Supreme Court of Missouri Decisions 2018
Date: December 18, 2018
Docket Number: SC96640
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part the final judgment of the trial court dissolving Husband’s marriage to Wife, holding that the trial court’s retroactive award of maintenance was erroneous but the…
Date: December 18, 2018
Docket Number: SC96867
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s decision overruling Defendant’s motion suppress evidence found during a warrantless search and seizure of a bag that the police seized from the back seat of the vehicle in…
Date: December 18, 2018
Docket Number: SC97018
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court denying Appellants’ motion to compel arbitration pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. 435.440.1, holding that the circuit court erred in refusing to compel arbitration on…
Date: December 18, 2018
Docket Number: SC97091
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Administrative Hearing Commission finding Appellant’s claim for refund of sales tax untimely under Mo. Rev. Stat. 144.190.2, holding that the refund claim was untimely…
Date: December 4, 2018
Docket Number: SC96931
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court made permanent its preliminary writ of prohibition barring Respondent, Judge Bryan E. Round, from enforcing his order disqualifying the entire Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (PAO) in the…
Date: December 4, 2018
Docket Number: SC97026
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court made permanent its preliminary writ of prohibition barring Respondent, Judge Timothy J. Boyer, from enforcing his order disqualifying the entire City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office (CAO) in the…
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: SC96548
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 motion for postconviction relief after an evidentiary hearing, holding that the motion court did not err. After a…
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: SC97006
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court made permanent its preliminary writ of prohibition sought by PPG Industries, Inc. directing the circuit court to dismiss the underlying claim against it for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that…
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: SC97070
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of unlawful use of a weapon, third-degree domestic assault, first-degree burglary, and armed criminal action, holding that the evidence…
Date: October 16, 2018
Docket Number: SC96672
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Lender’s application to compel arbitration and stay proceedings on the claims brought by Borrower, holding that the plain language of the parties’…
Date: September 25, 2018
Docket Number: SC96830
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the circuit court's judgment committing appellant to the custody of the Department of Mental Health under the Sexually Violent Predator Act. The court held that appellant failed to…
Date: September 25, 2018
Docket Number: SC96851
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed the circuit court's judgment committing appellant to the department of mental health as a sexually violent predator. The court held that appellant failed to show how counsel was…
Date: September 11, 2018
Docket Number: SC96315
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s motion for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant’s postconviction counsel created a presumption of abandonment, and therefore,…
Date: September 11, 2018
Docket Number: SC96770
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of sodomy in the first degree and attempted sodomy in the first degree, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to…
Date: September 11, 2018
Docket Number: SC96901
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court in favor of Defendant in this wrongful death medical negligence action, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion. Plaintiffs alleged that…
Date: August 21, 2018
Docket Number: SC96885
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s judgment dismissing the the claims filed by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Petroleum Storage Tank insurance Fund, by and through the Missouri attorney general…
Date: July 31, 2018
Docket Number: SC96639
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court dismissing Appellant’s petition asking the court to order the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC) to provide him with a release date for his life…
Date: July 31, 2018
Docket Number: SC96754
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the motion court granting Respondent’s Maryland Rule 29.15 motion for postconviction relief and vacating the revocation of Respondent’s probation and imposition of sentences on…
Date: July 17, 2018
Docket Number: SC96453
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the motion court’s judgment denying Appellant postconviction relief, holding that the motion court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law were not clearly erroneous. On appeal from the…
Date: July 17, 2018
Docket Number: SC96514
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court in favor of Plaintiffs on their claims of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty and the award of punitive damages. On appeal, Defendant argued that…
Date: July 17, 2018
Docket Number: SC96909
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the motion court dismissing Appellant’s Mo. R. Crim. P. 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief without an evidentiary hearing and remanded the case with instructions to the…
Date: July 17, 2018
Docket Number: SC96993
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether consent is required from would-be affected counties before the Missouri Public Service Commission can issue a line certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) pursuant to the statute governing…
Date: July 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC95944
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court entered in favor of Kohner Properties, Inc. in this rent-and-possession action, holding that circuit courts may exercise discretion on a case-by-case basis to…
Date: July 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96222
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Missouri Public Service Commission determining that the term “methodology” as used in Rule 20.093(1)(F) means not only the formula used to compute a sum (i.e., the variables…
Date: July 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96739
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court in favor of Respondents in this declaratory and injunctive relief action challenging a series of regulatory amendments proposed by the Missouri Conservation…
Date: July 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96740
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court erroneously declared the law when it concluded that an employee’s violation of employer’s rules regarding vehicle operation were sufficient to preclude coverage under the omnibus clause of the…
Date: June 25, 2018
Docket Number: SC97244
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court quashing its preliminary order in mandamus against the Missouri Democratic Party and its chair and the secretary of state (collectively, Respondents), holding…
Date: June 12, 2018
Docket Number: SC96087
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court overruling Defendant’s motions to suppress evidence and sentencing Defendant to eight years’ imprisonment in connection with his conviction for possession of a…
Date: June 12, 2018
Docket Number: SC96095
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of one count of possession of child pornography and sentencing him to fifteen years’ imprisonment. On appeal, Defendant argued (1) the…
Date: June 12, 2018
Docket Number: SC96184
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the motion court overruling, without a hearing, Defendant’s Mo. R. Crim. P. 24.035 motion for postconviction relief from his conviction for assault in the first degree and…
Date: June 12, 2018
Docket Number: SC96496
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment granting summary judgment in favor of the Missouri Department of Public Safety’s Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control and dismissing Appellant’s first amended…
Date: June 12, 2018
Docket Number: SC96719
