State Law

Law.com reports large malpractice

Posted on September 11, 2009
Law.com reports large malpractice suit against Bryan Cave partner Lawrence Brody for allegedly botching a Prenuptial agreement that cost the husband about $10million from extra taxes. Businessman sues St. Louis-based Bryan Cave over prenup (allbusiness...

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Posted on September 08, 2009
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in case of first impression holds that automobile purchase money lender has secured claim for the "negative equity" trade-in financed amount was part of the creditors secured claim and the debtors may not bifurcate the car loan...

Missouri Supreme Court declines

Posted on September 06, 2009
Missouri Supreme Court declines to review Western District ruling that ended Clay Chastain's plans for a light rail line from Kansas City International Airport to Lee's Summit. Kansas City Business journal. The Missouri Supreme Court will not take up an appeal by supporters of Clay Chastain to get the repeal of his voter-approved light-rail plan from 2006 ruled unconstitutional...

What do the students who do best

Posted on September 01, 2009
What do the students who do best on the LSAT major in during college? The Volokh Conspiracy cites research that shows Economics and Philosophy do best:"Economics majors still perform at or near the top of all majors taking the test. Economics majors (LSAT score of 157...

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Volokh Conspiracy blogs about recent

Posted on August 22, 2009
Volokh Conspiracy blogs about recent MySpace harassment case: Missouri Prosecution for Emotionally Distressing a Minor: "As I've noted before, this is an extremely vague and potentially broad statute (Section 565.090.1 RS MO._ It's a crime (perhaps a felony) to purposefully "emotionally distress" someone "without good cause," with the jury deciding what's good cause -- imagine how much speech this can cover...

Follow up: Missouri Supreme Court

Posted on July 03, 2008
Follow up: Missouri Supreme Court finds no equal protection problem in state law that allowed counties to contribute lower retirement fund contributions for full time attorneys hired before August 28 2001 than those hired after that date. Missouri Prosecuting Attorneys and Circuit Attorneys Retirement System, an Agency of the State of Missouri, Respondent, v...

Does the St Louis City Circuit

Posted on June 24, 2008
Does the St Louis City Circuit Court have too many judges? No because criminal defendants like their chances with City juries. St Louis Today.com. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bryan Stevenson, R-Webb City, introduced legislation that would have reduced the City Circuit's judges by 25%...

Missouri Senate Bill 711 will cut

Posted on June 20, 2008
Missouri Senate Bill 711 will cut property taxes on real estate near KCI Airport. KC Business Journal. Senate Bill 711, which awaits Gov. Matt Blunt's signature, is viewed as vital to KCI Intermodal BusinessCentre. The bill modifies what's known as the state's bonus value tax...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern

Posted on May 26, 2008
Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District reverses $1 million verdict that was against the City of O'Fallon in dispute with landowner near Highway 40 who had an annexation agreement with O'Fallon for placing sewer lines on his property. When the landowner's son sold the property to National Paper he had to greatly reduce his asking price because the City had not yet put in sewer lines...

Recent study shows IRA account

Posted on May 25, 2008
Recent study shows IRA account holders delay taking distributions even though they have waited long enough. Free Library.com.Americans who have money stored in Individual Retirement Accounts tend to hang on to it for use in the later years of their retirement, according to a study released in January 2008...

Missouri Court of Appeals dismisses

Posted on May 11, 2008
Missouri Court of Appeals dismisses mandamus petitioner's action to compel the Missouri Human Rights Commission to pay the petitioner her attoreny fees and costs arising from employment discrimination case the Commission declined to pursue.Gloria Painter, et al...

Car rental firms sue Orbitz reservation

Posted on May 04, 2008
Car rental firms sue Orbitz reservation website for removing their automobiles from web listings. St Louis Business Journal. Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental, which are owned by the Taylor Family of St. Louis, have filed a lawsuit against Orbitz Worldwide Inc...

Employee of the Squaw Creek Truck

Posted on May 03, 2008
Employee of the Squaw Creek Truck Stop that the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska owns sued the tribal government for wrongful termination. The trial court dismissed because the Tribe had not waived its sovereign immunity. Missouri Court of Appeals affirms, although the tribal corporation charter included a "sue and be sued" clause, that did not make the Tribe waive its immunity...

RGA Reinsurance licensed as captive

Posted on April 27, 2008
RGA Reinsurance licensed as captive insurance company. ST Louis Business Journal. RGA Reinsurance Co., a St. Louis-based subsidiary of Reinsurance Group of America, was granted Missouri's first special purpose life reinsurance captive insurance company license, the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration said Monday...

