Supreme Court of Missouri Decisions 2017
Date: December 19, 2017
Docket Number: SC96032
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the motion court’s judgment dismissing Appellant’s Rule 24.035 motion, which was filed one day late, as untimely. On appeal, Appellant argued that a narrow exception applies to allow the date…
Date: December 19, 2017
Docket Number: SC96041
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission denying workers’ compensation for the death of Patricia White’s husband, Ulysses. Ulysses suffered a fatal cardiovascular event…
Date: December 19, 2017
Docket Number: SC96189
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted a writ of prohibition sought by Bayer Corporation and related entities (collectively, Bayer) directing the circuit court to dismiss nonresident Plaintiffs’ claims in a petition alleging personal…
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC96008
Justia Opinion Summary: Article I, section 35 of the Missouri Constitution, which protects “the right of farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices” does not create a new constitutional right to engage in the illegal drug…
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC96376
Justia Opinion Summary: Despite the recent amendments to rent and possession suits, the legislature’s removal of the right to a trial de novo with the possibility of a jury at the circuit court in rent and possession cases still results in…
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC96499
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court dismissing Appellant’s petition seeking declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and damages against his former employer (Employer). After he was terminated,…
Date: December 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC96524
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree murder, felony abuse of a child, and forcible sodomy. The circuit court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment without…
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: SC96219
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted mandamus relief to Relator, who sought to resign, revoke, or withdraw the circuit court’s medical authorization order authorizing the release of the decedent’s medical records, holding that the…
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Number: SC96225
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court declined to grant mandamus relief to the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, which sought a writ to compel the circuit court to stay arbitration of the Authority’s claims in its petition…
Date: November 21, 2017
Docket Numbers: SC96378, SC96382
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted writs of prohibition directing the circuit court to vacate its orders sustaining Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 29.12(b) motions and amending the stealing convictions and sentences of Jesse Nelson and Jack…
Date: October 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC94822
Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Pinkerton sought a writ of mandamus or prohibition requiring the circuit court to overrule a motion to compel arbitration filed by the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (the school). After Pinkerton graduated from…
Date: October 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC96107
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court entering summary judgment in favor of the Doe Run Resources Corporation in this insurance coverage dispute. Doe Run was sued by several minor plaintiffs…
Date: October 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC96280
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part the circuit court’s judgment in favor of Sun Aviation, Inc. on the complaint filed by L-3 Communications Avionics Systems, Inc. for violations of various provisions of the Merchandising…
Date: October 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC96474
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court concluded that the circuit court exceeded its authority by sustaining Robby Ledford’s Rule 29.07(d) motion to withdraw his plea of guilty to felony stealing and resentencing him as a misdemeanor…
Date: October 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC96515
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s amended Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief without an evidentiary hearing and remanded the case, holding that Appellant’s…
Date: October 17, 2017
Docket Number: SC96016
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Appellant of murder in the second degree and armed criminal action. The court held (1) Appellant’s claim that the self-defense instruction submitted…
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC95707
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court in this class action finding that every class member suffered damage as a result of alleged misrepresentations on the part of Nissan North American, Inc. and…
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC96153
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment terminating Mother’s parental rights to her twin girls and approving the adoption of the twins by their foster parents, holding that clear, cogent and convincing…
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Numbers: SC96159, SC96160, SC96165, SC96187
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied habeas relief to Petitioners, four individuals, who were incarcerated for their convictions for the class C felony of stealing property worth $500 or more but less than $25,000, in violation of…
Date: October 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC96307
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court terminating Father’s parental rights to Child and granting the petition for the adoption filed by Mother and Stepfather. The circuit court concluded that…