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court quashing its preliminary writ in mandamus and denying Bryan Robison’s request for a permanent writ against the director of the Department of Insurance,…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SC96188
Justia Opinion Summary: In this declaratory judgment action brought against Judge Russell E. Steele and Judge Kristie Swaim challenging two amendments to a consolidation agreement the parties entered into in 2008, the Supreme Court reversed the…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SC96195
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court entering judgment in favor of Sherry Spence on her wrongful death cause of action for the death of her husband. Spence sued BNSF Railway Company for the…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SC96513
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (Commission) declining to approve the agreement entered into Employer and Employee that Employer would make a lump sum payment to…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SC96599
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the motion court’s judgment overruling Appellant’s Mo. R. Crim. P. 24.035 motion without an evidentiary hearing, holding that the record conclusively refuted the claims made in the…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SC96731
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed an Administrative Hearing Commission (Commission) decision allowing the director of revenue to redistribute tax revenue owed to the City of Lee’s Summit but erroneously paid to Cass…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SC96899
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed as modified the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission’s determination that because Robert Casey’s exposure to asbestos occurred while he was employed by Employer, its insurer (Insurer), was…
Date: May 1, 2018
Docket Number: SC96371
Justia Opinion Summary: Here, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its decision in Mahoney v. Doerhoff Surgical Services, Inc., 807 S.W.2d 503 (Mo. 1991), upholding the constitutional validity of Mo. Rev. Stat. 538.225’s requirement of an affidavit…
Date: May 1, 2018
Docket Number: SC96478
Justia Opinion Summary: Article I, section 18(c), which voters added to the Missouri Constitution in 2014, does not violate due process. Defendant was convicted of three counts of first-degree statutory sodomy. On appeal, Defendant challenged…
Date: May 1, 2018
Docket Number: SC96601
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the relief ordered by the trial court for the Columbia Police Department’s infringement of Shayne Healea’s attorney-client privilege and violation of his Sixth Amendment rights was adequate. The…
Date: May 1, 2018
Docket Number: SC96796
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of unlawful possession of a firearm, holding that, by pleading guilty, Defendant waived his argument that the amended complaint and…
Date: April 17, 2018
Docket Number: SC95771
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court dismissing Petitioner’s petition alleging that the debt collection actions of the owners and operators of LifeSmile Dental Care (collectively, LifeSmile) and…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC95858
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court made permanent a preliminary writ of prohibition sought by Relators prohibiting Respondent, the Honorable James F. Kanatzar, from taking any action other than granting their motion to dismiss the…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Numbers: SC95976, SC95977
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court made permanent preliminary writs of prohibition sought by Relators to prevent the circuit court from taking any action other than vacating its orders overruling their respective motions to dismiss on…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96024
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of the State on Plaintiff’s action seeking a declaration that the State could not enforce Mo. Rev. Stat. 571.707 against him…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96215
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Zoning Adjustment of the City of Kansas City (BZA) to deny the request of the Antioch Community Church (Church) for a nonuse zoning variance for a digital display…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96333
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of the charge of resisting arrest, holding that the evidence did not support the submission of resisting arrest. Specifically, the Court…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96516
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court made permanent its preliminary writ of prohibition, holding that the circuit court exceeded its authority in refusing to transfer venue of Defendant’s petition for writ of habeas corpus. While detained…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SC96545
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court dissolving the marriage of Jessica Bowers and Jason Bowers and designating Jason a third party in the dissolution proceeding for purposes of determining…
Date: March 6, 2018
Docket Numbers: SC95995, SC95997
Justia Opinion Summary: Because Plaintiffs in these two personal injury suits failed to allege a breach of a duty unrelated to employment or a breach of workplace safety that was so unforeseeable to the employer as to take it outside the…
Date: March 6, 2018
Docket Number: SC96030
Justia Opinion Summary: In this personal injury suit, the trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant under Parr v. Breeden, 489 S.W.3d 774, 778 (Mo. banc 2016) and Peters v. Wady Industries, Inc., 489 S.W.3d 784, 789-90…
Date: March 6, 2018
Docket Number: SC96042
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court concluding that Plaintiff’s wrongful death action was barred by the exclusivity provision in Missouri’s workers’ compensation statutes, Mo. Rev. Stat.…
Date: March 6, 2018
Docket Number: SC96118
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the motion court’s judgment denying Appellant postconviction relief on his twelve claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, two claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel,…
Date: February 13, 2018
Docket Number: SC95719
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court did not err in sustaining Defendants’ motions to suppress all evidence seized pursuant to warrant authorizing search of a residence for stolen items. On appeal, the State argued that, while no probable…
Date: February 13, 2018
Docket Number: SC95796
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Administration Hearing Commission (AHC) affirming the Missouri Ethics Commission’s (MEC) imposition of fees arising from the failure to Robin Wright-Jones and Wright-Jones…
Date: February 13, 2018
Docket Number: SC96210
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court in favor of Plaintiff on her claim of negligence alleging that Defendant, her employer, breached its duty to protect her from the criminal act of a third…
Date: February 13, 2018
Docket Number: SC96650
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action. The court held (1) the circuit court did not err in…
Date: January 23, 2018
Docket Number: SC96278
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the motion court overruling Appellant’s motion for postconviction relief under Rule 29.15, holding that Appellant’s argument that his appellate counsel was ineffective was…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: SC95877
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree murder and armed criminal action, holding that the circuit court did not err by refusing to submit a self-defense…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: SC96103
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the motion court overruling Defendant’s Mo. R. Crim. P. 29.15 motion for postconviction relief alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during his criminal…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: SC96341
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of the class C felony of possession of a controlled substance, holding that there was insufficient evidence Defendant knew of the presence…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: SC96649
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the probate division denying the application of Ruth Mickels (“Mickels”) to be appointed as personal representative of the estate of her late husband, Joseph Mickels, Sr. The…
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