Supreme Court of Missouri Decisions 2012
Date: December 18, 2012
Docket Number: SC92380
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983, Respondent pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual assault. In 1995, Missouri's Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) became effective, requiring Respondent to register as a sex offender. In 2010,…
Date: December 18, 2012
Docket Number: SC92442
Justia Opinion Summary: During Petitioner's relationship with Mother, Mother gave birth to a son (Child). Although Petitioner was not listed on Child's birth certificate, Petitioner acted as Child's father. After the relationship between…
Date: December 18, 2012
Docket Number: SC92446
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant operated an herbicide and pesticide manufacturing plant. After a tax audit, the director of revenue issued Appellant use tax assessments on its chemical purchases for its Missouri plant that covered tax period…
Date: December 18, 2012
Docket Number: SC92553
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree. Before trial, a third amended information was filed that charged Defendant as a predatory sex offender on Counts I and III. A factual…
Date: December 4, 2012
Docket Number: SC92236
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed the circuit court's judgment convicting him of five counts of possession of child pornography. Defendant asserted three points on appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, holding (1) the trial…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: SC91736
Justia Opinion Summary: Two cities separately appealed judgments entered against each city and in favor of the Eastern Missouri Coalition of Police, Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 15 ordering the public employer to adopt collective bargaining…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: SC91766
Justia Opinion Summary: The American Federation of Teachers, its St. Louis affiliate, and individual representatives appealed the trial court's summary judgment declaring that the board of education of the Construction Career Center Charter…
Date: November 20, 2012
Docket Number: SC91787
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder, kidnapping, attempted forcible rape, and armed criminal action. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death and three life sentences to be served consecutively.…
Date: November 13, 2012
Docket Number: SC92159
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of St. Louis appealed the trial court's holding that the prohibition against special laws contained in Mo. Const. art. III, 40 was not violated by Mo. Rev. Stat. 320.097. That statute exempted certain veteran…
Date: November 13, 2012
Docket Number: SC92230
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed two judgments declaring Mo. Rev. Stat. 556.036 unconstitutional and dismissing, with prejudice, the criminal charges against Grant Mixon and Jeffrey Anderson. The judgments of the circuit court…
Date: October 30, 2012
Docket Number: SC92166
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Appellant guilty of four counts of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her three children. Appellant was sentenced to death for his crimes. Appellant…
Date: October 30, 2012
Docket Number: SC92532
Justia Opinion Summary: The State issued a warrant for Defendant's arrest after it was discovered that he was secretly videotaping clients while they undressed at his massage therapy business. Defendant was arrested and sought release on bail.…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: SC92250
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was found guilty by a jury of robbery in the first degree, armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon. The appellate court affirmed. Appellant filed a Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 motion, alleging his trial…
Date: October 16, 2012
Docket Number: SC92257
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was found guilty by a jury of the unlawful use of a weapon pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 571.030.1. Appellant appealed, arguing that the circuit court erred in overruling his motion for a judgment of acquittal…
Date: September 25, 2012
Docket Number: SC91760
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted and sentenced to twelve years without probation or parole for the class A felony of trafficking drugs in the first degree. On appeal, Defendant claimed, inter alia, that the trial court erred in…
Date: September 11, 2012
Docket Number: SC91897
Justia Opinion Summary: Hawthorn Bank appealed the trial court's entry of summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs on Hawthorn Bank's claim that its purchase-money deed of trust being recorded after the mechanics' liens attached to the property.…
Date: August 28, 2012
Docket Number: SC92142
Justia Opinion Summary: As a state employee, Laurel Beard was a member of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System (MOSERS). Beard filed for retirement but died before her annuity start date. Following Beard's death, Plaintiffs, Beard's…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: SC91802
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a challenge to the imposition of municipal taxes on SLAH, LLC, a business entity that owned a hotel located in the city of Woodson Terrace. The city appealed from the declaratory judgment entered…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: SC92145
Justia Opinion Summary: The Missouri Department of Corrections appealed the trial court's judgment in favor of Respondent on her claim of disability discrimination under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA). On appeal, the Department claimed…
Date: August 14, 2012
Docket Number: SC92291
Justia Opinion Summary: Whelan Security Company appealed a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Charles Kennebrew and W. Landon Morgan on its action to enforce the non-compete agreements it had with Kennebrew and Morgan. On…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC91150
