Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from November 2006

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from November 2006

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit case summaries: November 6, 2006.(Connect Communications Corporation v. Southwestern Bell Telephone)(Iowa Network Services, Inc. v. Qwest Corporation)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Telephone Companies - Interconnection Agreement - Local Calls Where the Arkansas Public Service Commission determined that calls from a telephone company's customers to the customers'...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District case summaries: November 6, 2006.(Dickens v. Department of Health and Senior Services )
November 6, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Judicial Review - Transcript - Failure To File Where a certified nurse assistant filed a petition for judicial review after she was placed on the employee disqualification list,...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District case summaries: November 6, 2006.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Gas Utilities - Cold Weather Rule - Tariffs (1) Where the Public Service Commission adopted an emergency cold weather rule, applicable to heat-related utilities, reducing during winter...

Missouri plaintiff wins verdict in inoperable back injury case.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon $156,200 verdict After deliberating three hours, a Jackson County jury unanimously found in favor of a crash victim and ordered an insurance company to pay for her injuries and lost income. The case shows that it's...

Contractor settles suit against KC ambulance authority.(Kansas City)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Anne Vitale $3 million settlement A long-term former ambulance services contractor settled its civil rights and breach of contract lawsuit against the city of Kansas City and its ambulance authority for $3 million. The contractor,...

Missouir jury in third trial over crash disbelieves account of phantom vehicle.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Defense verdict A jury in a third trial over a crash near Ste. Genevieve discounted the plaintiff's claims of a "phantom vehicle" forcing her car off the road, finding in favor of the woman's insurers. A phantom...

Missouri jury favors house fire victim over insurer.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon $223,600 verdict A St. Louis jury deliberated less than two hours before siding with a homeowner on his fire damage claim. After a three-day trial, the jury ordered the man's insurance company to pay above the original...

Attorneys to split $38M under Edward Jones settlement.(Edward D. Jones and Co.)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Edward D. Jones & Co. current and former customers would receive an average of $22 in cash and credits and plaintiffs' attorneys would split about $38 million in fees under a preliminary settlement agreement submitted...

Missouri lawyers hope to fill more seats in the Capitol.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck Lawyers and politicians seem to go together hand-in-glove, and while there may not be as many attorneys floating around the Capitol as there once were, this year has produced a healthy crop of candidates running for...

Missouri Public Service Commission's changes to 'cold weather rule' is valid.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Joy Simmons The Public Service Commission has the authority to change a rule included in a tariff, the Missouri Court of Appeals has held in a case of first impression. The Western District case involved an amendment to the "cold...

Missouri lawyers admitted to practice in U.S. District Court need to renew registration.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Staff Lawyers admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri have until Jan. 31 to renew their registration with the court. Every member of the federal bar will receive an...

Missouri law firms announce personnel changes: November 6, 2006.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Thompson Coburn announced that Cheryl A. Kelly, a partner in the firm's business bankruptcy, restructuring and creditors' rights practice group and a member of the firm's real estate finance practice...

Dual claims drive insurance battle in Missouri Supreme Court.(Seeck v. Geico)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments last week over the alleged ambiguity of a form of insurance that lawyers say is increasingly useful to plaintiffs who've hit the limits of liability coverage. At issue in...

U.S Department of Labor investigates St. Louis area law firms for unpaid overtime to paralegals.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating St. Louis area law firm Carmody MacDonald for unpaid overtime for paralegals. Carmody MacDonald is cooperating with the department, said Susan Ryan, a spokeswoman for the...

Attorneys successful in only one of their arguments for lighter sentence for former CFO of Enron.(chief financial officers)
November 6, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole The attorneys for Jeffrey Skilling were successful in only one of their arguments for a lighter sentence for the former chief executive of Enron. Defense attorneys managed to convince Houston U.S. District Judge Simeon...

Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District Case Summaries: November 6, 2006.
November 6, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Staff Criminal Law Attempted Enticement - Double Jeopardy Where a defendant was found guilty of seven counts of attempting to entice a child after a number of instant message communications with a detective...

Kansas City law firms consider minority summer clerkship program in 2007.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association executive committee will consider Nov. 17 whether to launch a pilot minority summer clerkship program in 2007. The association's Managing Partners Committee voted Oct....

Missouri teacher takes government class to courthouse.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Allison Retka It took 10 minutes of jury deliberations over potato chips and sandwich wrappers before one juror piped up with a lawyer's worst nightmare. "Let's just flip a coin," he suggested, then tossed a nickel down the...

