Supreme Court of Missouri Decisions 2016

Allen v. Bryers  
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…

Carpenter v. State  
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…

State v. Ransburg  
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…

Lopez-Matias v. State  
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…

State v. Holman  
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…

State ex rel. Malashock v. Honorable Michael T. Jamison  
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…

McNeal v. State  
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…

State ex rel. Heartland Title Services, Inc. v. Honorable Kevin D. Harrell  
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…

Dieser v. St. Anthony's Medical Center  
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…

Gate Gourmet, Inc. v. Dir. of Revenue  
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…

Smotherman v. Cass Regional Medical Center  
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…

Boeving v. Kander  
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…

Brentwood Glass Co. v. Pal's Glass Serv., Inc.  
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.…

City of Harrisonville v. McCall Serv. Stations  
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…

State v. Meeks  
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…

State v. Bazell  
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.…

Green v. State  
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…

Byrne & Jones Enters., Inc. v. Monroe City R-1 Sch. Dist.  
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…

Pestka v. State  
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,…

State v. Clark  
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…

Avery Contracting, LLC v. Niehaus  
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…

Malam v. State, Dep’t of Corr.  
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…

Ross-Paige v. Saint Louis Metro. Police Dep’t  
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…

Mo. Real Estate Appraisers Comm'n v. Funk  
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,…

Laut v. City of Arnold  
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…

Mo. Petroleum Storage Tank Ins. Fund Bd. of Directors v. ConocoPhillips Co.  
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…

Sanford v. CenturyTel of Mo., LLC  
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…

Parr v. Breeden  
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…

Peters v. Wady Industries, Inc.  
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…

McGraw v. Missouri  
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…

Missouri ex rel. Ryan Amorine vs. Honorable Kelly Wayne Parker  
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…

Missouri Municipal League v. Missouri  
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…

Peters v. Johns  
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…

Nevils v. Group Health Plan, Inc.  
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.…

Hoeber v. State  
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…

Barton v. State  
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.…

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. v. Dir. of Revenue  
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…

Bartlett Int’l, Inc. v. Dir. of Revenue  
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.…

Mickels v. Danrad  
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.…

Hunter v. Moore  
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…

Dodson v. Ferrara  
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…

Davis v. State  
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…

IBM Corp. v. Dir. of Revenue  
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…

Macon County Emergency Servs. Bd v. Macon County Comm’n  
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…

Delana v. CED Sales, Inc.  
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…

Office Depot, Inc. v. Dir. of Revenue  
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…

State ex rel. City of Grandview v. Hon. Jack R. Grate  
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…

In re: Joel B. Eisenstein, Respondent.
Date: April 5, 2016
Docket Number: SC95331
State v. Blurton  
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,…

State v. S.F.  
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’…

State ex rel. Heart of Am. Council v. Hon. Charles H. McKenzie  
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”),…

Fischer v. Dir. of Revenue  
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),…

State v. Hartman  
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…

State v. Zetina-Torres  
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…

State v. Lomax  
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…

State v. Clay  
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…

State v. Lammers  
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…

Hill v. Boyer  
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…

State v. Chambers  
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…

State v. Walter  
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…

State v. Smiley  
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…

State v. Jones  
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…

In re: Sanford P. Krigel, Respondent.
Date: January 26, 2016
Docket Number: SC95098
City of DeSoto v. Nixon  
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…

Metro. St. Louis Sewer Dist. v. City of Bellefontaine Neighbors  
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…

Stiers v. Dir. of Revenue  
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…

State v. Carrawell  
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…

Ellis v. JF Enters., LLC  
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…

Miss Dianna's Sch. of Dance, Inc., v. Dir. of Revenue  
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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