Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from June 2005

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from June 2005

Employment claims shift to Missouri state courts.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin The shift from federal to state courts has presented a new group of obstacles for attorneys practicing in the ever changing area of employment law. Legislators amended the Missouri Human Rights Act two years...

MO Court of Appeals Western District rules law firm must pay finder's fee for unlicensed attorney.(William H. Pickett, P.C)
June 6, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin Although a personnel-staffing company breached its contract when it provided an unlicensed attorney to a Kansas City law firm, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled the law firm must pay for the...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Driver's License DWI - Probable Cause - Admission Where a trial court found that a driver who was involved in a one-car accident did not have slurred speech, alcohol on his breath, bloodshot...

Rape victim wins $6M in Greene County clergy case.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A choir director who claimed that she was raped by a Methodist pastor has won $6 million in her Greene County "intentional failure to supervise clergy" case against the church's supervisory authority. The woman...

LegalMatch debuts Financial Services Group to help small law firms grow practices.(Brief Article)
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff LegalMatch, America's leading online attorney/client matching service, announced the debut of its Financial Services Group, which will provide a series of offerings that can help small law firms and...

Lawyers Association of St. Louis elects new officers.(Brief Article)
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The Lawyers Association of St. Louis recently held its annual election of officers. Robert E. Tucker was elected president of the association. Tucker is an associate with Goffstein, Raskas,...

16th Circuit Court's Presiding Judge J.D. Williamson wants courts to work more effectively.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff As the son of an Independence businessman, J.D. Williamson, Jr. had intentions of joining the family concrete operation when he was younger. He prepared himself by studying business at the University of...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis Area Lalii A. Chin has joined the law firm of Williams Venker & Sanders LLC as an associate. Her primary practice will be in the defense of personal injury lawsuits, including products...

Verdicts & Settlements-June 6, 2005: Highway patrol trooper loses toxic tort case.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendants' Verdict A former highway patrol trooper who claimed that he was contaminated with toxic substances during a traffic stop has lost his Platte County toxic tort case against the waste...

Verdicts & Settlements-June 6, 2005: Intentional failure to supervise case nets $6M verdict.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A woman who claimed that she was raped by a Methodist pastor has won $6 million in her Greene County intentional failure to supervise clergy case against the church's supervisory authority. Teresa...

Verdicts & Settlements-June 6, 2005: Seller of company compels buyer to pay up.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The seller of an insurance agency has won $905,452 in his St. Louis County suit against the buyer to compel payment. Since 1974, Tom Miles through the Miles Ahead Limited Partnership owned the...

Verdicts & Settlements-June 6, 2005: Widow of unattended hospital patient wins $211,337.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The widow of a patient who died after falling out of a hospital bed has won a $422,081 verdict in her Jackson County medical negligence case against the doctor and has settled with the hospital for a...

St. Louis attorney William Moench to speak on trends in employment law.(Brief Article)
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The ever evolving practice of employment law can be arduous even for attorneys who specialize in the field. St. Louis attorney William Moench will be talking about technical differences and recent...

MO Court of Appeals' Eastern District rules man abused 25 yrs. earlier could sue for sex abuse.(Chaminade College Preparatory Inc.)
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Advocates for sex abuse victims cheered last week's decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District which ruled that a man who repressed memories of abuse for about 25 years could still sue...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Student Loan - Dischargeability - Available Income Where a debtor had income available to make payments on her student loans, the bankruptcy court's discharge of the loans must be...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Murder - Counsel - Effectiveness Where a murder defendant sentenced to death brought a postconviction motion claiming that his trial counsel was ineffective, counsel's advice to...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Robbery - Evidence - Sufficiency Where a police officer testified in a robbery case that an interview with the victim led him to a first suspect who implicated the defendant, the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Change Of Judge - Second Petition - Rule 75.01 Where plaintiffs who sought injunctive relief against a mayor filed a second petition under a new case number and did not seek...

