Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from November 2008

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from November 2008

Mistaken identity: Mo. ethics rules says judges can't contribute to campaigns other than their own.(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Under Missouri ethics rules, it's a big no-no for judges to contribute to campaigns other than their own. That makes the campaign donations of Kirksville resident Richard W. Steele rather eye-catching. Steele,...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis firm Senniger Powers announced that the American Bar Association selected David Crawford as a member of the Honorary Advisory Committee for the 2009 National Pro Bono Celebration. Crawford, a...

Nursing home cases in Missouri Supreme Court may challenge arbitration clauses.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka The Missouri Supreme Court has two opportunities to consider the enforceability of arbitration clauses this month. Two cases now before the high court challenge the validity of clauses in nursing home admission...

Jury on Trial: Case in Mo. Court of Appeals.
November 3, 2008... Byline: David Knopf The Missouri Court of Appeals will hear a case this month that could establish a juror misconduct exception to the long-standing Mansfield rule, which protects the private nature of jury discussions. The issue began...

Collateral-source rule in Missouri lowers payouts.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Will Connaghan Our state's legal system went through changes after the 2005 tort reform legislative package was signed into law. Since then, we have witnessed a number of ways that reform has impacted the lives of plaintiffs...

Districts agree that Mo. Human Rights Act covers pregnancy discrimination.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco A pregnant woman who claimed she was unlawfully fired from her job could sue her employer under the Missouri Human Rights Act, the Western District held this week in a case aligning the court with its Southern...

Lawyers in Missouri prepare for Election Day.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Too-long lines at the polls. Not enough ballots. Newly registered voters being questioned by poll watchers. Longtime voters inexplicably dropped from the voter rolls. These are some of the headaches Denise Lieberman...

Allstate appeals $16M verdict in Missouri Supreme Court, questions bad faith claims.(Allstate Insurance Co.)
November 3, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick Allstate Insurance Co. hopes to get a chance to battle what it calls "manufactured" claims of bad faith by plaintiffs' attorneys in Missouri. In an application for transfer recently filed at the Missouri...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Expungement - Hearing - Lack Of Prejudice Where a trial court granted a man's petition requesting expungement of his arrest records but the hearing on the issue was not on the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Faulty Outdoor Stage - Damages - Lost Profits Where a concert promoter entered into a contract with a metal building manufacturer for the construction of a covered stage for outdoor...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Gas Pipelines - Federal Preemption - Jurisdiction Where gas pipeline companies applied with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for consolidation of their intrastate and...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Post- Conviction Relief - Effectiveness Of Counsel - Shackles Where counsel for the defendant in a voluntary manslaughter case failed to seek a ruling on his pre-trial motion to...

U.S. Court Of Appeals 8th Circuit Case Summaries: November 3, 2008.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Plant Reconstruction - Relicensing - Environmental Assessment Where the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized reconstruction of a hydroelectric generating plant, a...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: Jury awards $67K in rear-end collision.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Kyle S. Lewis A Jackson County jury awarded a woman $67,000 for injuries she suffered in a rear-end collision in 2005. The trial included a discrepancy over the amount of medical specials the plaintiff could claim and a motion for...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: Family recovers $2M for fatal bicycle accident.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale The family of a bicyclist who died after being hit and dragged by a concrete truck has reached a $2 million settlement of their Jackson County wrongful death case against the concrete company and its driver. The...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: Parties settle over exploding rifle.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter A hunter settled the product liability lawsuit he filed against the maker, importer and seller of a muzzleloader rifle that exploded when he used it. The settlement is confidential. Toni Bazzell bought her husband,...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: K.C. Marriott settles with guest for injuries from fall.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A hotel patron injured in a slip-and-fall accident has settled her federal case against a Marriott hotel for $100,000. Bernard and Barbara Hall were registered guests at the Kansas City Marriott...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: Jury clears OB-GYN, hospital of negligence.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A St. Louis County jury returned a verdict in favor of an obstetrician-gynecologist and a hospital accused of medical negligence stemming from the birth of child with cerebral palsy. The plaintiff sought $18...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: Jury finds auto accident did not cause ringing in ears.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Cathy Kingsley A St. Louis jury ruled that a plaintiff's tinnitus was not related to a motor vehicle accident. The accident happened Oct. 3, 2005, at 4th and Market streets by the courthouse in downtown St. Louis. Plaintiff...

