Missouri Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2003

Missouri Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2003

Mo. Court of Appeals' Western District Rules No Coverage For VFW Hall In Dram Shop Lawsuit.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A VFW hall that operated a bar was "in the business of" selling alcohol even though it was a non-profit organization, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has ruled in a case of first impression. ...

Missouri Supreme Court Action: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Transfer Granted The Missouri Supreme Court granted transfer on Sept. 30 in the following cases: Administrative Law Western District ruling: Where deputy sheriffs were entitled under the...

Verdicts & Settlements: October 6, 2003: Mobile Home Dealer Hit With $500K In Punitives.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A man who made a down payment on a mobile home that was never delivered has won $536,600 -- including $500,000 in punitive damages -- in his Boone County case against the dealership. The plaintiff, Randy Rhodes...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Fraudulent Misrepresentation - Statute of Frauds - Medical Practice (1) Where the owners of a medical group brought an action for fraudulent misrepresentation against a doctor who...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Gov. Bob Holden named Jake Zimmerman as his new Deputy Chief Legal Counsel. Zimmerman previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division. He is a graduate of Harvard...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Western District Rules Bankruptcy Estate Was Proper Plaintiff In Med-Mal Case.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Even though a man in Chapter 7 proceedings improperly filed a medical malpractice case in his own name, the trial court should have allowed him to amend his pleadings to substitute the bankruptcy estate...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Rule 84.04 - Brief - Inadequate Where the brief of an employer that was the appellant in an unemployment compensation case lacked a proper jurisdictional statement and a...

Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law DWI - Prior Convictions - Enhancement (1) Where the State produced evidence that a drunk driver had four prior felony convictions even though the convictions were unrelated to...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Man Died After Lung Surgery.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $900,000 Settlement The family of a 39-year-old man who died after surgery to remove a benign lung tumor sued for medical malpractice. Robert Moton Sr. of St. Louis had a benign dermoid tumor...

Boone County Circuit Court Awards Man $500K In Punitives Against Mobile Home Dealer.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A man who made a down payment on a mobile home that was never delivered has won $536,600 -- including $500,000 in punitive damages -- in his Boone County case against the dealership. The plaintiff, Randy Rhodes...

Cohen Appointed To Eastern District Court of Appeals.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Circuit Judge Patricia L. Cohen has been appointed by Gov. Bob Holden to a seat on the Eastern District Court of Appeals, the Associated Press reports. Cohen, 47, of St. Louis, has served as a...

Doerhoff Gets Legal Aid Award In Missouri.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The four legal aid programs of Missouri -- Legal Aid of Western Missouri, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Legal Services of Southern Missouri and Mid-Missouri Legal Services -- announced that they...

Commentary: Deciding To Accept Representation Ethical, Professional and Business Factors.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Emily Eichenhorn The criteria firms use to accept or reject potential representations are as varied as the cases themselves. Ultimately, though, every standard may be categorized under one of three questions: Is accepting this case...

10 Years Ago in Missouri Lawyers Weekly: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Sexual Abuse Claim Not Revived By Law Where a victim's claim of childhood sexual abuse was time-barred before new legislation extended the statute of limitations, the claim was not revived by the...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Woman Was Rear-Ended By Pickup.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $30,000 Verdict A woman who was rear-ended at a traffic light sued for her injuries. On April 21, 2000 Mary Roy was stopped at a red light on westbound Highway 50 at south Oak Street in Union,...

Springfield attorney Dee Wampler A Factor On O'Reilly.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Springfield attorney Dee Wampler appeared as a guest on the Sept. 22 nationwide broadcast of the O'Reilly Factor, a Fox network program hosted by Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly invited Wampler to discuss...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Western District Rules Insurance Co. 'Lied' About Extent Of Available Coverage.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A plaintiff who settled a personal injury case only because the defendant "lied" about the extent of its insurance coverage could enforce the settlement and sue for fraud, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Record - Failure to File - Burden Where an appellant who sought review of a city order to demolish his buildings failed to file a copy of the record within 30 days of filing...