The risks involved with office sharing may outweigh the advantages.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin Sharing an office can seem a simple way for two solo practitioners to ease economic burdens, but office mates chatting at the water cooler could end up sharing more than they intended and even find themselves named...

Defense attorneys notch victory in Platte County toxic tort case.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A former highway patrol trooper who claimed that he was contaminated with toxic chemicals during a traffic stop has lost his Platte County toxic tort case against the waste generator and transporter. The man...

MO Court of Appeals' Western District rules parties may modify a release to its original intent.(cases)
June 13, 2005... Byline: Ann Phillilps Corrigan Parties may reform or modify a release of liability to its original intent when the release fails to accurately reflect the settling parties' agreement, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District ruled....

Washington University students honored.(Brief Article)
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Judge Phillip R. Garrison, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and chair of its National Trial Competition (NTC) Committee, officially presented Washington University School of Law...

New green card filing process.(Brief Article)
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) forwarded to the Federal Register last week a notice announcing that aliens must mail applications to renew or replace Permanent Resident Cards,...

MO Sentencing Advisory Commission to host free web-based seminars.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission (MOSAC) will host two free live training web-based seminars on Criminal Sentencing. Join the Honorable Michael A. Wolff, Supreme Court of Missouri, for one of...

MO Lawyers in the News: June 13, 2005.(Brief Article)
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis Area Edwin S. (Ned) Fryer, a St. Louis partner with Bryan Cave, was featured in the May 20 edition of the St. Louis Business Journal for his work as a paramedic. He is a member of the...

Commentary: Unnecessary highway stops and detention.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Dee Wampler Our courts continue to wrestle with the question of how long a motorist can be detained along a highway. The motorist is understandably anxious and desirous of continuing on the journey. The police officer is naturally...

Commentary: Corporate criminal frenzy threatens to erode attorney-client relationship.
June 13, 2005... Byline: J. Bennett Clark The public furor that accompanied the financial problems of Enron and other companies triggered a predictable political response. Sweeping new rules governing corporate criminal conduct were adopted, with...

Verdicts & Settlements June 13, 2005: Man falls in grocery store parking lot.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.15 Million Settlement A patron who fell in a grocery store parking lot has settled his Greene County premises liability case against the store owner and a paving company for $1.15 million. On...

Apartment owner loses negligence case in St. Louis County Circuit Court.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendants' Verdict The owner of an apartment complex that sustained flood damage has lost its St. Louis County negligent failure to procure insurance case against an insurance broker and his employer....

Verdicts & Settlements June 13, 2005: Woman killed in traffic accident.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $287,000 Settlement Relatives of a passenger who was killed in a car accident have settled their Jefferson County case against both drivers and the Missouri Highway Transportation Commission for...

U.S. Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Attorney Discipline- State Proceeding - Abstention Doctrine Where an attorney brought a civil rights action against the Arkansas Supreme Court judges and the judicial discipline...

MO Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Paternity Judgment - Child Support - Attorney's Fees (1) Where a father brought a motion to modify the amount of child support he was ordered to pay to the mother of his...

MO Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 29.15 - Findings - Failure To Make Where a motion court dismissed a defendant's Rule 29.15 motion for failure to prosecute without issuing findings of fact and conclusions of...

MO Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative PSC - Jurisdiction - Judicial Review- Where a trial court granted a writ prohibiting the Public Service Commission from pursuing a complaint filed by the Director of the...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Employer - Employee EEOC Filing - Timeliness - Equitable Tolling Where an air traffic controller who brought age and sex discrimination claims against an employer based on failure to rehire...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Appellate Panel Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge - Injunction - Violation Where a defendant delivered a copy of a pleading to the prosecuting attorney in connection with a bankruptcy action, the defendant did not violate...