Date: September 26, 2017
Docket Number: SC96038
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the circuit court dismissing Appellants’ petitions against Respondents for failure to state a claim for relief. The circuit court ruled that the petitions, which alleged, in…
Date: September 12, 2017
Docket Number: SC95885
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission awarding Employee workers’ compensation benefits representing fifty percent permanent partial disability of the body as a whole…
Date: September 12, 2017
Docket Number: SC95953
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s amended motion for postconviction relief filed under Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15. On appeal, the State asserted that the motion court erred by…
Date: September 12, 2017
Docket Number: SC96079
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s Rule 24.035 motion challenging her felony conviction for driving while intoxicated. The motion court overruled the motion after holding an…
Date: September 12, 2017
Docket Number: SC96151
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court awarding Maddison Schmidt $15 million in compensatory damages and $23 million in punitive damages for her personal injury claim. The court held that the…
Date: September 12, 2017
Docket Number: SC96179
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment dismissing the petition of Grandparents for visitation and custody of their grandson, over whom Guardians had guardianship. The circuit court concluded that…
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: SC95481
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the sentences imposed upon Defendant after the circuit court convicted him of thirteen counts stemming from the sexual abuse of his two step-daughters and his biological daughter. At…
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Numbers: SC95758, SC95759
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court judgments denying two employers’ requests for permanent writs of mandamus against the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR). The circuit court rejected Employers’…
Date: August 22, 2017
Docket Number: SC96212
Justia Opinion Summary: Two former employees of the Missouri Department of Insurance (collectively, Employees) filed a petition in Jackson County circuit court requesting a writ of mandamus directing the Department and its director…
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: SC95910
Justia Opinion Summary: The Administrative Hearing Commission erred in finding that the St. Louis Rams did not have to pay sales tax on the entertainment license tax (ELT) they included and collected from ticket purchasers as the amount paid…
Date: August 1, 2017
Docket Number: SC96034
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court did not abuse its discretion by allowing prospective juror 24 to serve on the jury in this medical negligence case. Following a jury trial, the trial court entered judgment in favor of defendant…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC93134
Justia Opinion Summary: Nevils was a federal employee insured through a plan governed by the Federal Employee Health Benefits Act (FEHBA) when she was injured in an automobile accident. Coventry paid her medical expenses and asserted a…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC93487
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983, Carr was convicted capital murder for killing his brother, stepmother, and stepsister when he was 16 years old. He was sentenced to three concurrent terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole for…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC94865
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanders was convicted of murder in the second degree and is serving a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of Sherilyn Hill (RSMo section 565.021.1). Consistent with the indictment, the trial court instructed…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC95280
Justia Opinion Summary: Jorgensen knocked Stout unconscious. Jorgensen and Jensen beat Stout with their fists and baseball bats and stomped on his head, chest, and midsection, then dragged him into the woods and left him for dead. The next day,…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC95395
Justia Opinion Summary: Willbanks was 17 years old when he was charged with kidnapping, first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree robbery, and three counts of armed criminal action, based on a carjacking. He was convicted and sentenced…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC95430
Justia Opinion Summary: Brown went to Whitehead’s apartment and requested that Whitehead come outside. Whitehead recognized Brown and followed him downstairs. As they reached an exterior door, Brown pointed a gun at Whitehead and fired.…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC95461
Justia Opinion Summary: Smith was arrested after a string of break-ins at Sedalia businesses and was charged with one count of first-degree burglary, four counts of second-degree burglary, four counts of felony stealing, and one count of…
Date: July 11, 2017
Docket Number: SC95473
Justia Opinion Summary: In connection with a home-invasion robbery and murder, Nathan, 16 years old, was convicted on 26 counts. Pursuant to RSMo 565.020.2, the court sentenced Nathan to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus…
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: SC95658
Justia Opinion Summary: Bishop & Associates, LLC (B&A) filed an action against Ameren Corp. and others (collectively, Defendants) alleging wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and other claims after Ameren terminated its…
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: SC95752
Justia Opinion Summary: Carl Kirk was committed to the custody of the Department of Mental Health under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA), Mo. Rev. Stat. 632.480 through 632.525. On appeal, the court of appeals transferred the case to…
