MLM Counties News. Notices. Need-to-know Information.

A lawsuit against Shell Oil Co. is being revived, and the federal judge who cussed at the plaintiff's attorney in court will not be hearing it. A panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned Kansas City-based Senior District Judge Dean Whipple's dismissal of the lawsuit, ordered him to remove himself from the case and called for the case to be reassigned. A tussle over 58 documents culminated in a December 2006 discovery hearing at which Whipple sprinkled six epithets.Click here to continue reading and view an excerpt from the hearing.

Tagged with: Bobby Shepherd cussing judge Dean Whipple Lathrop & Gage Michael Melloy Shell Oil Co.

A St. Louis County jury has cleared Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard and one of its attorneys, Rodney Sharp (pictured, watching the jury), of all wrongdoing in a legal malpractice suit against them. Physician Hamid Hosseini had filed suit against Sharp, alleging that the attorney had negligently represented him because Sharp had failed to ask about all relevant insurance carriers in Hosseini's medical malpractice suit. The jury deliberated for about two hours after the six-day trial before issuing a verdict on Monday.

Tagged with: Catherine Brown and Raphael Fowler Hamid Hosseini Legal malpractice medical malpractice Rodney Sharp Sandberg Phoenix & von Gantard

The days of large punitive-damage awards may be coming to an end. Erwin Chemerinsky, law professor and founding dean of the University of California-Irvine School of Law, said the U.S. Supreme Court moved litigants down the road to lower punitive ...

Tagged with: Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis Erwin Chemerinsky Exxon Exxon Shipping Philip Morris Punitive Damages U.S. Supreme Court

A judge's discretion to change the venue of a lawsuit in a Louisiana train accident was at issue Wednesday before the Missouri Supreme Court. In June 2007, a train owned by the Kansas City Southern Railroad Co. (headquarters pictured) slammed into a car in Louisiana. In the aftermath of the accident, an injured passenger and the family of a woman who died filed a lawsuit in Jackson County against the railway. The company is fighting a move to keep the lawsuit in Jackson County, saying venue is proper in St. Louis County, where the company’s registered agent resides.

Tagged with: change of venue Jackson County Kansas City Southern Railroad Co. Mark Parrish Mary Russell Missouri Supreme Court Richard Teitelman Stephen Nixon

A Missouri appeals court removed an obstacle to the redevelopment of the Ice House District in the city of St. Louis on Tuesday. It upheld the Board of Aldermen's finding that the area just south of downtown is blighted. Mabel Inserra’s warehouse at 1119-1127 S. Broadway was designated as blighted before eminent domain reform. Before the court could uphold the blight finding, it had to determine whether the 2006 eminent domain reform invalidated the board's finding, which was made in 2004, and whether the new law changed the court's standard of review. The short answer to both of those questions is: No.

Tagged with: Anderson & Gilbert blighted Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District

Foreclosure proceedings have begun against 262 lots owned by American Heritage Homes in six Jefferson County subdivisions. The sales are set for March 23. Area homebuilder Flower & Fendler last year bought some of the assets of American Heritage Homes, ...

Tagged with: American Heritage Homes Flower & Fendler foreclosures Jefferson County Missouri Secretary of State Parc at Kimmswick

Citing a deteriorating economy, Bryan Cave is laying off 58 attorneys and 76 staff members firmwide and freezing salaries for 2009. The steps followed efforts throughout 2008 to slash expenses in an attempt to avoid layoffs. "Over the course of the past year, we implemented a number of measures to reduce our costs," Chairman Don Lents said in an e-mail sent firmwide Thursday. "Unfortunately, the economy has continued to deteriorate, and we have concluded that further steps are necessary to adapt to this business climate."

Tagged with: Bryan Cave Don Lents economy layoff Luis Mocete Polsinelli The Stolar Partnership

U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Missouri, was in Festus on Monday to gain public support for the stimulus package proposed by President Barack Obama. The stimulus bill passed in the House last month and the Senate passed their version this week. Negotiations continue on a compromise between the two bills. Carnahan got plenty of support from a number of local leaders and state representatives, including Rep. Jeff Roorda, D-Barnhart, Rep. Ron Casey, D-Crystal City, County Executive Chuck Banks and Festus Mayor Earl Cook during a standing room only crowd at Festus City Hall.

Tagged with: Barack Obama Russ Carnahan stimulus

A lawsuit filed last week against Don Brown Automotive in St. Louis alleging an illegal practice of law is the most recent in a string of dozens of lawsuits filed in the wake of a 2007 Missouri Supreme Court decision, which upheld similar claims against a mortgage company. The suit filed by Joe Partney, which is seeking class action status, alleges that the car dealership engaged in an illegal practice of law when it charged documentation preparation or processing fees in connection with the lease or purchase of a car. Partney purchased a 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer from Don Brown Automotive and alleges he was charged a $65 "Notary & Doc Fee."

Tagged with: Carpenter v. Countrwide Home Loans class action documentation preparation or processing fees Don Brown Automotive illegal practice of law Joe Partney lawsuit lease Missouri Supreme Court purchase of a car Simon Law Firm

A Missouri appeals court denied a legal challenge to November's casino ballot measure - three months after voters approved it. The ballot item, known as Proposition A, was challenged in court in August 2008. The trial court dismissed some of the allegations and ruled against the challengers' other claims. On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District - which didn't hear the case until 16 days after the Nov. 4 election - affirmed those decisions. Attorney Robert Buckley, pictured, headed the appeal.

Tagged with: casino ballot David Knight James Smart Jr. Joseph Ellis loss limits Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Proposition A Ray Salva Sugar Creek

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who survived colon cancer in 1999, had surgery Thursday for "apparently early stage" pancreatic cancer, the court said. Ginsburg, 75, was operated on at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She will probably stay in the hospital seven to 10 days, the court said, citing the attending surgeon, Murray Brennan. Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, becoming the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Tagged with: Bill Clinton colon cancer pancreatic cancer Ruth Bader Ginsburg U.S. Supreme Court