Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District Digest: Aug. 29, 2022

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Civil Practice

Interpleader

Failure To State Claim

Where appellant insurer challenged the dismissal of its amended petition for interpleader failure to state a claim, the judgment is reversed and remanded because the insurer properly pleaded the requirements to state a claim for interpleader.

Judgment is reversed and remanded.

Farmers Insurance Company v. Mabie (MLW No. 78835/Case No. WD84881 – 12 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Thomson, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Jackson County, Atkins, J. (Susan F. Robertson for appellant) (Jared Arnold Rose, Tim Eugene Dollar and Thomas J. Hershewe for respondents).

https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=188634

Consumer Law

MMPA

Res Judicata

Where appellant challenged the dismissal of his claims, which included violations of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, the appellant waived his claim that the trial court erred by dismissing the MMPA claims because no final judgment on the merits had been entered since he did not claim prior to appeal that the judgment in his first action was not final, and res judicata barred MMPA-related claims against Green Sky/Midland, and points regarding A1 Solar and an individual defendant were properly dismissed as interlocutory.

Judgment is affirmed.

Walker v. A1 Solar Source Inc. (MLW No. 78834/Case No. WD84673 – 17 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Gabbert, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Jackson County, Campbell, J. (Anthony W. Bonuchi, Kansas City, MO for appellant) (Clinton S. Turley, Clayton, for respondents).

https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=188633

Employer – Employee

Disability Discrimination

Right To Sue Letter

EEOC Memo

Where an employee challenged the dismissal of his charge of disability discrimination against his employer by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, the employee failed to show that he was entitled to have the commission reopen the investigation into his claims and issue him a right-to-sue letter since the commission was entitled to rely on an investigation and memorandum by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Judgment is affirmed.

State ex rel. Christopher S. Moore v. Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MLW No. 78837/Case No. WD85120 – 9 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Hardwick, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Cole County, Green, J. (Alexander Edelman, Kansas City, MO for appellant) (Joyce A. Johnson and David L. McCain Jr., Jefferson City, for respondents).

https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=188636

Negligence

Medical Malpractice

Juror Misconduct

Remittitur

Where the defendant health care providers in a medical malpractice case challenged the trial court’s entry of judgment pursuant to a jury verdict for the plaintiff, the defendants did not show juror misconduct because even if a juror improperly gathered evidence, the plaintiff sufficiently rebutted the presumption of prejudice because the extraneous evidence was not material to the consequential facts of the case, and competent evidence supported the application of the catastrophic personal injury cap for non-economic damages, so it was not erroneous to deny the defendants’ motion for remittitur.

Judgment is affirmed.

Harned v. Spurlock (MLW No. 78836/Case No. WD84990 – 30 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Martin, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Clay County, O’Hara, J. (Timothy Michael Cronin, St. Louis, for respondent) (T. Michael Ward, St. Louis, for appellant).

https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=188635