Supreme Court of Missouri Decisions 2016
Date: December 20, 2016
Docket Number: SC95358
Justia Opinion Summary: Franklin Allen obtained a $16 million personal injury award against Wayne Bryers after Bryers’ handgun discharged, seriously injuring Allen. Thereafter, Allan filed a Mo. R. Civ. P. 90 garnishment action seeking proceeds…
Date: December 20, 2016
Docket Number: SC95482
Justia Opinion Summary: The State Board of Nursing entered a disciplinary order imposing discipline on the nursing license of Karen Carpenter, including a three-year probationary period with numerous conditions and restrictions. The circuit…
Date: December 20, 2016
Docket Number: SC95629
Justia Opinion Summary: In a court-tried case, Defendant was found guilty of second-degree assault and armed criminal action. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that the circuit court erred in overruling his motion for judgment of…
Date: December 8, 2016
Docket Number: SC95946
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested and charged with possessing and attempting to use as genuine a forged social security card. Defendant was being held without bail, as provided in his arrest warrant. Counsel for Defendant…
Date: December 6, 2016
Docket Number: SC95613
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. Prior to trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress statements he made to police after being read his Miranda rights. The trial court sustained…
Date: November 1, 2016
Docket Number: SC95606
Justia Opinion Summary: When Plaintiff’s utility terrain vehicle (UTV) overturned the roof of the UTV failed and caused Plaintiff injuries. Plaintiff sued Chesterfield Valley Sports, Inc. (Defendant). Prior to trial, Plaintiff designated…
Date: November 1, 2016
Docket Number: SC95666
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree burglary and stealing. The convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. Thereafter, Defendant filed a petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that his…
Date: October 18, 2016
Docket Number: SC95377
Justia Opinion Summary: Heartland Title Services, Inc. filed a petition in the circuit court of Jackson County alleging professional malpractice claims against Paul Hasty and Hasty and Associates, LLC (collectively, Hasty). Hasty filed a motion…
Date: October 4, 2016
Docket Number: SC95022
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an action against St. Anthony’s Medical Center alleging that St. Anthony’s provided negligent medical care that caused him to develop a stage IV pressure ulcer. The jury returned a verdict in favor of…
Date: October 4, 2016
Docket Number: SC95388
Justia Opinion Summary: Gate Gourmet, Inc. owns and operates a facility near the Lambert-St. Louis International airport from which it sells frozen meals to various commercial airlines. Gate Gourmet filed sales tax returns for the tax years…
Date: September 20, 2016
Docket Number: SC95464
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured after she slipped and fell in a bathroom on the premises of Cass Regional Medical Center (Defendant). Plaintiff filed a petition for damages against Defendant, and the case was tried to a jury. The…
Date: September 20, 2016
Docket Number: SC95924
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered around Amendment No. 3, a constitutional amendment proposed by initiative petition. After the Secretary of State certified Amendment No. 3 for the November 8, 2016 general election ballot, various…
Date: August 23, 2016
Docket Number: SC94038
Justia Opinion Summary: Brentwood Glass filed a petition against the County and several other defendants, asserting, inter alia, a mechanic’s lien claim against all defendants for unpaid work on a construction project and an action against St.…
Date: August 23, 2016
Docket Number: SC94115
Justia Opinion Summary: After discovering that petroleum from a service station’s underground storage tank had leaked and contaminated soil in the City of Harrisonville, the City filed a petition for damages against McCall Service Stations, the…
Date: August 23, 2016
Docket Number: SC95221
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his challenge during voir dire to one of the…
Date: August 23, 2016
Docket Number: SC95318
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of burglary and four counts of stealing. Three of the four stealing counts were charged as felonies - one count for each of two firearms stolen and one count for rings stolen.…
Date: August 9, 2016
Docket Number: SC95363
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree statutory rape and incest. The convictions were affirmed on appeal. Appellant subsequently filed a pro se Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 motion for post-conviction…
Date: July 26, 2016
Docket Number: SC94680
Justia Opinion Summary: Byrne & Jones Enterprises, Inc. filed an action against Monroe City R-1 School District alleging that it was denied a fair and equal opportunity to compete in the bidding process for a public works contract to build an…
Date: July 26, 2016
Docket Number: SC95369
Justia Opinion Summary: In April 2015, the Missouri General assembly passed House Bill 150 (HB 150), which made changes to Missouri’s unemployment benefits compensation statutes. The Governor subsequently vetoed HB 150. In September 2015,…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC94959
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of the class C felony of possession of a controlled substance and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment as a prior and persistent offender. Defendant appealed, arguing that the…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95064
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a petition for a private way of necessity over properties owned by the Creekstone Homeowners Association and certain individuals (collectively, the Creekstone parties) and the Missouri Highways and…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95170
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, who was employed by the Missouri Department of Corrections as a corrections officer, was involved in a workplace accident. Appellant filed a claim for workers’ compensation seeking reimbursement from the…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95214
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, a former police officer with the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD), filed a complaint against SLMPD, the Saint Louis Board of Police Commissioners (Board), and related individuals, alleging…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95255