Missouri Supreme Court Decisions: June 20, 2005.(cases)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Judicial Review - PSC - 'Interested Parties' Where natural gas distribution companies filed a petition for review in the circuit court of the Public Service Commission's action...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Notice Of Appeal - Non-Attorney Filing - Timeliness Where an appellant filed a notice of appeal outside of the 10-day period following the date the judgment became final, the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Child Molestation - Evidence - Sufficiency Even though the trial testimony of a child molestation victim contradicted her out-of-court statements, the contradictions involved...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Notice Of Appeal - Timeliness - Jurisdiction Where a father filed his notice of appeal in a termination of parental rights case more than 10 days after the judgment became...

Verdicts & Settlements June 20, 2005: Settlement from Ford for teen with traumatic brain injury.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Confidential Settlement A driver who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident has settled her St. Louis City case against the other driver and the automobile manufacturer for a...

Verdicts & Settlements June 20, 2005: Drunk driver settles case for $1.6M.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.6 Million Settlement Two people injured in a drunk driving accident have settled their Boone County dram shop case against the other driver and the entertainment venue serving the alcohol for...

Verdicts & Settlements June 20, 2005: Fall leads to hip replacement and $300K settlement.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $300,000 Settlement A woman who fell in the lobby of her office building has settled her Jackson County case against the building owner, management company and maintenance company for $300,000. ...

Verdicts & Settlements June 20, 2005: Ins. co. pays for preexisting condition worsened by accident.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $115,000 Verdict A man has won $100,000 in his personal injury case against his insurance company. Bobby Stevens, who had worked as a cement finisher doing heavy labor for more than 25 years,...

Verdicts & Settlements June 20, 2005: Woman loses sexual harassment case against Kansas City.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendants' verdict A woman has lost her employment discrimination and sexual harassment case against the Kansas City Department of Parks and Recreation. Patricia Powell, a probationary...

Women Lawyers' Assn. of Greater St. Louis focuses on family law.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Protecting some of Missouri's most vulnerable citizens indigent parents and their children was the topic on every tongue at the Women Lawyers' Association of Greater St. Louis' half-day seminar,...

National trial certification examination to be held in Jefferson City in October.(Brief Article)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA), a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Bar Association to certify attorneys as specialists in the areas of civil, criminal and family law trial...

International law firm Bryan Cave honored.(Brief Article)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The international law firm Bryan Cave is ranked No. 1 for corporate work and general commercial litigation in Missouri, and for corporate work among mid-sized firms in New York. The rankings are...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis Area Laura E. O'Sullivan is the new Assistant District Defender in the St. Louis City Public Defender's Office. *** Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal has added Paul F. Devine as a...

Soldier wins probate battle in Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Aaron Brown A probate court erred in denying a former soldier's attempt to file his father's will in a case in which the father had died more than one year earlier, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled in a...

Missouri Court of Appeals agrees that jury shouldn't have heard joke about dying.(Bratco Inc.)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Geri L. Dreiling When a guest who was fixing an air conditioner on a boat joked, "Watch, we're going to sit here and die from carbon monoxide poisoning," the guest and three others on board could not have known that an exhaust pipe...

Missouri Lawyers Weekly names John DeMoor as new editor.(Brief Article)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff John DeMoor has been named editor of Missouri Lawyers Weekly. A graduate of South Texas College of Law, DeMoor is licensed in Missouri and the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. ...

St. Louis plaintiff settles product liability case against Ford.(Sarai Slaughter)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A 17-year-old girl who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident has settled her St. Louis City case against the other driver and Ford Motor Company for a confidential amount. Sarai Slaughter suffered...

Missouri Supreme Court agrees that ex-wife could not collect stock proceeds after ten years.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Amanda Tinnin A husband did not owe his former wife money from stock option sales because the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that he had a substantive right to be free of claims under the 10-year presumption of payments and that the...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Enforceability - Lack Of Mutuality - Choice Of Law Where a defendant in a fraud action argued for the enforceability of an arbitration provision but failed to argue for the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court - Appellate Panel - Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Attorney - Disqualification - Fees Where a Chapter 11 debtor filed an application to retain an attorney as counsel for the estate and the attorney also represented debtor's owners...