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: SC95777
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Johnson brought a products liability case against Cottrell Inc. and Auto Handling Corp. At the conclusion of Johnson’s case the trial court directed a verdict in favor of Auto Handling on all of Johnson’s theories…
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: SC95791
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: SC95909
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of sale of a controlled substance and one count of unlawful possession of firearms. Defendant filed a motion for postconviction relief. The motion was premature because it was filed…
Date: June 27, 2017
Docket Number: SC95975
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was committed to the custody of the Department of Mental Health under the Sexually Violent Predator Act (SVPA), Mo. Rev. Stat. 632.480 through 632.525. On appeal, the court of appeals transferred the case to…
Date: May 30, 2017
Docket Number: SC95800
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in overruling Christine Delf’s motion to enforce her plea agreement or in failing to permit Self to withdraw her guilty plea, as the court’s ruling comported with Mo. R.…
Date: May 30, 2017
Docket Number: SC95932
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, who was charged with multiple sex offenses, moved to disqualify the prosecuting attorney on the grounds that the prosecutor’s office obtained and disclosed phone calls made by Defendant to his attorneys from…
Date: May 16, 2017
Docket Number: SC95538
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court awarded Plaintiff $500,000 in damages on his claim against the Kansas City School District for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy. The Supreme Court remitted the award to $403,189 and…
Date: May 16, 2017
Docket Number: SC95624
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a petition against the State for declaratory judgment alleging that provisions of Senate Bill 5 violated the special laws provision in the Hancock Amendment to the Missouri Constitution, and five other…
Date: May 16, 2017
Docket Number: SC95890
Justia Opinion Summary: If evidence of alleged informed consent is introduced at trial, it should be subject to a withdrawal instruction because the evidence is irrelevant and can only mislead the jury in a medical malpractice case based on…
Date: May 16, 2017
Docket Number: SC95906
Justia Opinion Summary: This original proceeding in certiorari stemmed from George Fisher’s pleas of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect (NGRI) in two separate cases, one originating in Audrain County and the other in Jackson…
Date: May 16, 2017
Docket Number: SC96126
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, who owned residential property located entirely in St. Louis County, argued that Jefferson and Franklin counties systematically undervalued property in those counties, causing Appellants to bear a…
Date: May 2, 2017
Docket Number: SC95665
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant filed a Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 motion for post-conviction relief approximately sixteen months after the court of appeals issued its mandate affirming Defendant’s conviction for first-degree robbery, despite the…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: SC95175
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, who ran a kennel, filed a petition against the Humane Society of the United States and Missourians for the Protection of Dogs alleging that various statements made in documents related to the ballot…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: SC95303
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of murder in the first degree for shooting and killing two deputies. Appellant was sentenced to death. Appellant’s convictions were affirmed on direct appeal.…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: SC95527
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of three counts of robbery in the first degree, three counts of armed criminal action, and one count of resisting arrest. Appellant’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: SC95546
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed an action challenging the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’ (JCAR) authority to disapprove the “geographic sourcing” provisions of a 2010 rule promulgated by the Public Service Commission (PSC).…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: SC95916
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of murder in the first degree and armed criminal action. Appellant’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal. Appellant later filed a pro se motion for…
Date: April 25, 2017
Docket Number: SC95918
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife appealed the trial court’s judgment dissolving her marriage to Husband, challenging the court’s distribution of marital property. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court (1) equitably divided the…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: SC95619
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Zimmerman filed a petition for writ of prohibition to prevent the circuit court from holding a revocation hearing. The court of appeals denied the writ. Zimmerman then filed a writ petition with the Supreme…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: SC95764
Justia Opinion Summary: When William Fleming failed to pay his court costs within the first three years of his probation, Fleming’s probation was revoked and execution of his concurrent seven-year sentences was ordered. Fleming filed a petition…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: SC95783
