Angela Higgins has been named President of the Kansas Bar Association’s Insurance Law Section. Founded in 1882, the Kansas Bar Association is a voluntary association of 7,200 member lawyers, judges, law students, and paralegals.  Insurance Law Section members are engaged in efforts to attain uniformity with respect to both legislation and administration in all matters within the field of insurance law. Higgins is a Member of the firm, with a practice dedicated to insurance coverage, commercial litigation, product liability, class action defense, and appellate practice. She is the editor of the firm’s Insurance Law blog, writing and editing blog posts on…

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice Managing Member Scott Kreamer has been selected to receive a Missouri Lawyers Media Law Firm Leader Award, an award given to chairpersons, managing partners or other law firm executives who demonstrated extraordinary vision, innovation and leadership during the year. Kreamer has overseen growth, including a recent merger, nearly doubling the size of the firm, while also serving as Chairman of the Board of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), an invitation-only international organization consisting of accomplished defense attorneys, corporate counsel, and insurance industry executives who have achieved professional distinction during their careers. Kreamer…

The Missouri Court of Appeals (Western District) recently reversed a defense verdict because the trial court’s verdict directing instruction, taken from the Missouri Approved Instructions (MAI), didn’t accurately state the law applicable to Plaintiff’s claim.  In Gary Miller v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company, Plaintiff Miller sued his railroad employer based on the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (“FELA”).  Miller claimed to have sustained cumulative injuries caused by defective locomotive cab seats.  Specifically, he claimed that the railroad’s cab seats were “loose and wobbly” and they failed to protect him from excessive shock, jarring and vibration. This negligence caused him to suffer…

BSCR successfully defended a negligence lawsuit involving an alleged shooting where Plaintiff alleged Defendant shot a firearm at his head while standing over him. Plaintiff initially pled both intentional tort and negligence but chose to submit only on negligence. In response, we successfully argued that Plaintiff initiated the physical altercation, had Defendant in a headlock, and Defendant shot one round in the air to deter Plaintiff’s attack. In closing, Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury for an amount in excess of $1 million dollars and an additional award of punitive damages. After a four-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in…

On October 29, 2019, the Supreme Court of Missouri, in State ex rel. Key Insurance Company v. Roldan, held Missouri courts may exercise personal jurisdiction over a foreign corporation when the corporation has made at least one contact with Missouri and Plaintiff’s tortious cause of action arises out of that contact. Plaintiff Phillip Nash, a resident of Missouri, was involved in a motor vehicle collision with Josiah Wright in Jackson County, Missouri. Defendant Key Insurance Company, a Kansas corporation, insured Nash’s vehicle, through its policy issued to Nash’s daughter, a Kansas resident. Key Insurance denied Nash’s claim for coverage. Wright…

In Sparger v. Yamini, plaintiff, on behalf of his minor-daughter, filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a Chicago-area hospital and a neurosurgeon (collectively “defendants”). Plaintiff alleged that the surgeon’s negligence in repairing the minor-plaintiff’s spinal fluid leak caused her to subsequently develop meningitis. Plaintiff’s Complaint included a claim for compensation for brain damage suffered by minor-plaintiff, including a detrimental effect on the minor plaintiff’s “cognitive, emotion[al], and behavioral presentation.” Defendants sought minor-plaintiff’s medical records from two hospitals predating the medical care at issue. Plaintiff’s counsel declined to produce the records, asserting that they were privileged and non-discoverable under the Illinois Mental…

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice LLC attorney Greg Odom joins a panel of defense attorneys speaking on issues related to asbestos litigation in December. The webinar, “A Guide to Practicing in Asbestos Litigation Hotspots”, hosted by the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel (IDC) will examine the asbestos litigation dockets in the Illinois counties of Cook, Madison, McLean and St. Clair, and also St. Louis City, Missouri. Speakers will share insight into practicing in these asbestos litigation hot spots and provide useful tips for webinar participants. Odom, located in Baker Sterchi’s Belleville, Illinois office is an experienced trial attorney with…

On October 15, 2019 the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District overturned a jury verdict, including punitive damages, to an out of state plaintiff. The Court ruled that the trial court lacked personal jurisdiction to render the verdict pursuant to recent United States Supreme Court authority. Facts Plaintiff Lois Slemp, a resident of Virginia, was one of sixty-two plaintiffs alleging claims against defendants Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. and Imerys Talc America, Inc. for personal injuries related to use of talc products produced, manufactured and sold by defendants. Plaintiff’s claim was tried separately, and the…

Nineteen Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice attorneys have been named to the 2019 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists. The named attorneys include: Kansas City, Missouri John W. Cowden – Aviation & Aerospace David M. Eisenberg – Employment & Labor James R. Jarrow – General Litigation Scott Kreamer – Business Litigation Michael McMullen – Products Liability: Defense Thomas E. Rice – Civil Litigation: Defense Thomas N. Sterchi – Products Liability: Defense Kara T. Stubbs – Products Liability: Defense Jonathan E. Benevides – Civil Litigation: Defense (Rising Star) John E. Patterson – Civil Litigation: Defense (Rising Star)  …

Baker Sterchi successfully defended a tow company is an action by a lienholder seeking damages for the towing and storage of its vehicle under the Storage Lien Act. Our client argued that it had a right under 625 ILCS 5/4-203(g)(2) to collect towing and storage fees as the vehicle in question was towed and impounded by the direction of a local police agency after the driver of the car was arrested. Lienholder argued because tow company did not serve them notice within two days of the tow, it forfeited its rights to charge towing and storage fees.   The Circuit…

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the first-of-its-kind Part 135 certification to UPS subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, Inc. (UPS). The Part 135 certificate declares two core matters: (1) UPS is exempt from certain federal rules and regulations governing flight operations, and (2) UPS is explicitly authorized to perform certain flight operations otherwise prohibited by the FAA. Specifically, the Part 135 certificate issued to the UPS subsidiary waives the following federal regulations: 14 CFR § 107.31, Visual line of sight aircraft operation, is waived to allow operation of the small unmanned aircraft (sUA) beyond the direct visual line of sight of…

Baker Sterchi secured a dismissal with prejudice for a D&O insurer on breach of contract and vexatious refusal claims.  The plaintiffs sought to recover in excess of $600,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs expended in defense of an investor suit against the company’s president individually, vexatious refusal penalties, attorneys’ fees, and other damages. Baker Sterchi obtained dismissal with prejudice based upon a policy endorsement that excluded from coverage claims “based upon, arising from, or in consequence of” a written agreement. Plaintiffs argued that the policy was vague and ambiguous, and that the exclusionary endorsement did not apply because the plaintiffs…