Justia Opinion Summary: The Missouri Public Defender Commission petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition ordering the trial court to withdraw its appointment of the public defender's office to represent Defendant, alleging that…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC91727
Justia Opinion Summary: Deborah Gervich appealed the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission denying her workers' compensation benefits as a dependent of her deceased husband, Gary Gervich. The Commission found that Gary's…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC91867
Justia Opinion Summary: Deborah Watts filed the underlying medical malpractice action alleging that her son was born with disabling brain injuries because Cox Medical Centers and its associated physicians (collectively, Cox) provided negligent…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92072
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, St. Louis County (County) assumed control of solid waste collection in County's unincorporated areas. Prior to that, waste collection services had been provided by private entities, including respondent Haulers.…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92098
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant and Respondents entered into a lease agreement for a residence to be used by one of Respondents. Appellant later filed a petition for breach of contract and property damage against Respondents, claiming they…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92116
Justia Opinion Summary: This workers' compensation appeal raised the question of whether the fifteen-percent statutory violation penalty under Mo. Rev. Stat. 287.120.4 applies to an employee's (claimant) compensation award from the Second…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92202
Justia Opinion Summary: Ruth Mendenhall appealed a summary judgment in favor of Property and Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford on her equitable garnishment claim seeking insurance coverage for the death of her husband, Len Mendenhall. The…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92208
Justia Opinion Summary: Arnaz Crawford was fired from his job in January 2009. Crawford subsequently applied for Social Security disability benefits (SSDI benefits) due to a mental condition, but the social security administration…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92268
Justia Opinion Summary: David and Glenette Nothum sought a writ prohibiting the circuit court from compelling them to testify in a judgment debtor's examination conducted pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 513.380. The court ordered the Nothums to…
Date: July 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC92582
Justia Opinion Summary: The appeals consolidated in this opinion arose from lawsuits challenging three proposed initiatives - a tobacco tax initiative, a minimum wage initiative, and a payday loan initiative. The underlying suits sought to…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC91255
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder, forcible rape, and armed criminal action and sentenced to death on the first-degree murder charge. Defendant's subsequent motion for post-conviction relief was overruled.…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC91746
Justia Opinion Summary: This was the fifth action to come before the Supreme Court involving murders committed in 1996 by Carman Deck. Deck filed this Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 post-conviction proceeding, asserting (1) his counsel at the penalty…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC91948
Justia Opinion Summary: David Miller was convicted of six sexual offenses against his minor daughter and was sentenced to terms of imprisonment. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment with respect to Miller's convictions for first-degree…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92062
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants challenged the amendments to the state earnings tax statutes, Mo. Rev. Stat. 92.105 through 92.125, raising several arguments. The trial court dismissed Appellants' second amended petition with prejudice. The…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92074
Justia Opinion Summary: This was an appeal from the circuit court's entry of summary judgment quieting title to certain property in favor of Edward and Nancy Bosch. Harpagon MO, LLC asserted that the circuit court should have entered summary…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92127
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree robbery and armed criminal action. Defendant timely filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief, claiming that his trial counsel was ineffective for not…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92169
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned the tax sale of certain property to KSSO, LLC. The circuit court entered partial summary judgment awarding quiet title to the property to Catherine Ndegwa as trustee of the Mrema family revocable…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92175
Justia Opinion Summary: During Defendant's trial for assault and armed criminal action she and the State jointly proffered a defense-of-others instruction to the trial court that was submitted to the jury. Defendant sought reversal of her…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92177
Justia Opinion Summary: The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission denied Appellant unemployment benefits after it found that Appellant engaged in willful misconduct by repeatedly and deliberately disregarding her supervisor's instructions.…
Date: July 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC92390
Justia Opinion Summary: Sneil, LLC sought to quiet title to certain property and to eject Tybe Learning Center, Inc. and Regions Bank from that property. The circuit court found in favor of Tybe and Regions, concluding that Sneil failed to…
Date: June 19, 2012
Docket Number: SC92620
Justia Opinion Summary: Rochelle Gray appealed from the judgment of the trial court in favor of Sylvester Taylor on Gray's petition challenging the qualifications of Taylor to run for election in the Democratic Party primary for state…
Date: June 19, 2012
Docket Number: SC92621