Missouri law firms announce personnel changes.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The law firm of James, Totta & Parrish of Lee's Summit, Mo., recently donated $15,000 to the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Abuse. The donation was made on behalf of a firm client who had...

Missouri Supreme Court rules sellers of pre-packaged liquor cannot be sued.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Supreme Court ruled last week that gas stations, liquor stores and other sellers of pre-packaged liquor can't be sued for selling to a minor, as bars and restaurants can. In a unanimous opinion issued...

Missouri court decision clarifies child-support duration.(Lunceford v. Lunceford)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck An appellate court decision in the Western District could help clarify the way Missouri courts will handle child-support orders that originate in other states. InLunceford v. Lunceford (MLW No. 54964) (20 pages),...

Missouri jury awards $3M in wrongful death suit.(Thomas Coon v. American Compressed Steel, Inc.)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Bridget Heos Patricia Walker lived with her boyfriend, Christopher Coon, and his 7-year-old son, Deric, for four years. She told relatives that she planned to marry Christopher and adopt Deric. Then, while driving on I-70 on...

Approval of Missouri constitutional amendment could lead to pay raises for state officials.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck Whether they understood the full implications of the ballot measure or not, voters last week overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that could clear the way for judges and other state officials to get their...

Missouri Bar poll has little pull with voters.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck The Nov. 7 elections had the potential to show just how many people pay attention to - and follow - the Missouri Bar's annual evaluations of non-partisan judges. The apparent answer: not that many. For the...

Voters elect 21 lawyers to the Missouri General Assembly.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck Voters elected a total of 21 lawyers to the Missouri General Assembly last week, leaving the practice's representation in the Senate steady and increasing the number of lawyers in the House by two. In the 32nd...

Missouri's legal community is worried about the future of judicial campaigns.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck A Cole County judge's ouster after a $175,000 infusion of out-of-state money the week before the election has members of Missouri's legal community worried about the future independence of judicial campaigns. ...

Missouri-based Husch & Eppenberger names chief executive.(Carrie Hermeling)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Carrie Hermeling squirms away from the word "historic" as a description of her election Nov. 5 as chief executive of Husch & Eppenberger. At Husch and other firms, women have been on management and executive...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: November 13, 2006.(Jackson v. State)(O'Driscoll v. Mutapcic and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company )
November 13, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 29.15 - Effectiveness Of Counsel - Trial Strategy Even though the evidence in a robbery case supported a lesser-included offense of stealing a motor vehicle, the defendant...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: November 13, 2006.(Harris v. State)(Hughes v. State)(Richardson v. Richardson )
November 13, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Civil Commitment - Collateral Consequence - Guilty Plea Where a defendant charged with deviate sexual assault claimed his guilty plea was involuntary because he wasn't advised of...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: November 13, 2006.(State ex rel. Public Counsel v. Public Service Commission)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative 'Rebalancing' Tariffs - Noncontested Case - Judicial Review Where a telecommunications company filed a request for the rebalancing of its tariffs for intrastate services and...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 13, 2006.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Dram-Shop Law - Validity - Packaged Liquor Sales Where plaintiff sued a convenience store for wrongful death under the dram-shop law after her minor son bought alcohol from the...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: November 13, 2006.(Holly v. Anderson)(Smulls v. Roper)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice In Forma Pauperis - Civil Confinement - Dismissal Where a district court ordered the dismissal of a civilly confined and indigent plaintiff's in forma pauperis civil rights...

Verdicts and Settlements November 13, 2006: Missouri woman settles lawsuits over two car crashes.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon $193,500 in settlements A Neosho, Mo., woman involved in two separate car crashes settled both for a total of $193,500 without going to mediation or court. The settlements dealt with the aggravation of an...

Verdicts and Settlements November 13, 2006: Missouri widow settles suit during jury deliberations.(Laura Morrison, et al. v. Survivair Inc.)
November 13, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon Confidential settlement The widow of a St. Louis firefighter settled her case against the maker of a breathing apparatus for an undisclosed amount during jury deliberations. Robert Morrison, a member of the St....

Verdicts and Settlements November 13, 2006: Missouri railroad settles fatal crash case for $37.5M.
November 13, 2006... Byline: Anne C. Vitale After an eight-week trial and nearly two days of jury deliberations, Kansas City Southern Railway Co. agreed to a $37.5 million settlement in a Jackson County case over a train collision that killed a 5-year-old girl...

Edwardsville, Ill. law firm changes name.(Burroughs, Hepler, Broom, MacDonald, Hebrank and True )(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Edwardsville, Ill., firm Burroughs, Hepler, Broom, MacDonald, Hebrank & True changed its name, but it's no less of a mouthful. The firm, which has an office in St. Louis, now is Hepler, Broom, MacDonald, Hebrank,...

