Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2002

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2002

Verdicts & settlements: May 6, 2002: nail salon pays $140K over infected finger.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Stephanie S. Maniscalco A Kansas City woman whose fingertip became infected -- and was later amputated -- after a visit to a nail salon has settled her negligence lawsuit for $140,000. The salon had been cited numerous times by...

Missouri Lawyers In The News: May 6, 2002.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis attorney Joseph F. Hipskind Jr. has become a partner in the law firm of Stinson, Mag & Fizzell. He practices in the Corporate Department and is a member of the Sports Law and Real Estate...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: May 6, 2002.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Nursing Home - Death Of Patient - Injunction Where the Attorney General filed an action for an injunction against a nursing home after the death of a patient who strangled on a...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: May 6, 2002.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Rule 84.04 - Briefs - Inadequate Where both husband and wife appealed portions of their divorce decree, both briefs were inadequate under Rule 84.04 in that: husband's brief...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: May 6, 2002.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Class Action - Standing Where a plan subscriber as representative of a class of subscribers to Blue Cross/Blue Shield intervened in a proceeding between the State and BC/BS...

United States Court Of Appeals 8th Circuit Court Case Summaries: May 6, 2002.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks And Banking Depository Bank - Negligence - Negotiable Instruments Where individuals fraudulently induced the plaintiffs to transfer funds to them by checks that were deposited in...

St. Joseph Girl Finds Mouse On Ritz?
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff "Snack time" took on a whole new meaning for a St. Joseph girl, who found a dead mouse inside a package of Ritz crackers that she opened at school. Now that her family has consulted an attorney, the...

Missouri Attorneys Get Hyper.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Many people may be surprised to learn that a "hyperbrief" is not the last-minute work product created by frenzied attorneys who managed to meet a filing deadline with 30 seconds to spare. It is...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Southern District Rules Jurors Were Prohibited From Asking Follow - Ups.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A trial judge who allowed a juror to submit a question for an expert witness committed reversible error when he refused to allow two follow-up juror questions, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Southern District has...

Mo. COA Western District Rules Plaintiff Won Only One Count But Gets Full Attorney's Fees.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Where a woman won a $12,000 judgment against a car dealer on a federal odometer fraud claim, she could recover $47,000 in attorney's fees even though she lost on three state court claims, the Missouri Court of...

8th Circuit Rules UCC Didn't Preempt Negligence Suit Vs. Bank.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Individuals who claimed that checks drawn on their accounts were fraudulent had negligence claims against the banks that accepted them for deposit, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The banks...

Commentary: Outside Interests.
May 6, 2002... Byline: Stephanie S. Maniscalco >Spring is a good season for the cultivation of Outside Interests. Lawyers, many of whom spend a lot of time cultivating In-door Borings, should be especially keen on developing new pastimes or hobbies...

Verdicts & settlements: May 13, 2002: doctors did not report abuse, hit for $2M.(Missouri)
May 13, 2002... Byline: Stephanie S. Maniscalco A $2 million verdict against two doctors who did not report signs of abuse suffered by a baby girl could be a harbinger of many similar judgments against health care professionals, experts say. State law...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: May 13, 2002.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge - Fraudulent Conveyance - 'Alter Ego' Even though a judgment debtor sought and received a discharge in bankruptcy from the judgment debt after he had fraudulently...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: May 13, 2002.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Rule 81.12 - Record On Appeal - Inadequate Where a bonding company appealed a forfeiture judgment against it on the basis that it did not receive proper notice, the record on...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: May 13, 2002.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Personal Guaranty - Signature - Ambiguity Even though a credit application and guaranty agreement appeared on a single page and the application at the top was not signed, an owner of...

United States Court Of Appeals 8th Circuit Court Case Summaries: May 13, 2002.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Pre- Filing Transfers - Gambling Debts - Good Faith Where a casino granted extensive credit through its "marker' system to a lawyer in the year prior to his involuntary bankruptcy...

Commentary: which legal research option is right for you?
May 13, 2002... Byline: Michael M. Bowden When it comes to comprehensive online legal research, the only games in town used to be Westlaw and Lexis, two premium services that some solos and small firms might perceive as being geared toward megafirm needs...

Cover Up In Overland Park.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Plan on running naked through Overland Park this weekend? Well, you'd better think again. On May 9, the Kansas City Star reported that Overland Park has issued new regulations that ban nudity in...

Kansas Supreme Court Rules $1.2M Cow Verdict Affirmed.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Last week the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed a $1.2 million verdict in a case tried by Kansas City attorney Lon Walters, reversing an appellate court ruling. The case involved a wrongful death and...

Richmond Attorney Dick B. Dale Jr. Dies.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Richmond attorney Dick B. Dale Jr. died April 26 after a heart attack. He was 76. Dale had practiced for 50 years in Richmond. He served as Ray County prosecuting attorney, as a state...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District Rules Sovereign Immunity Waived By Insurance.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A fire district waived sovereign immunity against an employee who claimed he was fired for filing a workers' compensation case, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District has ruled. This was because the...

Big Corporate Firm Gets $4.5M Award For PI Client.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway A man whose ankle was crushed by a tour bus settled his St. Louis City case against the bus company for $4.5 million. Plaintiff Kevin Kister was standing behind the Tiger Air Express bus when it suddenly...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District Rules Fraud Claim OK After Discharge In Bankruptcy.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Even though a debtor received a discharge in bankruptcy from a judgment lien after he had fraudulently transferred his assets to third parties from the corporation he owned, the creditor could still sue the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Appellate Panel Case Summaries: May 13, 2002.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead - Discharge - Claim Of Violation Where the trustee for a husband in bankruptcy attempted to liquidate the marital home in which husband could not establish a homestead for...