U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: October 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Employer - Employee Defamation - Performance Review - Breach of Contract (1) Where an employee received a performance review that said he "met expectations; partially achieved goals" and he...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Blind Man Fell Off Airplane's Stairs.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $300,000 Verdict A blind man who fell from the stairs while getting off a commuter flight sued Trans States Airline for negligence. David Andrus, 54, was a pastor for the Lutheran Church...

Verdicts & Settlements October 6, 2003: Four Killed In Plane Crash.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.5 Million Settlement The families of four people who died in a small airplane crash sued the manufacturer of the plane's exhaust valve guide and the company that installed and serviced the valve...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Joinder of Counts - Sodomy - Lineup Identification (1) Where a defendant accused of sodomizing two victims used similar tactics and threats on victims similar in age and from the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Res Judicata - Two Contracts Where plaintiffs brought two lawsuits based on two real property contracts that were part of a single transaction and the trial court found for the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Sentencing - Probation - Drug Treatment Program Where the Board of Probation and Parole knew that a criminal drug defendant had participated in a drug treatment program and...

U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Notice of Appeal - Timeliness - Statutory Fees Where a debtor filed his notice of appeal from an order of dismissal outside of the 10-day period, the bankruptcy court's dismissal...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Western District Rules Driver Didn't Rebut State's Evidence Of Intoxication.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A driver who claimed that his stomach condition caused a breath test to overstate his blood alcohol level failed to rebut the state's drunk-driving evidence against him, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Western...

Verdicts & Settlements October 13, 2003: Contractor Said City Delayed Project.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $485,000 Settlement Loch Sand and Construction Company sued the City of St. Joseph for breach of contract in connection with a street improvement project. The city hired Loch Sand for a $3...

Missouri Bar: Officers Elected, 'Seniors' Honored For 2003-2004.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff St. Louis attorney William M. Corrigan, Jr. was elected to succeed Dale C. Doerhoff as President of The Missouri Bar for 2003-2004 during the organization's annual meeting in Columbia on Oct. 1. ...

Mo. Judge Selected AJA President.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Kansas City Municipal Court Judge Michael R. McAdam was selected President of the American Judges Association at the organization's annual meeting in Montreal last month. McAdam has been a member...

Kansas City Mendel Attorney Small Wins Roser Award.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Kansas City attorney Mendel Small was presented with the 2003 Michael R. Roser Award for Excellence in Bankruptcy Practice at the Midwest Bankruptcy Institute in Kansas City on Oct. 10. Small, a...

Verdicts & Settlements October 13, 2003: Pipe Struck Railroad Worker's Hip.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $950,000 Settlement Morris Johnson, a switchman for Kansas City Southern Railway Company, sued for injuries he suffered when he was struck in the hip by a pipe while riding on a railroad car. ...

Verdicts & Settlements October 13, 2003: Man Contracted Mesothelioma.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's Verdict Donald Ward sued Pneumo Abex Corp. for products liability, claiming that automotive parts manufactured by the company caused his mesothelioma. As a teenager Ward helped out...

Verdicts & Settlements October 13, 2003: Doctors Win Case Over Detection Of Brain Cyst.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale Two doctors involved in the treatment of a 28-year-old man who died of a brain cyst have prevailed in a St. Louis County medical malpractice suit filed by his mother. The case of Steven Becker garnered widespread...

Mo. L.I.R.C. Rules Woman Gets Comp For Her On-The-Job 'Panic Attack'.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones A woman who had an on-the-job "panic attack" could get workers' compensation benefits, the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission has ruled in a 2-1 decision. This was because the poor facilities she worked...

Mo. Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District Upholds Boxer's $13M Verdict Against Hotel.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale A boxer severely injured in a match could sue the hotel that hosted the fight for failing to have an ambulance on standby, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Eastern District has ruled, upholding a $13.7 million verdict....

10 Years Ago in Missouri Lawyers Weekly: October 13, 2003.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff 10 Years Ago In Missouri Lawyers Weekly -- October 11, 1993 -- GALs Get Immunity From Civil Liability Because guardians ad litem in child custody cases act as quasi-judicial officers,...