Missouri's big cities rank low on law firm diversity.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Husch & Eppenberger may have promoted Carrie Hermeling as the firm's first chief executive, but major law firms in St. Louis aren't doing too well when it comes to other diversity standards, according to a study...

Helen Thomas, Second City to salute Bill of Rights in St. Louis.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Donna Walter Former White House Bureau Chief Helen Thomas and The Second City Touring Company are coming to St. Louis in what's being billed as the local chapter of the ACLU's biggest Bill of Rights celebration ever. The...

Schieber to fill judicial vacancy in Division 15.(Robert Schieber)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick Shortly after 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, Robert Schieber received the call he had long been waiting for. On the other end was Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, who offered the Jackson County Circuit Court commissioner...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: November 20, 2006.(appointments)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Mark B. Hillis, of St. Louis Firm Carmody MacDonald, was elected to the board of directors for the St. Andrews Management Services Inc., which is an affiliate of St. Andrews Resources for Seniors. ...

KC-based Polsinelli shows marked growth, St. Louis-based Bryan Cave slips slightly in NLJ survey.(National Law Journal)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick and Heather Cole Missouri firms had a mixed year in terms of acquiring and losing attorneys, according to a survey released Nov. 13 by The National Law Journal of the country's biggest 250 firms. Eight Missouri...

U.S. District judge pushes back hearing on $127M Edward Jones settlement.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey won't hear a $127 million proposed settlement of nine class action suits against brokerage Edward D. Jones & Co. until Dec. 12. When Autrey does hear the tentative agreement, one of...

Aborting free speech with new Missouri abortion law?
November 20, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck A state law putting new teeth into the state's parental consent laws for abortions went before the Missouri Supreme Court last week, framed in large part as a freedom of speech issue. The law gives parents and...

Some attorneys view "unbundled services" as a recipe for disaster.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole St. Louis divorce attorney Cynthia Fox meets with some clients on what she calls a "consultation" basis. For a half an hour, Fox will explain the divorce process, how to complete forms and explain the essentials of...

Missouri's non-partisan court plan may be best for Cole County.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck Jefferson City's rolling hills and small-town feel are a far cry from the urban centers in St. Louis and Kansas City. But a successful out-of-state effort to oust a Cole County circuit judge has some saying it might be...

Mo. court returns case to Labor Commission for further consideration in 'rule of necessity' case.(Missouri)(Stonecipher v. Poplar Bluff R1 School District)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Joy Simmons The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission may not have provided adequate due process when it vacated a non-appealed disability award without giving the claimant appropriate notice or an opportunity to be...

KC Power & Light agrees to pay $28M.(Kansas City Power and Light Co.)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Charles Emerick A small Lafayette County town will receive more than $28 million from Kansas City Power & Light after the company allegedly failed to honor a contract. The settlement stems from KCP&L's refusal to make monthly...

Elected officials compensation commission expects salary report this year.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck Despite an impending deadline less than two weeks away, the state's newly revamped Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials expects to squeeze out new salary recommendations this year. The group is scheduled...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: November 20, 2006.
November 20, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Request For Counsel - Admission Of Evidence - Manifest Injustice Where a trial court repeatedly admitted evidence at trial that a criminal defendant had requested an attorney...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: November 20, 2006.(State v. Wallis)(State v. Phillips)(State v. Coker)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Assault On Officer - Evidence Where evidence showed that defendant drove her car toward a uniformed officer who had chased her with activated lights and siren, the evidence...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: November 20, 2006.(Hunsucker v. Director of Revenue)(Salmons v. Rich)(Akers v. City of Oak Grove )
November 20, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Discovery Rules - License Revocation - Applicability Where the director of revenue argued that discovery rules do not apply to license revocation hearings, the issue was not...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: November 20, 2006.(U.S. v. Haskell )
November 20, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Murder - Conspiracy - Delay Where a defendant convicted of charges of conspiracy to murder and murdering a federal witness failed to show that the government intentionally delayed...

Verdicts & Settlements, Nov. 20,2006: Half of defense settlement offer in wagon accident awarded.(Melissa Baumgartner et al. v. Sac River Stables LLC)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon $591,500 verdict A Greene County jury that considered a group action lawsuit against a central Missouri stable mapped its own course and awarded the plaintiffs less than half the amount offered by defendants to...