Missouri Supreme Court Decisions: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 29.15 - Counsel - Effectiveness Where a defendant in a murder case argued that his counsel was ineffective for multiple reasons including counsel's failure to call witnesses...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Motion To Compel - Scope - Tort Claims Where an auto dealer brought products liability, negligence and res ipsa loquitur claims against an auto manufacturer after a new car caught...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Remedies - Failure To Exhaust - Rule 84.04 Where a prisoner brought a pro se appeal from a trial court's denial of his petition for a restraining order against the Department of...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Inmate Classification - Transfer - Prisoner Suit Where a prisoner sought an injunction preventing the Department of Corrections from apply a new inmate classification policy to...

Missouri Bar asking private-practice attorneys to volunteer as public defenders.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Missouri lawyers in private practice are being asked to voluntarily accept cases from the nearest public defender's office. The volunteer lawyers will temporarily relieve some of the pressure on the...

Bryan Cave attorneys author fifth editon of Missouri Corporation Law and Practice.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bryan Cave Attorneys Charles Hansen and Don G. Lents have authored a fifth edition of the popular Missouri Corporation Law and Practice. "The treatise provides a thorough background for Missouri...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: June 27, 2005.(appointments)
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis Area David G. Asmus has joined Hinshaw & Culbertson as a partner. He will lead the business transaction group for the St. Louis region offices of the firm. Ashley L. Narsutis is also...

Verdicts & Settlements June 27, 2005: Union Pacific settles with victims of train crash.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Confidential settlement Plaintiff filed a wrongful death and negligence lawsuit against Union Pacific when the company's locomotive struck her vehicle, injuring her, two of her children and killing...

Verdicts & Settlements June 27, 2005: Parents of man killed in trucking accident settle case.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.5 million settlement Greg Mills, a 27-year-old resident of Seneca, Mo., was killed on Dec. 4, 2003 when the automobile he was driving was hit by another motorist in a head on collision. The...

Verdicts & Settlements June 27, 2005: Grandmother wins securities claim at arbitration.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $376,008 Award An elderly grandmother and her two sons filed a securities claim against their broker and brokerage firm, Stifel Nicolaus, for engaging in unsuitable and inappropriate investments. An...

verdicts & Settlements June 27, 2005: Social guest loses premises liability claim.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's Verdict A Miller County, Mo., jury found a homeowner not liable for an injury sustained by his social guest. The plaintiff was a social guest at the home of defendant on the...

Verdicts & Settlements June 27, 2005: Psychiatric group wins federal discrimination suit.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's verdict A worker who claimed she was illegally discriminated against because of her pregnancy has lost her federal lawsuit. Renita Simmons was employed by Kansas City Psychiatric...

Verdict & Settlement June 27, 2005: Woman wins her personal injury case after being rear ended.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $151,000 verdict A woman who suffered a herniated disc after being rear ended won nearly $175,000 in her case against the other motorist. Cher Sulsberger was rear ended on Highway 7 in Benton...

Verdicts & Settlements June 27, 2005: Teen wins $8.5M products case against vaccine manufacturer.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A teenager who claimed he contracted polio from the vaccine he received as an infant has won $8.5 million in his St. Louis City case against the vaccine manufacturer. Within days of receiving a second dose of the...

Missouri court rules that future life insurance proceeds can fund trust.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Geri L. Dreiling The challenge to a popular estate planning strategy creating a trust to receive future life insurance proceeds was rejected last week by the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District. A decedent's children...

Missouri Supreme Court's new documents retention rule clears lawyers' confusion.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Amanda C. Tinnin Attorneys that have racked up expenses by storing years worth of documents in warehouses now have a new 10-year retention rule that curbs piling up paperwork and the costs associated with it. The Missouri...