Verdicts & Settlements October 13, 2003: Baby Died In Childbirth.
October 13, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $175,000 Settlement The parents of a baby boy who died during childbirth made a claim against their doctors and the hospital where the baby was delivered for improper health care. On the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Rule 84.04 - Brief - Inadequate Where an appellant in a civil case claimed the trial court erred in giving an instruction to the jury but the appellant did not include the...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Appellate Practice Judgment - Finality - Criminal Case Where the trial court suspended the imposition of the sentence of a criminal defendant, there was no final judgment from which defendant...

U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dismissal - Multiple Filings - RICO Action - Delay Creditors Where the bankruptcy court found that a debtor who had filed six bankruptcy cases had done so to delay her creditors...

10 Years Ago in Missouri Lawyers Weekly: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Landowner Sued Under Child Labor Law Where a boy hired by a gun club in violation of the Child Labor Law was injured on the job, he could sue the owner of land where the gun club held a shooting...

University of Missouri Bans Discrimination Vs. Gays.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff After more than a decade-long debate, the University of Missouri's anti-discrimination policies now prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, the Associated Press reports. The four-campus...

Rule 11 Sanctions Reversed By 8th Circuit.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Where a request for Rule 11 sanctions against an attorney was not made in a separate motion but in a response to a motion for default, the district court abused its discretion in awarding sanctions, the 8th U.S....

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Jurisdiction - Remand Where a trial court remanded a petition for judicial review to the Administrative Hearing Commission for further consideration, the court did not have...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: 'Claw' Hand Developed After Surgery.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $83,300 Verdict Dan Hagen sued for injuries that he claimed arose from two separate automobile accidents in 1993. In October 1993 Hagen was rear-ended by Paul Boeger in St. Louis. He was...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: Man Fell At Quik Trip.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $300,000 Settlement A man who slipped on ice at a gas station sued for premises liability. There was a 7-inch snowfall on Dec. 13 in St. Louis. Pursuant to normal procedure, the supervisor at...

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri Presents Awards.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Legal Services of Eastern Missouri honored individuals and organizations that support equal access to justice at its awards luncheon held Oct. 17 in downtown St. Louis. Melton M. Lewis, an...

Missouri Legal Ethics Counsel Issues Opinions: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Informal advisory opinions are issued by the Legal Ethics Counsel under Rule 5.30. The Legal Ethics Counsel only issues opinions to attorneys for their own guidance involving an existing set of facts....

Missouri Lawyers in the News: October 20, 2003.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The National Elder Law Foundation announced that Reginald H. Turnbull of Jefferson City has successfully completed its examination leading to certification in the area of elder law. Turnbull is the only...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Western District Rules Sovereign Immunity Cap Did Not Apply To Co-Tortfeasor.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones Where an individual and a city were found jointly and severally liable in an auto accident case, the sovereign immunity damage cap did not limit the amount of the judgment that the individual was responsible to...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: Patient Injured During Physical Therapy.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $650,000 Settlement A 63-year-old Wright County man sued his physical therapy clinic after hurting his back in an accident during therapy. The plaintiff's doctor prescribed physical therapy to...

Hospital Sued In St. Louis Circuit Court Over Blood Transfusion.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff A widow has sued Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University, alleging that her husband had successful heart surgery but ultimately died after getting two transfusions of the wrong blood type, the...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Western District Rules 'Service By Mail' Rule Is Not Separate Time Period.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale The additional three days that parties are given after service by mail to file a response should be "lumped" together with the underlying time limitation and should not be considered a separate period, the Missouri...

Survey By Missouri Bar Says Billing By The Hour Seen As Harmful To Attorneys.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale Billing time by the hour negatively affects the personal and professional lives of many Missouri lawyers, according to a recent survey conducted by The Missouri Bar. Lawyers who answered the survey said the...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: Homeowner Blamed Fire On Neighbor.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's Verdict Larry and Barbara Stoops sued their neighbors, James E. Smith and Joyce M. Smith, claiming that the Smiths were responsible for a fire that destroyed the Stoops home on Feb. 18,...

Verdicts & Settlements October 20, 2003: Fight Broke Out At Dairy Queen.
October 20, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's Verdict Keith Byrom sued the owner of a Dairy Queen for injuries he suffered in an assault on the restaurant's parking lot. On Aug. 7, 1996 Byrom was driving Judy Sawyer's pickup...

