Former baseball player wins suit over contract 
The timing of the Kansas City Royals’ 2007 opening day played a large role in a contracts suit against a former Royals outfielder.
As the clock ticked toward the Royals’ April 2, 2007, opener against the Boston Red Sox, player Emil Brown became less concerned with a woman’s threats to go public with an assault allegation.
If [...]
Civil Practice: Settlement - Enforcement - Prejudgment Interest
Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church v. St. Louis Alarm Monitoring Company, Inc. (MLW No. 60366/Case No. ED92566 - 11 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Crane, P.J.)
Where parties that moved to enforce a high-low settlement agreement disagreed about whether the agreement included prejudgment interest and whether their attorneys’ authority to settle was restricted, the [...]
Civil Practice: Forum Selection - Tort Claim
Jitterswing, Inc. v. Francorp, Inc. (MLW No. 60363/Case No. ED93045 - 4 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Richter, J.)
Where plaintiff brought a tort action in Missouri claiming that defendant practiced law without a license, the trial court erred in enforcing a forum selection clause in the parties’ contract that designated Illinois as the [...]
Civil Rights: Fair Housing Act - Sexual Harassment - Punitive Damage
Quigley v. Winter (MLW No. 60349/Case No. 08-3630/3752 - 31 pages)
(1)Where a tenant sued her landlord under the Fair Housing Act for sexual harassment, discrimination and intimidation, a claim for hostile housing environment created by sexual harassment is actionable under the FHA, and sufficient evidence supported a jury verdict for the plaintiff on her claims [...]
Civil Practice: Judgment On Pleadings - Sua Sponte Action - Enforcement Of Settlement
Paragon Lawns, Inc. v. Barefoot, Inc. (MLW No. 60339/Case No. WD71111 - 5 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Welsh, J.)
Where a party brought a motion to enforce a settlement agreement and the trial court entered judgment on the pleadings sua sponte in favor of the plaintiff, the defendant was denied an opportunity to [...]
Civil Practice: Trial De Novo - Unpaid Assessments - Non-Attorney Representation
6226 Northwood Condominium Association v. Dwyer (MLW No. 60328/Case No. ED92758 - 3 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Norton, P.J.)
Where a condominium association sued an owner for unpaid assessments and the association was represented on appeal at the trial de novo by the association’s treasurer, who was not an attorney, judgment in favor [...]
Civil Practice: Child Abuse - Out-Of-Court Statements - Hearsay
Pope v. Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board (MLW No. 60331/Case No. ED91988 - 10 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Baker, J.)
Where a trial court allowed the admission of out-of-court statements from a child in a case involving child sexual abuse, the court did not err in extending the hearsay exception under In [...]
Civil Rights: Inmate Action - First Amendment - Attorney’s Fees
Keup v. F.X. Hopkins, et al. (MLW No. 60321/Case No. 09-1079 - 11 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Riley, J.)
Where an inmate brought civil rights claims against prison officials who confiscated some of his mail, the defendants failed to raise at trial the defense of exhaustion of administrative remedies, so the defenses were [...]
Civil Practice: Personal Jurisdiction - Long-Arm Statute - Tortious Act
Bryant v. Smith Interior Design Group, Inc. (MLW No. 60346/Case No. SC90205 - 13 pages)
Where a Missouri resident brought an action in St. Louis County alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and concealment against a Florida defendant in a dispute, which arose over interior decorating services, the trial court erred in finding it lacked personal jurisdiction over the [...]
Civil Practice: Juror Nondisclosure - Litigation History - Timeliness
Johnson v. McCullough (MLW No. 60345/Case No. SC90401 - 12 pages)
(1)Where a juror in a medical malpractice case failed to disclose in response to a reasonably clear voir dire question her recent participation in debt collection actions and a personal injury case, the trial court did not err in finding that the non-disclosure was intentional [...]