Chief Disciplinary Counsel for

Posted on April 25, 2008
Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Missouri Supreme Court seeks disbarment for Clayton attorney who was active in Christian public service work for misappropriating client funds. ST Louis Today. Former Supreme Court Justice Ann Covington represents Attorney Belz...

Former federal prosecutor and former

Posted on April 23, 2008
Former federal prosecutor and former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Robertson fight back against State Farm efforts to dismiss their clients' whistleblower lawsuits and to disqualify them as counsel for the plaintiffs. KC Star Business. Former U.S. attorney Todd Graves and former Missouri Supreme Court chief justice Chip Robertson are angrily denying charges of wrongdoing by State Farm Insurance in Hurricane Katrina-related litigation in Mississippi...

Wireless start-up firm that targets

Posted on April 13, 2008
Wireless start-up firm that targets Hispanic customers Movida files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KC Business Journal. Movida Communications Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing debts of $10 million to $100 million and assets of $10 million to $50 million...

Regional carrier Frontier Airlines

Posted on April 12, 2008
Regional carrier Frontier Airlines files Chapter 11 bankruptcy. KC Business Journal.Frontier Airlines' parent company said Friday that it has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing an unexpected attempt by its main credit card processor to substantially increase a "holdback" of customer receipts, threatening Frontier's liquidity...

Holt County defendant in prescription

Posted on April 10, 2008
Holt County defendant in prescription fraud case wins her motion to disqualify the prosecuting attorney because the attorney formerly defended her in a similar case in Nodaway County when he was in private practice. Missouri Supreme Court issues writ to disqualify the prosecutor...

St Louis area fitness club loses

Posted on April 09, 2008
St Louis area fitness club loses sales tax refund fight in the Missouri Supreme Court. Michael Jaudes Fitness Edge, Inc., Appellant, v. Director of Revenue, Respondent.: SC88605Fitness Edge is a place of recreation, and the fees it receives for its training services may be taxed pursuant to section 144...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western

Posted on March 29, 2008
Missouri Court of Appeals Western District orders new trial for murder convict whose defense counsel failed to properly request a court-appointed psychiatric expert. While Sections 552.020 and 552.030 in some cases require the court to appoint an expert to make findings as to the defendant's mental condition relating to the crime, those statutes do not provide the type of expert assistance envisioned by Ake v...

Follow up: Missouri Supreme Court

Posted on March 28, 2008
Follow up: Missouri Supreme Court upholds FELA verdict after United States Supreme Court ordered the case remanded to clarify that the causation standards are the same for determining the defendant's negligence and the plaintiff's comparative negligence...

Plaintiff filed a wrongful death

Posted on March 21, 2008
Plaintiff filed a wrongful death action for the decedent's daughter as an attorney-in-fact for the decedent's daughter against nursing home where decedent resided before her death. Trial court dismissed wrongful death action holding that the plaintiffs' subsequent pleading amendments did not relate back to the intial filing and were tardy under the statute of limitations...

Houston-based REIT buys Crown Center

Posted on March 20, 2008
Houston-based REIT buys Crown Center office building that anchors Kansas City law firm Shook Hardy and Bacon. GlobeSt.Com. 595,600 square foot building, estimated rent $20-24 per square foot. $156million price tage, 24 stories. Hines REIT has purchased the 595,600-sf 2555 Grand building in the Crown Center submarket from Crown Center Redevelopment Corp...

Two initiative petitions will appeal

Posted on March 13, 2008
Two initiative petitions will appeal in November on Missouri ballots. St Louis Business Journal. Two initiative petitions, one pertaining to employees' paychecks and one pertaining to Missouri's Children's Health Insurance Program, met state standards for circulation for the November 2008 ballot, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said Thursday...

PSC will appeal Cass County ruling

Posted on March 12, 2008
PSC will appeal Cass County ruling on Aquila plant Kansas City Business Journal "The Aquila Inc.'s $140 million Cass County power plant case may be headed to the Missouri Supreme Court. By a vote of 4-0 with one abstention, the Missouri Public Service Commission decided Tuesday to appeal the ruling from the Missouri Court of Appeals State ex rel...

Opponents of St Peters "Premier

Posted on March 10, 2008
Opponents of St Peters "Premier 370" TIF development near Highway 370 will get their day in court after the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reverses summary judgment the Cole County Circuit Court gave to the City to go ahead with its development project...

