Free Newsletter
Cole County prosecutor loses third Sunshine Law appeal
Following the third appeal of the same case, the Cole County Prosecutor's Office must produce records related to its drug task force that were requested in 2015.
Calzones receive mixed review from Southern District
A couple won and lost points on appeal after alleging the Maries County Commission and its members’ response to April 2020 lockdowns violated the Sunshine Law.
Sunshine Law would need ‘update’ to address ephemeral texts, court says
The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District ruled June 7 that the state’s open records law was not written to require government agencies to disclose messages that no longer exist.
Appeals court revives AG candidate’s Sunshine Law suit
A court has held that public governmental bodies cannot use a provision outlining fees for electronically maintained records to assess the cost of attorney-review time as “staff time” to people seeking records through the Sunshine Law.
Western District probes Sunshine Law research fees
A Missouri appeals court is considering the case of a St. Louis attorney who unsuccessfully sued Gov. Mike Parson after Parson’s office denied his records requests regarding former Gov. Eric Greitens’ administration. On April 22, Elad Gross argued in part before the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District that the judge overseeing the case, Cole […]
Judge rules against Missouri agency in open records case
A Missouri judge has ruled that a state agency purposely violated open records law when it tried to charge a genealogical research group nearly $1.5 million for birth and death records then completely rejected the group’s request. Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia S. Joyce ruled last week that the Missouri Department of Health and Senior […]
Judge sides with Kansas City Star in records fight
A judge ruled March 23 that Clay County had no authority to charge The Kansas City Star $4,200 for copies of its outside attorney’s billing statements. Nonetheless, The Star can’t recover the costs of the litigation. The suit came after a reporter for The Kansas City Star requested copies of itemized billing statements and invoices […]
Judge awards fees for Raytown Sunshine Law appeal
A Lee’s Summit woman who sued the City of Raytown for violating the Sunshine Law has nearly doubled her recovery after a judge awarded $41,000 in attorneys’ fees to her for prevailing in an appeal brought by the city. In a March 9 order, Jackson County Judge S. Margene Burnett awarded Paula Wyrick’s attorneys at […]
Eastern District panel reverses denial of fees in Sunshine suit
A judgment in a Jefferson County Sunshine Law case has resulted in a partial reversal from a Missouri appeals court, which ruled that a requester is entitled to fees to defend himself in a declaratory-judgment action. In the same Feb. 4 ruling, however, a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District ruled […]
Missouri Supreme Court reverses Sunshine costs for attorney
The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled fully in favor of a Mexico attorney who brought a Sunshine lawsuit against the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of St. Louis in the midst of a hotly contested 2016 primary election. In a unanimous ruling Dec. 24, the court affirmed a lower-court ruling finding the board […]
Legal moves, award winners top Missouri Lawyers Media’s most-read online stories of 2019
Award winners, unexpected departures, lawyers running into trouble and a legal battle involving the Sunshine Law drew the most attention from readers of Missouri Lawyers Media on molawyersmedia.com in 2019. Here are the 10 most-viewed stories on our website in the past year: 10. Greensfelder CEO dies in biking accident (June) The loss of Tim […]
Civil Practice: Sunshine Law-Attorneys’ Fees
Where a city clerk challenged trial court orders addressing her failure to disclose records under the state’s sunshine law and imposing a civil penalty and attorneys’ fees to the opposing party, substantial evidence supported the finding that the clerk’s refusal to disclose the records was a purposeful and knowing violation of the law, and the […]
Latest Opinion Digests
- Immigration: Asylum-Withholding of Removal-Appellate Jurisdiction
- Criminal Law: Child Pornography-Bottom-of-Guidelines Sentence-Substantive Reasonableness of Sentence
- Criminal Law: Child Abuse-Sufficiency Of Evidence-Closing Argument
- Civil Rights: Religious Freedom-RLUIPA-Res Judicata
- Civil Practice: Res Judicata-Stop Work Order
- Immigration: Drug Conviction-Removability-Overbreadth of State Offense
- Civil Practice: Asset Forfeiture-Sanctions
- Civil Rights: Due Process-Failure to State Claim
- Probate : Revocable Trust – Amendment – Reformation
- Employer – Employee : Unpaid Commissions – At-Will Status
- Criminal Law : Post-Conviction Relief – Effectiveness Of Counsel – Conflict Of Interest
- Appellate Practice : Jurisdiction – Final Judgment
Top stories
- Nurse entitled to disability benefits despite working months after accident, Supreme Court rules
- Eastern District rules 10 cases against TitleMax may proceed without arbitration
- Supreme Court declines to hear Republican appeals on abortion ballot initiatives
- Cole County jury awards $1.56 billion in Roundup case headed for appeal
- Jury gives massive award after fleeing suspect causes fatal crash
- 8th Circuit tosses suit claiming false sale prices
- Attorney general releases report on Kim Gardner investigation
- Legal Limelight: Jason C. Smith, Office Managing Partner, Spencer Fane