Verdicts & Settlements: November 3, 2008: Woman settles case against KC police.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Charles Emerick A Sudanese woman received a $750,000 settlement for an arrest she claimed resulted in her miscarriage. The February 2006 traffic stop of Sofia Salva gained national attention when two Kansas City police officers...

Will we have a new president or a new dictator?
November 3, 2008... Byline: Jack L.B. Gohn/Dolan Media Newswires On May 20, Michael Traynor rose to address the annual dinner of the American Law Institute at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Traynor had just completed an eight-year stint as president of...

Tips for lawyers to use when choosing gifts.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Justin Rebello/Dolan Media Newswires It's never too early to get a jump-start on the holiday season. From a marketing standpoint, it's crucial for lawyers to think about what gifts to give to clients and referral sources. Gift...

The 'aargh' precedent: Used by lawyers in Mo. Supreme Court and federal court in St. Louis last week.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole A background in popular culture may be as essential to judges as knowledge of caselaw, judging by references to "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Saturday Night Live" used by lawyers before the Missouri Supreme Court and...

Playing ball?: Office space for St. Louis law firm of Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus.
November 3, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Polsinelli doesn't exactly have cold feet when it comes to a deal for office space in Ballpark Village, but they're not quite as warm as developers of the project say. Two large office users have "already...

Springfield Metropolitan Bar Assn. rapid response team dissolved.(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole The Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association's rapid response team was dissolved before it got off the ground. The bar's board voted Nov. 5 to eliminate the team, which was to have been used to respond to...

Missouri litigation boutique looks to female lawyers juggling families for employees.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole When Stephen Clark left Husch Blackwell Sanders more than three months ago to start a litigation boutique, he lined up associates and a finance manager. Clark didn't lure his employees from his former law firm,...

Missouri Lawyers In the News: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Jonathan Willmoth has joined the national immigration law firm of Klasko, Rulon, Stock & Seltzer in Philadelphia as an associate. Willmoth previously was an associate with Kansas City immigration firm...

Justice statistics find few big verdicts in Missouri.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Will Connaghan We always hear stories about how the justice system is out of control and plaintiffs in state courts are routinely awarded millions of dollars in damages. Of course, most trial lawyers know that this just isn't...

Missouri Court of Appeals: DNA evidence alone sufficient to identify criminal defendant.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco In a case of first impression, the Court of Appeals held last week that DNA evidence alone can provide sufficient evidence of identity to support a conviction. In State v. Abdelmalik, the Western District...

Greene County joins court plan: voters OK plan despite opposition outspending supporters.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese Despite being outspent by more than $100,000, supporters of bringing the Nonpartisan Court Plan to Southwest Missouri prevailed at the polls. Overall, 51.8 percent of Greene County voters agreed to join the...

Effort to unseat Missouri court critic fails.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese A man targeted by lawyers for his efforts to change the way Missouri chooses its judges apparently squeaked by to win an open state Senate seat. According to complete but unofficial election returns, Republican...

A man to watch: Missouri's new attorney general gambled that switching parties would get him elected.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka Chris Koster has a cold. Three days before he will soundly beat Mike Gibbons and ride a wave of Democratic success to become Missouri's first new attorney general in 16 years, Koster is slumped on a couch in the...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Maintenance - 'Lump Sum' - Property Division Where a trial court's award of "lump sum" maintenance in a dissolution corresponded to the amount requested by the wife for her...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Second- Degree Murder - Instructions - Self Defense Where a defendant convicted of second-degree murder claimed the motion court erred in denying a motion to suppress, the...