Applebee's settles lawsuit with

Posted on March 02, 2008
Applebee's settles lawsuit with New Jersey labor union's shareholder lawsuit over proxy information in Delaware Chancery Court. KC Business Journal.A Delaware court on Friday approved settlement of a shareholder lawsuit against Applebee's International Inc...

Missouri Court of Appeals Western

Posted on February 18, 2008
Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reverses Cole County Circuit Court dismissal of Attorney General's reimbursement claim of incarceration costs against Missouri inmate.State of Missouri, ex rel., Jeremiah W. Nixon, Attorney General, Appellant, v...

Follow up: Missouri Supreme Court

Posted on February 17, 2008
Follow up: Missouri Supreme Court hears Brown & Williamson's appeal of the $20million verdict against it from Jackson County. Missouri Supreme Court Case Summaries for February 13, 2008. "Lincoln Smith's wife began smoking cigarettes manufactured by Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company in 1942 and quit in 1990 after being diagnosed with heart disease and emphysema...

Least Terns, Piping Plovers and

Posted on February 13, 2008
Least Terns, Piping Plovers and Pallid Sturgeons win Appeals Court victory over farmers. Eight Circuit Court of Appeals allows Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with dual Spring water surges from Gavins Point Dam downstream on the Missouri River.071149P...

Injured Employee's average weekly

Posted on February 09, 2008
Injured Employee's average weekly wage calculated at his certain hourly rate and not on the prevailing wages for workers doing similar work rules the Missouri court of appeals, Southern district in the worker's appeal against the Second Injury Fund. David Murphy, Claimant/Appellant v...

National employment law defense

Posted on February 08, 2008
National employment law defense firm opens Creve Coeur office with lawyers from Thompson Coburn and Brown James. St Louis Today Business. Littler Mendelson, which calls itself the nation?s largest employment and labor law firms, has opened an office in Creve Coeur and hired Harry Wellford, formerly a partner at Thompson Coburn, as managing shareholder...

Follow up: After the FDIC took

Posted on February 07, 2008
Follow up: After the FDIC took over the Douglass Bank and handed operation to Liberty Bank of New Orleans, the succeeding bank plans expansion. KC Business Journal. The New Orleans-based bank that will run Douglass National Bank said Monday that expansion is the first step in a national strategy...

Additional $4 million property

Posted on February 06, 2008
Additional $4 million property tax abatement to renovate east side apartment complex will keep dream of reclaiming urban-core housing alive. KC Business Journal. the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority abated taxes on a proposed $4 million two-year renovation by the new owner of the Timber Creek Apartments, which the new owner SC California Property Holdings will rename Arrowead VillageThe 113-unit complex at 3218 Brighton Ave...

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Posted on February 03, 2008
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejects Missouri death row inmate's habeas appeal for his murder conviction for killing a Jasper County Sheriff's deputy in 1996/063260P.pdf 02/01/2008 Cecil Clayton v. Donald P. Roper U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 06-3260 U...

Lee's Summit entrepreneur won a

Posted on February 02, 2008
Lee's Summit entrepreneur won a reversal of his child abuse conviction after six years and then sued the police detective and the businessman's ex-wife for violating his civil rights. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rules the plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to proceed with his Section 1983 case against the police detective and the ex-wife who turned on him...

Refusal of the United States Supreme

Posted on January 28, 2008
Refusal of the United States Supreme Court to take writ of certiorari in Monsanto's case against Mississippi soybean farmer Homan McFarling means Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor Monsanto's damages verdict will stand. St Louis Business Journal...

St Louis area construction contractor

Posted on January 27, 2008
St Louis area construction contractor Alberici Group and two of its subsidiaries face breach of contract complaints in Alabama federal court from the Jim Walter Company of Tampa Florida for Alberici's disputed construction of coal mine shafts near Tuscaloosa, Alabama...

Missouri Supreme Court affirms

Posted on January 20, 2008
Missouri Supreme Court affirms reduction of corporate taxpayers interest claim on tax over payments by nearly 1/3 when Missouri Legislature approved revamped interest provisions on tax over payments before the taxpayer won its case. Kidde America, Inc...

Medical publisher fired a proof-reader

Posted on January 13, 2008
Medical publisher fired a proof-reader after he informed the company he intended to take leave to care for his sick wife who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ("ALS" or "Lou Gehrig's disease) sued his employer under the Missouri Human Rights Act ...

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Posted on January 06, 2008
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reverses summary judgment against Plaintiff's estate for accident when decedent died after a Skyjack mobile platform tipped over on a construction site063855P.pdf 01/04/2008 Sammie Sappington v. Skyjack, Inc.U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 06-3855U...

