steady flow of customers in and out, the potential exists for accidents, negligence and other causes of legal action....

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Jurisdiction - Voluntary Dismissal - Rule 67 1) Where a contract worker for a railroad who was injured when his chair collapsed sued the railroad, the trial court properly...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Pro Se Appellant - Frivolous Appeal - Sanctions Where a pro se appellant attempted to bring an action against an insurer in the absence of a judgment against the insured but...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Default Judgment - Incarceration Reimbursement Where an inmate appealed from a default judgment in favor of the state ordering the inmate to pay incarceration costs, the...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Judgments - Finality - Pending Issues Where the record indicated that a trial court did not consider a judgment to be final and the court did not resolve all issues between...

U.S. Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks and Banking Fraud - Feedlot Bankruptcy - RICO (1) Where cattle investors and corn producers who lost $1.7 million when a feedlot was placed in involuntary receivership and bankruptcy...

St. Louis City Circuit Court favors defendant, awarding $3,690 on counterclaim.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A St. Louis jury heard a personal injury lawsuit stemming from an auto accident and ruled in favor of the woman being sued. Herbert Palmer and Diana Braxton collided in a November 2004 car crash in St. Louis. Palmer...

St. Louis County Circuit Court rules tenant awarded $2M in fraudulent transfer.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley An office building owner won a $2 million lawsuit against one of its tenants that initiated a fraudulent transfer to avoid paying its rent. The plaintiff, 8000 Maryland, owned a Clayton office building in which...

Insurer reaches settlement in Jackson County Circuit Court with mother of shooting victim.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Bridget Heos Gerald McAdoo was a 17-year-old kid from the city set to play football in college. Then, in January 2003, he was watching a fight outside Club Liquid near Union Station in St. Louis, where somebody fired a gun into the...

Parents recover $1.1M in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Mo. for son's fatal shooting.(Missouri)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale The parents of a man who was shot and killed by a Lincoln County deputy sheriff during a traffic stop have reached a $1.1 million settlement. Tyler Teasley, 22, was out with five friends celebrating one of their...

Family settles in Boone County Circuit Court after surgical patient suffocates.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale The estranged children of a man who suffocated on the operating table after an anesthesiologist failed to insert a ventilation tube have settled their Boone County wrongful death claim for $170,000. Although the...

Heirs of a St. Louis woman's estate settle estate dispute, splitting $350K among them.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese After fighting in court over the division of a St. Louis woman's estate, her heirs have reached a settlement. Grace Rand died in June 2006. A will dated from November 2005 was later filed with the St. Louis Probate...

Heart group found not at fault for patient's death in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Kathleen Kearns placed the blame for her husband's death on Metro Heart Group of St. Louis. A jury disagreed. Kearns' husband, Thomas, went to St. John's Mercy Hospital because of symptoms he was...

Commentary: A dose of logic needed for drugstore law.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Dan Margolies Noodling around the Internet the other day to see if I could find any parallels to the plight of a Smithville restaurant I'd been writing about, I came across a striking instance, albeit one that happened in Great...

Captured Online: Frank and Jesse James.(www.missouridigitalheritage.com)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Historical court document junkies have a new set of online papers to give them their fixes. Anyone who wants to read about Frank and Jesse James allegedly "feloniously wilfully deliberately premeditatedly on...

St. Louis-based CofmanTownsley partners opt for shorter commute.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole After 34 years in the city of St. Louis, plaintiffs' firm CofmanTownsley is heading for Clayton. The firm with the lion logo will take up residence at the 200 S. Hanley Building on July 31. CofmanTownsley has a...

Disbarment in Missouri: Discipline Corner.(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Overland Park, Kan., attorney Daniel Markowitz was disbarred in Missouri after he gave up his Kansas license, saying he was suffering from personal problems, depression and mental health issues that would prevent him...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: July 21, 2008.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Belleville, Ill.-based law firm Mathis, Marifian, Richter & Grandy opened an office at 277 E. Walnut in Nashville, Ill. The office offers a full range of services with special emphasis on real estate,...

Property owner wins $2.8M in eminent domain case in St. Louis court.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley A St. Louis jury has awarded $2.8 million to a man in his eminent domain case against St. Louis, where his property was taken for a proposed entertainment district. In 1999, Bill Simon of Alton, Ill., bought 2...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly wins 22 state, national journalism awards.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Missouri Lawyers Weekly has been honored this month with 22 journalism awards from separate contests conducted by the National Newspaper Association and the Missouri Press Foundation. The paper won...