The Viability Of Voice Recognition Software For Lawyers.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Michael M. Bowden According to Stanley Kubrick's vision in the 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey," we were supposed to be sending people to Jupiter by now, using shipboard computers that understand and interact with the human...

Verdicts & Settlements May 13, 2002: Archdiocese Filed Private Condemnation Suit.
May 13, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $300,000 Verdict The Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a petition seeking a way of strict necessity over property owned by the Kensington Homeowners' Association in St. Charles County at the...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 20, 2002.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sexual Predator - New Instruction Approved - 'Serious Difficulty Controlling' Where the State sought the commitment of two men convicted of violent sexual crimes against children...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: May 20, 2002.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Notice Of Appeal - Timeliness - Docket Fee Even though the parents in a termination of parental rights case claimed that they filed their notice of appeal within time, where...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: May 20, 2002.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Malpractice Action - Summary Judgment - Question Of Law Where a man sued his former attorneys who had represented him in an earlier lawsuit and claimed that they committed malpractice...

Kansas City Attorney Testifies Before House.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff On May 14, Kansas City attorney Bruce R. Hopkins, of Polsinelli Shalton & Welte, testified at a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Oversight hearing to review...

Boone County Bar Association Bench-Bar Dinner: The Uncontested Divorce.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The 70 lawyers and judges who attended the Boone County Bar Association Bench-Bar Dinner on April 10 were treated to a great meal and comedy routines by attorneys Joe Moseley, Gary Oxenhandler and Doug...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Southern District Rules Obesity Of Worker Was Disability After Injury.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Even though a worker's morbid obesity did not hinder his job performance before he hurt his back, it became a disability covered by workers' compensation after the back injury, the Labor and Industrial Relations...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Eastern District Rules Legal - Mal Judge, Not Jury, To Decide Question Of Law.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Where a legal malpractice plaintiff claimed his attorney should have pleaded the statute of frauds in the underlying breach of contract lawsuit, this issue should be decided by the judge in the malpractice case and...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District Rules Damages For Emotional Distress OK In FLSA Case.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A worker who was fired after complaining that his company was not paying overtime could recover emotional distress damages in his federal Fair Labor Standards Act case for retaliatory discharge, the Missouri Court...

Toxic Mold Claims Are Skyrocketing In Missouri.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Insurance claims for toxic mold injuries have exploded in Missouri recently, and attorneys handling the cases say they are eagerly awaiting guidance from the state courts on some of the novel legal issues...

Mo. Dept. of Labor & Industrial Relations Comm. Case Summaries: May 20, 2002.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Back Injury - Later Fall - Compensation Where worker injured her back at work and then three days later slipped on ice and injured her hip, the medical testimony was...

Commentary: Projectile Status.
May 20, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Like many law students, I used to view law enforcement issues through the eyes of what could be described as a bleeding heart liberal. At least that was the term chosen by my Southern Republican, Rush...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: May 27, 2002.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Drug Manufacture - Precursor Chemical - Evidence Where defendant consented to a search of his residence by police who had received an anonymous tip regarding drug activity at the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: May 27, 2002.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Moot Case - Reversal Where a business that had applied for a city restaurant license in order to serve alcohol on Sunday had relinquished its control of the establishment while...

United States Court Of Appeals 8th Circuit Court Case Summaries: May 27, 2002.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Contract - State Law - Conflict Even though a terminated service agent of a national company claimed that it was a franchisee with specific rights under the Arkansas Franchise...

St. Louis City Circuit Court rules gift in trust didn't lapse after charity was closed.(Missouri)
May 27, 2002... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Where a dentist left his assets in trust to a university for the "exclusive use" of its dental school alumni fund -- and the university closed the dental school after the trust was established -- the trust assets...

Commentary: A Couple Of Hours With Some Old Friends.
May 27, 2002... Byline: David L. Yas L.A. Law." It was David Kelley's implausibly glamorized vision of the legal world, and it got people excited to be lawyers like no other show before it. It taught us that lawyers were smart, passionate and sexy. It...

Clayton Attorney Reaches Out To 'Good Priests'.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff In response to the widespread negative publicity surrounding priest sex abuse scandals, Clayton attorney Gerry Hempstead has started a parish-based, grass roots movement called Laity for Clergy to reach...

Clayton Law Firm Makes Beautiful Music.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Sanford Neuman, managing partner at Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C., believes that "the practice of a service-oriented law firm is comparable to the performance of a great symphony orchestra." And in...

Co - Employee Liability Still An Unsettled Area Of Law In Missouri.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Stephanie S. Maniscalco A worker who was paralyzed in a construction site accident has reached a $4 million settlement with two co-workers, a result attorneys call especially favorable given the confusing state of Missouri law on...

Burden Of Proof Higher In New Dram Shop Bill In Missouri.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway Plaintiffs with dram shop cases will face a higher burden of proof if a bill passed by the General Assembly is signed into law by the governor. House Bill 1532, passed during the last week of the legislative...

Thomas F. McGuire, Retired St. Louis Circuit Court Judge, Dies.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas F. McGuire Thomas F. McGuire, a retired St. Louis circuit court judge, died May 15 at the age of 80. He was a supporter of the metropolitan taxing district, which funds the institutions of...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District Rules Employee Couldn't Sue Church For Defamation.
May 27, 2002... Byline: Kristen H. Garroway A parochial school principal could not sue the Catholic diocese for defamation in connection with remarks made when her contract was not renewed, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled. ...