Justia Opinion Summary: Bowman pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property. Although restitution was not originally a condition of Bowman’s probation, the State filed a motion to modify Bowman’s probation by adding a…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: SC95843
Justia Opinion Summary: Owners Insurance Company issued Vicki and Chris Craig a policy with underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. Vicki was injured in an accident when her vehicle was struck by a vehicle driven by another motorist. Vicki…
Date: April 4, 2017
Docket Number: SC95865
Justia Opinion Summary: A Bank provided loans to owners of eight condominium units. All eight owners became delinquent on their loans to the Bank and failed to make timely payments on the property owners’ association’s (POA) assessments. The…
Date: March 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95451
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of second-degree statutory rape and the class D felony of incest. Appellant’s convictions and sentences were affirmed. Appellant later filed a pro se motion for…
Date: March 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95713
Justia Opinion Summary: Missouri American Water Company (MAWC) filed a petition to charge an infrastructure system replacement surcharge to its St. Louis County customers. The Public Service Commission (PSC) approved the petition. The Office of…
Date: March 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95844
Justia Opinion Summary: Shelter Mutual Insurance Company issued the Swadley family a policy with underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. The policy’s declarations page listed “100,000 Per Person” as the UIM limit. After Angela Swadley was killed…
Date: March 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95847
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree burglary, misdemeanor stealing, and driving while revoked. Defendant appealed, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for…
Date: March 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95939
Justia Opinion Summary: When Child was not yet one year old, Grandfather filed a petition to establish a guardianship and conservatorship jointly in two cousins, alleging that Mother was unable or unfit to assume the duties of guardianship.…
Date: February 28, 2017
Docket Number: SC95401
Justia Opinion Summary: St. Louis City’s Ordinance 70078 establishes a citywide local minimum wage. The trial court invalidated the Ordinance because it requires a higher minimum wage than the state requires in Mo. Rev. Stat. 290.502. In so…
Date: February 28, 2017
Docket Numbers: SC95483, SC95484
Justia Opinion Summary: David DePriest and Natalie DePriest, brother and sister, were charged separately with offenses arising from their cultivation of marijuana plants. The DePriests were represented by the same counsel throughout their…
Date: February 28, 2017
Docket Number: SC95514
Justia Opinion Summary: Russel Parker, an Indiana resident, brought a personal injury action against Norfolk Southern Railway Company, a Virginia corporation, under the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, alleging cumulative trauma sustained…
Date: February 28, 2017
Docket Number: SC95755
Justia Opinion Summary: David and Crystal Holm filed a wrongful foreclosure action against Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc. for allegedly foreclosing on their home without right. The Holms also filed a quiet title action against Freddie Mac,…
Date: February 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95422
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, 52 U.S. states and territories entered into the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with tobacco manufacturers (PMs), which released the PMs from tobacco-related consumer protection and product liability lawsuits…
Date: February 14, 2017
Docket Number: SC95785
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, TracFone Wireless, Inc. sought refunds of the difference between the sales tax it paid on its sales to Missouri residents and the use tax it believes it should have paid, arguing that it qualified for the “in…
Date: January 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC95532
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commission determined that Charles and Mary Harter improperly calculated their income eligibility for purposes of the Property Tax Credit (PTC), under sections 135.010 to 135.035 of RSMO Supp., and found that the…
Date: January 31, 2017
Docket Number: SC95655
Justia Opinion Summary: The court quashed its preliminary writ of prohibition to consider relator's claim that the new rule of evidence set forth in the 2014 amendment to article I, section 18(c) of the Missouri Constitution could not be…
Date: January 17, 2017
Docket Number: SC95368
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was a proposed ordinance establishing a minimum wage for Kansas City. The City of Kansas City filed an action seeking to have the trial court order the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners…
Date: January 17, 2017
Docket Number: SC95818
Justia Opinion Summary: After a court-tried criminal trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of a chemical with the intent to manufacture a controlled substance. Defendant appealed, arguing that the State did not present sufficient…
Date: January 5, 2017
Docket Number: SC95602
Justia Opinion Summary: A juvenile officer filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Father, who was in prison, and Mother. After a trial, the circuit court entered a judgment terminating both parents’ parental rights. The court…
Date: January 3, 2017
Docket Number: SC95938
Justia Opinion Summary: The director of the Missouri State Public Defender System filed a complaint against the Honorable Christina Kunza Mennemeyer (Respondent), alleging, inter alia, a judicial practice of deliberately postponing the…
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