Eastern District defines civil action.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Bryan Utter Most attorneys, when they hear the words "a civil action," probably think of a whole lawsuit. According to the Eastern District Court of Appeals, it can be just a portion of a lawsuit. The court addressed whether a...

Southern District decision extends employee rights under work comp law.(workers' compensation)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Bryan Utter Workers' compensation protections just got a boost from the Southern District Court of Appeals. The appellate court's July 9 opinion in Meyers v. Wildcat Materials, Inc. extends the rights of employees to be...

Lawyers' contributions favor Harris in AG race in Missouri.(Jeff Harris; attorney general)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese and Scott Lauck In the quest to be the state's next top lawyer, Jeff Harris has one decided advantage he used to work at Bryan Cave, and the state's largest firm is also the race's biggest source of legal donations....

Candidates tout experience as they jostle for AG spot in Missouri.(attorney general)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka Experience both political and legal is the main rallying point for Democratic Missouri attorney general candidates just weeks before they face off in the primary election. Below are profiles of the four major...

Meet the Candidates in Missouri.(judicial selection)(Brief article)
July 21, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Margaret Donnelly Richmond Heights Age: 54 Legal experience: Family and juvenile law attorney, St. Louis; guardian ad litem, St. Louis County Government experience: Elected to state...

Malpractice claim against St. Louis-based Lashly & Baer settled.
July 21, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Lashly & Baer wanted $215,000 in legal fees from former clients. The clients figured they had a $2 million malpractice counterclaim. A settlement agreement reached July 8 didn't approach either of those figures....

Anheuser-Busch Lawyer Mark Bobak: The $6M Lawyer.(Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.)(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Anheuser-Busch legal consultant Mark Bobak made $6.4 million this month. That's the amount Bobak's nearly 1.3 million stock options jumped in worth when Belgian brewer InBev's sweetened the $70 a share offer for...

St. Louis-based Greensfelder eyes Chicago.(Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale )(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale is considering expanding beyond the St. Louis area for the first time and opening an office in Chicago. The firm is negotiating with a lateral candidate in the area and is committed to...

Discipline Corner: Missouri attorneys.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Attorney Paul Scott King Jr., the former owner of two St. Louis nurses' temp agencies, was disbarred June 24 after earlier pleading guilty to federal felony tax charges. King was sentenced to 33 months in the federal...

Missouri Lawyers in the News July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips announced Jodi J. Fox joined the firm's workers compensation defense practice group in Kansas City office as an associate. Fox began her practice in Oklahoma and now also...

8th U.S. Circuit rules shackles OK for inmate in labor.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco An inmate who was shackled to her hospital bed for most of her labor was not subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held this week. In Nelson v. Correctional...

Commentary: Why eminent domain is so often condemned.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Will Connaghan Condemnation cases have been in the news ever since the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in the Kelo lawsuit in 2005. The Missouri Supreme Court also got in the game this past year with its decisions in the...

What makes a good attorney general in Missouri?
July 28, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The four Democratic candidates facing off next week for Jay Nixon's seat as attorney general should know this: it's a great gig but not for the faint of heart. Former top aides and unit chiefs for the state's...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District: In brief: cut words.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Scott Lauck Legal briefs get a bad rap. Even the Missouri Supreme Court's Web page says they are "ironically called 'briefs.' " Starting next year, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District will do something about them....

Supreme Court of Missouri Judge Limbaugh offers way to circumvent Schoemehl ruling.(Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr.)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Last week, when the Missouri Supreme Court decided to limit the reach of a year-old precedent giving Second Injury Fund disability benefits to the surviving dependents of dead workers, Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr....

Talk of moving to Clayton gives firms leverage.(Armstrong Teasdale L.L.P. and Thompson Coburn L.L.P.)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole It may not be easy for Armstrong Teasdale and Thompson Coburn to take the step to new developments in Clayton, but they can gain leverage with their landlords by looking. Thompson Coburn is seriously considering a...