Missouri Court Of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law DNA Evidence - Sufficiency - Murder Conviction (1)Where a murder victim had human tissue and blood under her fingernail that was visible to the naked eye and DNA testing returned a...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Taxation Direct Premium Tax - Stop- Loss Policies - Equal Protection Where an insurer that sells stop-loss insurance policies to employers who maintain self-funded health plans, the policy...

United States Court Of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: November 10, 2008.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Uniform Licensing Law - Immunity - Letter Of Concern Where a doctor who had a complaint filed against him resulting in the issuance of a letter of concern, which under Nebraska...

Verdicts & Settlements November 10, 2008: Jury awards $760,000 for wrongful death.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Kelly Wiese The family of a woman who died at a hospital after back surgery won $760,000 from a St. Louis jury. The two doctors who remained as defendants in the case already have appealed, and their attorney thinks the...

Verdicts & Settlements November 10, 2008: Slip-and-fall case settles for $200,000.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A pedestrian who slipped and fell in a parking garage has recovered $200,000 in her St. Louis case against the confidential owner and manager of the garage and a concrete contractor doing repair work on the garage at...

Verdicts & Settlements November 10, 2008: Jury finds plaintiff 95 percent at fault.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Cathy Kingsley Tort reform legislation approved in 2005 worked in attorney Steven Kuenzel's favor for a client who was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Kuenzel's client, Daniel A. Winchester, 25, was involved in an...

Verdicts & Settlements November 10, 2008: St. Louis jury clears neurosurgeon of negligence.
November 10, 2008... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A Washington University neurosurgeon has prevailed in a wrongful death case tried in St. Louis. The patient's widow and daughter alleged the patient went into cardiac arrest and died after spinal surgery because...

Would a recession be legal?(Missouri)
November 10, 2008... Byline: By: Ed Poll In law, things can change in a hurry. Not long ago, million dollar profits per partner and starting associate salaries of $160,000 were the talk of the legal world. Now, with recession stories in the news daily, law...

St. Louis-based Bryan Cave may see some post-merger shakeout.(Missouri)
November 10, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole That large Southern presence Bryan Cave just acquired could end up getting smaller. Bryan Cave is adding 220-attorney Atlanta firm Powell Goldstein in a combination that will bring Missouri's largest firm to 1,165...

Mixed opinions: lawyers call for clarity on Missouri's collateral-source rule.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Allison Retka It was a fundamental element of the 2005 changes to tort law, but legislators say the final version of the provision left no one happy. Now the state's collateral-source rule is causing widespread consternation...

Missouri Bar scrutinizes evaluations following election.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Donna Walter Although some lawyers tout The Missouri Bar's system of rating judges as a success on this election day, other lawyers and experts question whether changes went far enough. Discrepancies in how each newly formed...

Potato chip brand spawns two Missouri lawsuits over trademarks, business practices and a bankruptcy.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole Snack food fans around the Midwest rejoiced in 2001, when Guy's brands emerged from two bankruptcies. Guy Caldwell founded the storied company, which claims to have invented the barbecue potato chip, in 1938 with a...

Bankruptcy of Kansas City-based Heartland Snacks has roots in distributor lawsuit.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Heather Cole The litigation that made Guy's snack food brands as much of a fixture in courthouses as in grocery stores started in 2002. That was the year Heartland Snacks, as the new owner of Guy's, sued distributor McCleary...

Missouri Court of Appeals: court erred in reducing punitive damages in sex harassment case.
November 17, 2008... Byline: Stephanie Maniscalco A woman whose $6.75 million punitive damages award for sexual harassment was reduced to $450,000 now has the option of accepting $3.75 million or a new trial on damages, according to the Missouri Court of...

Commentary: the unexpected hazards of hunting.(Missouri)
November 17, 2008... Byline: Will Connaghan The annual firearms deer hunting season opened this weekend in Missouri, and despite extensive hunter safety training and other precautions there may have been a few accidental shootings. When you hear about a...