Two Kansas City Police Department

Posted on January 01, 2008
Two Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers sought a writ of mandamus to compel the Jackson County Circuit Court to remove information of citizen complaints against them from their personnel records. The officers asked the circuit court to declare the Office of Citizens' Complaints OCC and the KCPD's practice of taking anonymous complaints to be contrary to 84...

The Newton County Circuit Court

Posted on December 30, 2007
The Newton County Circuit Court convicted the Defendant of statutory rape 566.032.1 and sodomy 566.062 after luring a 13 year old girl into his truck to rape her. During closing argument the State argued the defendant was an "animal" who needed to be caged, but these were references to letters the Defendant had written to his wife...

Will judges and prosecutors who

Posted on December 29, 2007
Will judges and prosecutors who opposed Missouri's new self-defense laws, Chapter 563, RS MO. be able to re-write jury instructions to negate them? Gun Thing Forum. Missouri amended its self defense laws, Chapter 563, Revised Statutes Missouri, A.L. 2007 S...

US Attorney Eastern District of

Posted on December 20, 2007
US Attorney Eastern District of Missouri indicts House Springs contractor for fraud and bribery with St Louis lateral line sewer project. St Louis Business journal. Joseph Kuchar was indicted on charges involving paying bribes in connection with the city of St...

Follow up: Lake of the Ozarks

Posted on December 18, 2007
Follow up: Lake of the Ozarks developer pleads guilty to employment tax fraud; ordered to pay nearly $1million in fines and back taxes. KC Business Journal. Michael Schlup pleaded guilty June 26 to 14 felony counts of failing to deduct state employer and withholding tax and not filing an employer withholding tax return...

Guilty plea from participant in

Posted on December 17, 2007
Guilty plea from participant in $24million mortgage fraud ring operating in metropolitan Kansas City. KC Business journal. Home builder Steve Middleton, 46, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and admitted that he had taken part in a $25 million mortgage fraud scheme, U...

Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern

Posted on December 16, 2007
Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District reverses $348K attorney fee judgment against apartment complex owner arising from lawsuits between the owner and his insurance companies for hail storm damages. Goralnik, Goralnik Realty Company, LLC and Goralnik Holding Company, LLC, Appellants v...

Mental incapacity that tolls the

Posted on December 14, 2007
Mental incapacity that tolls the limitation period for tort actions (Section 516.170 RRS Mo) does not apply to child sexual abuse actions filed under Section 537.046.Graham, Appellant v. Father Michael McGrath, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis, an unincorporated association, and Archbishop Justin Rigali, of the Archdiocese of St...

United States Supreme Court reverses

Posted on December 10, 2007
United States Supreme Court reverses Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that sent nice white college kid to prison for helping to distribute ecstasy. GALL v. UNITED STATES (No. 06-7949) 446 F. 3d 884, reversed. The defendant participated in an Ecstasy distribution ring for less than a year still made $30,000 profit for his efforts to put over 10,000 X tabs on the street...

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

Posted on December 09, 2007
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals rejects post-conviction relief for murder convict who contended counsel failed to adequately present psychiatric defense. 053930P.pdf 12/07/2007 Richard Marcrum v. Al LuebbersU.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 05-3930U.S...

More New Americans' family values:

Posted on December 02, 2007
More New Americans' family values: from Vdare.com: Daniel Paredes pleaded guilty in early November to the murder of his live-in girlfriend Mayanim Betancourt in University City, St. Louis County. He was miffed that she had become pregnant with the child of another man, so he strangled her...

Missouri Supreme Court backs off

Posted on November 24, 2007
Missouri Supreme Court backs off earlier iron-clad ruling that appeared to require attorney representation at unemployment hearings. Mary Jeanette Haggard d/b/a Jenny's Housecleaning, and Jenny's Housecleaning, Inc., Appellants, v. Division of Employment Security, Respondent...

Eighth Circuit affirms conviction

Posted on November 20, 2007
Eighth Circuit affirms conviction for narcotics trafficking over defendant's Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) challenge.063959P.pdf 11/16/2007 USA v. Robert LindseyU.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 06-3959U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St...

Summary Judgment for Famous Dave's

Posted on November 19, 2007
Summary Judgment for Famous Dave's affirmed in sexual harassment case when Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found effective corporate response to a hostile work environment claim. 061851P.pdf 11/16/2007 Christine Brenneman v. Famous Dave'sU.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 06-1851 U...