Negligence: Wrongful Death - Settlement Proceeds - Apportionment 
Banner v. Owsley (MLW No. 60333/Case No. SD29802 - 14 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Quitno, Sp. J.)
Where a trial court apportioned a wrongful death settlement so that a son, from an earlier relationship and whom the decedent did not support, received only 5 percent with greater percentages going to his mother, wife [...]
Product Liability: Failure To Warn - Causation - Unjust Enrichment
Flesner v. Bayer AG, et al. (MLW No. 60288/Case No. 08-3524 - 13 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Melloy, J.)
(1)Where a plaintiff brought a failure-to-warn action against the manufacturer of a cholesterol-reducing drug, the plaintiff’s expert had inadequate factual evidence on which to base his opinion and did not show to a reasonable [...]
Jury not convinced woman was injured at Wal-Mart
A St. Louis County jury cleared Wal-Mart of all wrongdoing in a lawsuit that alleged one of its greeters assaulted a customer.
Helen Burnett accused Wal-Mart greeter Ronald Shelly of ramming her motorized shopping cart into a wall, injuring her right leg.
On Jan. 27, 2007, Burnett went into the Wal-Mart store in St. Ann to pick [...]
Plaintiff can’t collect judgment from insurer
Extended mutual insurance companies can file forms and endorsements with the Missouri Department of Insurance through ratings organizations, Judge Michael Mullen determined in a recent St. Louis bench trial. The ruling supported the defense in an equitable garnishment case.
Tamara Woodfork filed the suit against Barton Mutual Insurance Co. to satisfy a $1 million judgment against [...]
Hockey player’s family able to collect $4 million, judge rules
The family of late Chicago Blackhawks player Keith Magnuson should be able to collect almost $3 million of a $9.5 million verdict and more than $1 million in interest from an insurance company. Magnuson’s lawyer, Grant Davis [left], addresses the St. Louis County jury, in November of 2007, that awarded his clients a $9.5 million verdict.
ERISA: Denial Of Benefits - Pre-Existing Condition - Coverage Lapse
Jones v. Unum Provident Corporation (MLW No. 60293/Case No. 08-3830 - 8 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Loken, C.J.)
Where a claimant appealed the denial of long-term disability benefits, the claimant quit work contrary to a doctor’s release allowing her to return to full-time work, and the district court did not err in holding [...]
Union Pacific settles wrongful death suit
Union Pacific Railroad Co. and its employee confidentially settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the relatives of a preacher and his grandson, who both died after being struck by a train in southeast Kansas.
On June 19, 2008, Allen Bogart and his grandson Tony Bogart were heading home after dinner at a local steakhouse. Tony [...]
Low-speed crash suit nets plaintiff’s verdict
A low-speed collision in downtown Springfield lead to a $9,000 jury verdict in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. The amount covers the medical and chiropractic expenses claimed by the teenage plaintiff.
Plaintiff Brittnee Weber, 17, and defendant Ben Hamman were both driving south on Jefferson Avenue, a one-way street, on Nov. [...]
Tort: Anti-Spam Law - Statutory Damages - Joint And Several Liability
Kramer v. Perez, et al. (MLW No. 60229/Case No. 08-3841 - 9 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Beam, J.)
Where a district court found an individual defendant jointly and severally liable under the state’s anti-spamming law for more than $236 million in statutory damages, the judgment is reversed because the evidence does not show [...]
Negligence: Priest Sex Abuse - Negligent Supervision - First Amendment
Doe v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis and Archbishop Raymond Burke (MLW No. 60248/Case No. ED93007 - 9 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Odenwald, P.J.)
Where a woman who claimed that she was sexually abused as a child by a Roman Catholic priest brought claims including negligence and negligent supervision against the archbishop [...]