Verdicts & Settlements, Nov. 20, 2006: Doctor, hospital not liable for death at other hospital.(Sheila Battles v. Thomas Frederickson)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon Defense verdict After a week-long trial, a Jackson County jury unanimously rejected claims that a doctor and hospital were to blame for the later death of their patient at a different hospital from a medication...

Verdicts & Settlements, Nov. 20, 2006: Family wins $1.4M verdict against Ryder.(Dea Ann Pino v. Ryder TRS Inc.)
November 20, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.4 million verdict A St. Louis jury returned a $1.4 million verdict against Ryder trucks over a fatal crash allegedly resulting from a brake failure. On Nov. 3, 2000, Paul Cravens was driving...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 27, 2006.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Validity Of Statute - 'Special Law' - Population Classification Where fire protection districts claimed that Section 321.222, which curtailed the power of the districts to adopt...

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: November 27, 2006.(Myer v. Americo Life, Inc.)(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Dial Corporation )
November 27, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Award - Petition To Vacate - Res Judicata Where a state court issued a final judgment confirming an arbitration award, the dismissal of a petition to vacate the award was proper...

Verdicts & Settlements November 27, 2006: Watercraft case settled for injured boy.(Jenny Kittle as next friend for Justin Kittle, a minor, v. John Kittle and Terry Nelson)
November 27, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon $750,000 settlement The plaintiff's attorney in a personal injury case credited reconstruction of a recreational watercraft accident with helping settle a personal injury case between the parents of an injured boy...

Verdicts & Settlements November 27, 2006: Driver's death resolved between family and defendants.(Bryan Schmalz v. Yellow Transportation Inc., and Michael P. Minton)
November 27, 2006... Byline: Mike Nixon $600,000 settlement The family of a truck driver who was struck and killed by a big rig as she walked across a parking lot settled with the driver who struck her and the company he represented. On the evening of...

Commentary: Into the digital jungle: New rules governing e-discovery.(Column)
November 27, 2006... Byline: James E. Beal In a 2005 Business Law Today article, Gregg Weiner wrote that the "use of electronic devices expands each and every day. E-mail, instant messaging, personal digital assistants are everywhere." While these devices have...

Midwest Innocence Project looking for volunteers.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Bridget Heos, Kansas City Daily Record Sean O'Brien has 1,000 letters waiting to be read. The writers say they are serving time in prison for crimes they didn't commit. More than you would think are telling the truth, O'Brien...

Lawyers Association of St. presents annual Gridiron Show.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole Despite buying 65 seats at $100 a pop for the Lawyers Association of St. Louis Gridiron Show, insurance defense firm Brown & James was the target of more than its fair share of the barbs about cheap law firms at the...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: November 27, 2006.(Christopher L. Benne)(Heather L. Rooney )(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Jefferson City Area Husch & Eppenberger announced Christopher L. Benne joined the firm as an associate in the health law and corporate practice groups. Springfield Area Husch & Eppenberger...

Judicial pay hike recommendation expected this week.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck By the end of this week, Missouri judges should know if their first raise in six years is on the table. Whether or not lawmakers will actually give them that raise is another question. The Commission on...

Who owns your e-mail after you die?
November 27, 2006... Byline: Sylvia Hsieh Ever wonder what happens to your e-mails after you die? So do many estate planning lawyers. Until recently, the question was purely academic, kicked around by attorneys on Internet chat rooms. But two recent cases...

Child molester has right to confront victim.(Crawford v. Washington)
November 27, 2006... Byline: Scott Lauck The Missouri Supreme Court last week overturned the conviction of a child molester on grounds that he had not been given his constitutionally guaranteed chance to confront the victim in court. The case, one of the...

Verdicts & Settlements November 27, 2006: Morgan Stanley settles lawsuit for $95M.
November 27, 2006... Byline: Heather Cole In May, attorneys representing the liquidators of General American were trying to get a notebook kept by a Morgan Stanley official. The notebook belonged to a board member for a company controlled by Morgan Stanley...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: November 27, 2006.(Snelling v. Beck)
November 27, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Dismissal With Prejudice - Notice Where parties in a civil suit were willing to proceed with pretrial discovery and the record did not show that they received notice of an...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: November 27, 2006.(Trevino v. State)(Brief article)
November 27, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Prior And Persistent Offender - DWI Where a defendant admitted to two prior felony convictions for driving while intoxicated at his guilty plea and sentencing...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: November 27, 2006.(Barr v. Sanders, et al.)(Arrow Financial Services v. Bichsel )
November 27, 2006... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Dismissal - Pro Se Litigant - Amended Order Where a plaintiff filed a pro se claim against county officials for failure to prosecute an alleged rape and robbery and the trial...