Justia Opinion Summary: Jamilah Nasheed appealed from the trial court's judgment in favor of Robin Wright-Jones on Wright-Jones' petition challenging the qualifications of Nasheed to run for election in the Democratic Party primary for state…
Date: June 12, 2012
Docket Number: SC91834
Justia Opinion Summary: Lonnie Lewis died when the tractor trailer in which he was a passenger overturned. The driver of the truck, Nathan Gilmore, was employed by Buddy Freeman, and Freeman operated the tractor trailer pursuant to a contract…
Date: June 12, 2012
Docket Number: SC92252
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Elton Norfolk was found guilty of one count of unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon and one count of possession of marijuana. Norfolk appealed, arguing that the circuit court clearly erred in…
Date: June 12, 2012
Docket Number: SC92434
Justia Opinion Summary: Zane Valentine pleaded guilty to one count of child molestation in the first degree and three counts of statutory sodomy in the second degree. The plea agreement provided that Valentine would be placed in the Sex…
Date: May 29, 2012
Docket Number: SC88959
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Vincent McFadden was found guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Consistent with the jury's recommendation, McFadden was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1)…
Date: May 29, 2012
Docket Number: SC91670
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Danny Vaughn was charged with one count of burglary and one count of harassment. Both charges contained harassment elements. Upon a motion by Respondent, the motion court dismissed both counts, concluding that…
Date: May 29, 2012
Docket Number: SC91821
Justia Opinion Summary: David Liberty was convicted of one felony count of first-degree promoting child pornography and eight felony counts of first-degree possession of child pornography. Liberty alleged that the evidence the State presented…
Date: May 29, 2012
Docket Number: SC92113
Justia Opinion Summary: Sandy Johme was employed by St. John's Mercy Healthcare as a billing representative, and her work involved typing charges at a computer in an office. After making a pot of coffee at an office kitchen at work, Johme fell…
Date: May 25, 2012
Docket Number: SC92317
Justia Opinion Summary: Two groups of plaintiffs filed declaratory judgment actions to challenge the constitutional validity of the congressional redistricting map in H.B. 193, claiming that it failed to meet the constitutional requirements for…
Date: May 25, 2012
Docket Number: SC92351
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Missouri citizens and voters, filed a declaratory judgment action against the State and secretary of state to challenge the constitutionality of the redistricting plan for the Missouri House of…
Date: May 15, 2012
Docket Number: SC92219
Justia Opinion Summary: On November 7 2006, Courtney George was elected prosecuting attorney for Phelps County. George did not receive any salary increases during her term in office despite a report issued by the Missouri Citizens' Commission…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: SC91617
Justia Opinion Summary: A railroad employee (Plaintiff) was injured when his co-employee's personal pistol accidentally discharged. Plaintiff filed a vicarious liability claim under the Federal Employer's Liability Act against the railroad for…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: SC92003
Justia Opinion Summary: Jermane Clark was convicted of first degree murder and armed criminal action. The prosecution's case against Clark depended principally on the testimony of two witnesses. One of the witnesses, Maurice Payne, claimed to…
Date: May 1, 2012
Docket Number: SC92288
Justia Opinion Summary: The director of revenue for the State revoked James Hill's driving privileges for a period of ten years beginning October 2000. In June 2005, Hill was convicted of the misdemeanor of possession of drug paraphernalia. In…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91564
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial Kenneth Baumruk was found guilty of the first degree murder of his wife and sentenced to death. Baumruk timely filed a pro se motion for postconviction relief. The motion court denied some of the…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91831
Justia Opinion Summary: While Myrna Roberts (Myrna) worked for Western Blue, a document printing and management service company, Myrna oversaw a contract with the University of Missouri. In the meantime, Mel Roberts (Mel) operated Graystone…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91951
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved the question of how the amount of a deficiency owed by Fischer & Frichtel Inc, a commercial debtor, after a foreclosure sale of its property should be measured. The trial court submitted an instruction…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91968
Justia Opinion Summary: MoGas Pipeline operated an interstate natural gas pipeline delivering natural gas to customers in Missouri. MoGas submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) two proposals for approval. In both…
Date: April 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC92015
Justia Opinion Summary: St. John's Mercy Health System challenged the validity of the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee (MHFRC) rule that exempted new hospitals costing less than $1 million from the statutory requirement of obtaining…
Date: April 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC91492
Justia Opinion Summary: Ronald Sanders recovered judgments against Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed and Iftekhar Ahmed, P.A. (collectively, Defendants) for the wrongful death of his wife. After the jury returned a verdict awarding $9.2 million in…
Date: April 3, 2012
Docket Number: SC91898
Justia Opinion Summary: A developer attempted to plat a new subdivision within an existing subdivision, and sought the County's approval to use Bridle Parc Lane (BP Lane) as a public road. Several owners of lots in the subdivision brought an…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC90647