Efficient Courts In Missouri Recognized.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronnie White has recognized five judicial circuits for efficiently managing and processing cases during fiscal 2002. The Daniel J. O'Toole awards were presented...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: Lab Mistakenly Diagnosed Cancer.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Defendant's Verdict Rosalie Hazard sued a medical laboratory and a pathologist for mistakenly diagnosing a tissue sample as cancerous and causing her to undergo an unnecessary surgery. ...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: Construction Delays Caused Increased Costs.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $405,932 Verdict A general contractor sued Walpert Properties, the de-veloper of a shopping center in north St. Louis County, after various delays and defective plans caused it to incur additional...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: Tire Tread On Ford Explorer Separated.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Confidential Settlement Melinda Thompson filed a products liability suit against Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor Company after a tire separation caused a rollover of the Ford Explorer she was...

Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys Elects New Officers.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys has announced the election of its 2003-2004 officers and Board of Governors, which took place at its 45th Annual Convention. Sally I. Heller, a partner...

Corrigan To Push For More Lawyers In Mo. State Legislature.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale Promoting the notion that the state needs more lawyers in the Legislature will be William M. Corrigan Jr.'s main focus as he takes over the helm of The Missouri Bar. A partner at Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis,...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court - App. Panel Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Administrative Expenses - 'Super Priority' - Final Order Where a shareholder was granted super priority administrative expense status in an interim order over other creditors as to...

10 Years Ago in Missouri Lawyers Weekly: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $10,000 Sanction For Bankruptcy Attorney An attorney in a bankruptcy case was ordered to pay the creditors $10,000 and to return any fees she had received when she helped a man transfer his ranch...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: Small Plane Crashed Outside Airport.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $2.25 Million Settlement The family of Robert E. Linville filed a products liabilty suit after he and three passengers died in the crash of a small airplane. On May 27, 1999 Robert Linville, an...

8th U.S. Circuit Rules District Court Made Improper 'Credibility' Determination.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Even though a plaintiff had only "unsubstantiated allegations" to support his claim that the defendant's failure to hire him was a pretext for race discrimination, the district court should not have...

Mo. Court of Appeals' Southern District Rules Employee Hurt Playing In Golf Tournament To Get Comp.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Kenneth C. Jones An employee who was injured in a golf tournament hosted by a customer could recover workers' compensation, the Missouri Court of Appeals' Southern District has ruled. This was because he was playing during the...

Mo. L.R.I.C. Rules Tire Worker's Lung Cancer Was Covered By Comp.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Anne C. Vitale An employee who died of lung cancer after working many years in a Goodyear plant was covered by the workers' compensation law, the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission has ruled 2-1 in a case of first...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Evidence - DNA Testing Where a defendant convicted of murder did not demonstrate why he did not have DNA testing performed previously, the motion court did not err in finding that...

Missouri Court of Appeals Southern District Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Rule 24.035 Motion - Guilty Plea Hearing - Where a trial court in a guilty plea hearing did not make a record that included the factual basis for a criminal defendant's guilty...

Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District To Sit In Macon County.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The Missouri Court of Appeals' Western District has announced that it will convene court in Macon, Mo., on Wed., Oct. 29. Beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Macon County Courthouse, a three-judge panel...

Missouri Lawyers in the News: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff The following new associates have joined the St. Louis office of Thompson Coburn LLP: Joseph A. Bealmear, Daniel J. Bollinger, Amy E. Clendennen, Heather F. Counts, Jodie E. Distler, Benjamin A....

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Law Closing Argument - Prejudicial - Failure To Testify Even though a prosecutor's comment during closing arguments about a defendant's failure to testify was a slip of the tongue, no...

U.S. Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit Case Summaries: October 27, 2003.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Summary Judgment - Credibility - 'Litigious' Plaintiff Where the district court in a discrimination case found the plaintiff's claim of pretext was a "contention" that lacked...

Verdicts & Settlements October 27, 2003: 18-Year-Old Killed In Truck Accident.
October 27, 2003... Byline: Missouri Lawyers Weekly Staff $7.1 Million Settlement Anthony and Michelle Leake sued after an accident with a tractor-trailer took the life of their son. On May 11, 2002 Noah Leake, 18, was traveling on Interstate 70 at...