Justia Opinion Summary: The Missouri Real Estate Appraisers Commission denied Funk’s application for certification as a state-certified appraiser. The Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) granted the application and, after judicial review,…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95307
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs believed that Arnold police department employees had accessed their confidential records in the “Regional Justice Information System” database and filed a complaint. The department completed an internal…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95444
Justia Opinion Summary: The Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank Insurance Fund sued, alleging that Phillips improperly obtained reimbursement from the Fund. Wagoner, a participant in and potential claimant against the Fund (RSMo 319.138) moved to…
Date: June 28, 2016
Docket Number: SC95465
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanford purchased CenturyLink's internet and phone services. CenturyLink’s “Internet Services Agreement” contains a mandatory arbitration clause for “any and all claims, controversies or disputes of any kind.” Months…
Date: June 7, 2016
Docket Number: SC94393
Justia Opinion Summary: While driving a commercial motor vehicle for his employer, Kevin Parr was killed when his truck was involved in a single-vehicle accident. Plaintiffs, Parr’s two children and father brought a wrongful death action…
Date: June 7, 2016
Docket Number: SC94442
Justia Opinion Summary: Curt and Cheri Peters filed a personal injury action against Patrick Terrio, alleging that Mr. Peters was injured at work because Terrio, a supervisory co-employee, was negligent. Peters and Terrio were employed by…
Date: May 24, 2016
Docket Number: SC95271
Justia Opinion Summary: Peggy Stevens McGraw and Samuel C. Jones filed suit alleging the State erroneously implemented the 2010 compensation schedule adopted by the Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials pursuant to…
Date: May 24, 2016
Docket Number: SC95301
Justia Opinion Summary: Ryan Amorine sought a writ of prohibition to prevent the trial court from holding a probation revocation hearing after Amorine’s term of probation expired. On May 4, 2011, Amorine pleaded guilty to possession of a…
Date: May 24, 2016
Docket Number: SC95337
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs the Missouri Municipal League, the City of Springfield, and Richard Sheets appealed a circuit court's judgment for the State on plaintiffs' challenge to the constitutional validity of two bills passed by the…
Date: May 20, 2016
Docket Number: SC95678
Justia Opinion Summary: Rachel Johns sought the Democratic party’s nomination for Missouri State Representative in the District 76. She filed a declaration of candidacy with the Missouri Secretary of State, in which she stated under oath, that…
Date: May 3, 2016
Docket Number: SC93134
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was a federal employee with a health insurance plan governed by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Act (FEHBA). Appellant filed suit against Group Health Plan, Inc. and ACS Recovery Services, Inc.…
Date: May 3, 2016
Docket Number: SC95079
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of two counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree. Thereafter, Appellant filed a Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief claiming that his trial counsel was ineffective for…
Date: May 3, 2016
Docket Number: SC95139
Justia Opinion Summary: After a fifth jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence on direct appeal. Appellant later filed an amended Mo. R.…
Date: May 3, 2016
Docket Number: SC95181
Justia Opinion Summary: Krispy Kreme sought a refund for sales tax it had remitted on retail sales of donuts and non-hot beverages between April 2003 and December 2005, arguing that not more than eighty percent of its food products were sold…
Date: May 3, 2016
Docket Number: SC95205
Justia Opinion Summary: The Director of Revenue assessed use tax on the service charges Bartlett International Inc. and Bartlett Grain Co., LP (collectively, Bartlett) paid to install a grain conveyor at one of its grain elevators in Missouri.…
Date: April 19, 2016
Docket Number: SC94844
Justia Opinion Summary: Joseph Mickels died from an incurable, terminal brain tumor. Mickels’ family (collectively, Plaintiffs) brought a wrongful death action against Defendant, a physician, for negligently failing to diagnose the tumor.…
Date: April 19, 2016
Docket Number: SC95083
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought a negligence action against Defendant and Defendant's employer, a motel, to recover for injuries Plaintiff sustained while staying at the motel. The parties entered a settlement agreement, but the…
Date: April 19, 2016
Docket Number: SC95151
Justia Opinion Summary: Shannon Dodson died as a result of a dissection of her left main coronary artery during a cardiac catheterization. Dodson’s family (Plaintiffs) brought a wrongful death action against the physician who treated Dodson and…
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC94622
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and multiple counts of first-degree assault, forcible rape, and forcible sodomy. Appellant was sentenced to death for the murder. The Supreme Court…
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC94999
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, IBM Corp. filed a use tax return for its sales of hardware and software to MasterCard International, LLC for MasterCard’s use in processing credit and debt card transactions, claiming that the equipment it sold…
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC95003
Justia Opinion Summary: The Macon County Emergency Services Board (Board) filed a petition for declaratory judgment against the Macon County Commission (Commission) seeking a judgment that it was entitled to receive a share of Mason County’s…
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC95013
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed suit alleging that Respondents - Odessa Gun & Pawn, Charles Doleshal, and Derrick Dady - negligently sold or entrusted a gun to Appellant’s mentally ill daughter, who used the gun to kill Appellant’s…