8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules switched-at-birth plaintiff can't sue hospital for mistake.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The St. Louis-based federal appeals court has shut down a medical malpractice suit brought by two South Dakota women who sued a federal hospital 60 years after they were switched at birth. Growing up, Beverly...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Tobacco Escrow Fund - Cigarette Seizure - Authority Where the Director of Revenue seized cigarettes from a retailer and petitioned for forfeiture based on its determination that...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Inadequate Brief - Rule 84.04 Where deficiencies existed in each part of an appellants' brief and reply brief, the briefs failed to comply with Rule 84.04 and the trial...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Teacher Termination - Notice - Timeliness Of Appeal Where a teacher appealed from a decision of a school board to terminate her, the teacher's appeal was timely because she filed...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: July 28, 2008.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Agriculture Crop Disaster Payments - Group Risk Plan - Benefit Calculation Where a farmer who suffered weather-related losses to his alfalfa crop applied for benefits from the FSA under the...

Commentary: Making Your Case: Adding structure to your settlements.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese You've labored for years over a complicated medical malpractice lawsuit. Your injured client and the hospital involved are this close to reaching a reasonable settlement. Now a consultant shows up and suggests using a...

Commentary: Making Your Case: Attorney options in covering costs.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese As litigation costs continue to rise, more and more lawyers and law firms are examining the best way to cover expenses in ongoing lawsuits. The traditional method still a common one for many in Missouri is for the...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: David Barnard.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Ideas, business attractive mix David Barnard, 37 Lathrop & Gage, member University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Intellectual Property David Barnard dedicates his practice to making sure...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Todd Bartels.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Litigator thriving in front of jury Todd Bartels, 39 Shughart Thomson & Kilroy, shareholder University of Missouri-Columbia Commercial litigation Todd Bartels' case files read like a "Who's...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Nicole Colbert-Botchway.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Driven to work for families Nicole Colbert-Botchway, 36 Missouri Attorney General's Office Saint Louis University Family Support Law Public service has been Nicole Colbert-Botchway's mantra...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Kevin F. Hormuth.(Brief article)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Joy Byrd Litigator and author Kevin F. Hormuth, 38 Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, officer Creighton University Litigation Sitting behind a desk is not Kevin Hormuth's style. The litigator enjoys being in the...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Jonathan Marks.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Family law attorney's work has generational effects Jonathan Marks, 37 The Marks Law Firm, managing attorney University of Missouri-Columbia Family Law Jonathan Marks is building a reputation...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Daniel Nelson.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Put election machines in spotlight Daniel Nelson, 32 Western District of Missouri, executive assistant U.S. attorney University of Virginia Law School Government Criminals committing fraud in...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Adam Seitz.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Intellectual Property attorney basks in big win Adam Seitz, 31 Shook, Hardy & Bacon, associate University of Kansas Intellectual Property Law Adam Seitz made history in late 2007 as part of a...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Amit Shah.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Determined to set a national example Amit Shah, 37 Armstrong Teasdale, partner University of Iowa College of Law Corporate, Real Estate and Transactional Law For Amit Shah, improving law firm...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly's Up and Coming Lawyers: Leon Versfeld.(Versfeld & Hugo)
July 28, 2008... Byline: Julia M. Johnson Globalization, one law firm office at a time Leon Versfeld, 33 Versfeld & Hugo, managing member University of Pretoria, South Africa Immigration law Leon Versfeld applies a global perspective...

Jackson County jury awards almost $5M to fired doctor.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A doctor who once directed neonatal intensive care units for two Kansas City-area hospitals recently received a $4.95 million verdict for his allegations of wrongful interference and defamation. A Jackson County...

Family reaches settlement in hit-and-run accident in St. Louis County.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Angela Riley The family of the tow-truck driver who was killed by a truck driver in a hit-and-run accident settled a St. Louis County wrongful death suit for $4.87 million against the driver's employer. On April 30, 2007, the...

Eminent domain battle ends with $265K verdict in Schuyler County Circuit Court.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A farming family has recovered $265,000 in its eminent domain battle with the state. The family claimed damage to its farm after a portion was taken by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to make way...

Law firm in St. Louis settles breach of contract suit, malpractice counterclaim.
July 28, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole After depositions of key witnesses, Lashly & Baer and two of the St. Louis law firm's former clients were determined to settle a lawsuit over unpaid legal bills, according to the clients' lawyer. Under the terms of...