Justia Opinion Summary: Missouri Title Loans appealed from a judgment finding that a class arbitration waiver contained in its loan agreement, promissory note, and security agreement (agreement) was unenforceable. The Supreme Court affirmed the…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC91209
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Michael Tisius was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for killing two law enforcement officers and was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, holding that…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC91632
Justia Opinion Summary: Herschel Young was sworn in as presiding commissioner of Cass County in 2011. Teresa Hensley, the prosecuting attorney for the county, subsequently filed a quo warranto action in reliance upon Mo. Rev. Stat. 115.350,…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC91728
Justia Opinion Summary: Borrower brought suit against a payday loan company (Company), arguing that its arbitration agreement containing a class waiver was unenforceable. The trial court found that Company's arbitration agreement was…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC91741
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, the General Assembly enacted a series of statutes regulating the private investigator profession. Appellant subsequently applied for licensure as a private investigator. The Board of Private Investigator…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC91784
Justia Opinion Summary: Casey's Marketing Company was a convenience store engaged in the retail sale of gas, grocery items, nonfood items, and prepared foods. Aquila Foreign Qualifications Corporation was a utility that sold electricity to…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC91880
Justia Opinion Summary: After My Truong's home was foreclosed on, a trustee's sale was held, and Fannie Mae purchased Truong's home. Despite the sale, Truong continued to maintain possession of his home. Fannie Mae filed a petition for unlawful…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC92026
Justia Opinion Summary: Insured appealed the circuit court's grant of judgment on the pleadings to Broker on Insured's claims that Broker violated a fiduciary duty of loyalty to Insured by not disclosing that Broker received contingent…
Date: March 6, 2012
Docket Number: SC92125
Justia Opinion Summary: Jordan Danielle King-Willmann filed a petition seeking a writ of mandamus requiring the Webster Groves school district to enroll her in the district pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 167.131.2. The school district contested…
Date: February 14, 2012
Docket Number: SC91668
Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin Bromwell and several other inmates (Appellants) of the Jefferson County Correctional Center filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief, alleging that the circuit court's application of the…
Date: February 14, 2012
Docket Number: SC91742
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents, Legends Bank and John Klebba, filed a declaratory judgment action asserting that S.B. 844 (the Bill), which the Legislature passed in 2010, (1) violated the single subject requirement and original purpose…
Date: January 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC91369
Justia Opinion Summary: Max and Glenna Overbey recovered judgments against Chad Franklin National Auto Sales North, LLC (National) and Chad Franklin (Franklin) for fraudulent representations in violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices…
Date: January 31, 2012
Docket Number: SC91371
Justia Opinion Summary: Craig Street requested a refund of the local sales taxes the Missouri Director of Revenue required him to pay to license the boat, outboard motor, and trailer he purchased from a dealer in Maryland. The Administrative…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91415
Justia Opinion Summary: Custom Hardware Engineering (CHE) appealed an Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) decision determining that CHE was liable for use tax plus interest and additions to tax on its purchases of parts for use in…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91631
Justia Opinion Summary: The city of Winchester and its collector (Winchester) filed a class action lawsuit against Charter Communications on behalf of itself and other similarly situated Missouri municipal corporations and political…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91652
Justia Opinion Summary: Jesse Dorris, Jose Lopez-McCurdy and Louis Hill were denied the right to appeal their post-conviction relief motions on the merits because they were filed out of time. The State did not raise the issue of timeliness…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91658
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert and Janet McKeage (Relators) sued Bass Pro Outdoor World in a five-count petition for charging a document preparation fee for purchasing a boat. Relators subsequently sought class certification of both in-state…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91780
Justia Opinion Summary: CACH, LLC, a debt collector, brought an action against Jon Askew for an alleged outstanding debt owed by Askew. The circuit court entered judgment in favor of CACH and against Askew. Askew appealed, contending that CACH…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC91850
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Tyler McNeely refused to consent to an alcohol breath test or a blood test after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated. The arresting patrolman, without seeking a warrant from a judge, ordered a medical…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC92200
Justia Opinion Summary: Six state citizens and qualified voters residing in various areas of the state brought an action against the attorney general and secretary of state. A second group of citizens and qualified voters filed an action…
Date: January 17, 2012
Docket Number: SC92237
Justia Opinion Summary: Molly Teichman, as a citizen and qualified voter, filed a petition for permanent writs of prohibition and mandamus to prevent the secretary of state from holding an election based on either the original or revised Senate…
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