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC95029
Justia Opinion Summary: Office Depot, Inc., which is incorporated in the state of Delaware and headquartered in Florida, contracts with a printer to have catalogs printed in Illinois and Indiana. The Postal Service delivers the catalogs to…
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC95283
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed suit against four City of Grandview police officers alleging wrongful arrest, battery, malicious prosecution and negligence. Plaintiffs joined the City, alleging that the City was vicariously liable for…
Date: March 15, 2016
Docket Number: SC93648
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of murdering his aunt, uncle, and their granddaughter. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death on all three counts of first-degree murder. The Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: March 15, 2016
Docket Number: SC94923
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of recklessly exposing another to HIV without that person’s knowledge and consent pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 191.677. Defendant was sentenced to seven years’…
Date: March 15, 2016
Docket Number: SC94942
Justia Opinion Summary: A few weeks before his thirty-first birthday, John Doe filed suit against the Heart of America Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the national Boy Scouts of America organization (collectively, “the Boy Scouts”),…
Date: March 15, 2016
Docket Number: SC95055
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the Director of Revenue’s final determination regarding Harry Fischer’s 2007 income tax liability. Fischer appealed the Director’s decision to the Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC),…
Date: March 15, 2016
Docket Number: SC95110
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of second-degree murder, armed criminal action, and first-degree burglary. Defendant was sentenced to concurrent terms of life imprisonment for the second-degree murder and…
Date: March 1, 2016
Docket Number: SC95194
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of one count of second-degree drug trafficking. Appellant appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction and alleging trial error. The court of appeals reversed…
Date: February 9, 2016
Docket Numbers: SC94936, SC94989
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. 571.070.1, which prohibits nonviolent felons from possessing firearms. Defendants had been convicted previously of nonviolent…
Date: February 9, 2016
Docket Number: SC94954
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm in violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. 571.070.1(1), which prohibits nonviolent felons from possessing firearms. Defendant had been convicted previously of the…
Date: February 9, 2016
Docket Number: SC94977
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant purchased two assault rifles and engaged in target practice while planning to commit a mass shooting. Defendant’s mother alerted the police. During an interview at the police station, Defendant admitted that…
Date: February 9, 2016
Docket Number: SC95088
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1973, Appellant pleaded guilty to felony forgery. In 1975, Appellant was discharged from probation pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 549.111.2, which provided that individuals discharged from probation were “restored all the…
Date: February 9, 2016
Docket Number: SC95094
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree statutory sodomy. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the trial court erred by failing to sustain his application for a change of venue under…
Date: January 26, 2016
Docket Number: SC94658
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with attempted manufacture of a controlled substance of maintaining a public nuisance. During closing arguments, the State presented to the jury a slideshow that included an enlarged color…
Date: January 26, 2016
Docket Number: SC94745
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with first degree assault and an associated armed criminal action count under Mo. Rev. Stat. 571.015.1. Defendant, who was a juvenile at the time of the offenses, moved to dismiss the armed criminal…
Date: January 26, 2016
Docket Number: SC94924
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count each of burglary in the first degree and an associated count of armed criminal action, attempted robbery in the first degree and an associated count of armed…
Date: January 12, 2016
Docket Number: SC94746
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of De Soto and a De Soto resident (collectively, Appellants) filed suit against the governor and attorney general (collectively, Respondents) seeking a declaratory judgment that Mo. Rev. Stat. 321.322.4 violates…
Date: January 12, 2016
Docket Number: SC94831
Justia Opinion Summary: The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) brought claims of inverse condemnation, trespass, and negligence against the City of Bellefontaine Neighbors for damages caused to MSD sewer lines during the course of a…
Date: January 12, 2016
Docket Number: SC94840
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was arrested for driving while intoxicated and agreed to take a breath test on a breath analyzer, which measured a .172-percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The Director of Revenue revoked Respondent’s…
Date: January 12, 2016
Docket Number: SC94927
Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer searched a plastic grocery bag that Defendant was holding after he was already handcuffed and seated in the police car. Inside the bag the officer discovered heroin. Defendant was charged with the class…
Date: January 12, 2016
Docket Number: SC95066
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Plaintiff purchased a new car from Defendant. In 2014, Plaintiff filed the underlying petition for damages, alleging that Defendant violated the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act by failing to pass title for…
Date: January 12, 2016
Docket Number: SC95102
Justia Opinion Summary: The Director of Revenue assessed Miss Dianna’s School of Dance, Inc. $23,215 plus interest in unpaid taxes. Miss Dianna’s charged fees for dance classes that instruct participants on various styles of dance. The…
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