Latest from BSCR Blogs - Page 3

ABSTRACT: Federally chartered banks may soon be required to comply with state consumer protection laws that require banks to pay at least 2% interest on mortgage escrow accounts. The Supreme Court will decide the issue during its upcoming term in Cantero v. Bank of America.

The Second Circuit recently ruled—in favor of Bank of America—that the National Bank Act preempts state laws that require financial institutions to pay interest on mortgage escrow accounts.  Currently, only 13 states have such laws, but states may decide to expand their authority if the Supreme Court rules to broaden state power over federally
Continue Reading After Years of Mortgage Escrow Limbo, National Banks Will Soon Learn Their Fate

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice in collaboration with our client’s lead counsel with Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP, obtained a defense judgment in a case filed by a car transport company which sought $1.8 million in damages.

The case was originally filed in Delaware in 2019 but subsequently dismissed and refiled in the District Court for Johnson County, Kansas. Plaintiff claimed that they were relying upon a navigation device designed by the client during a route to transport vehicles, when they struck a low bridge, damaging the subject tractor-trailer and its contents.

Baker Sterchi and Gordon Rees filed a summary
Continue Reading Summary Judgment Victory for Multinational Technology Company in Product Liability Case

ABSTRACT: Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the Freelance Worker Protection Act (HB 1122), making Illinois the first state to enact protections for freelance workers. What are freelance workers and how does this affect their rights?

In August, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law the Freelance Worker Protection Act. The FWPA makes Illinois the first state to enact protections for “freelance” workers. Generally speaking, a “freelance worker” is an independent contractor, and the statute defines a “freelance worker” as a person who is hired as an independent contractor for goods or services over $500. However, the FWPA excludes: (1)
Continue Reading Illinois became the first state to enact protections for Freelance Workers

ABSTRACT: In a premises liability case involving allegations of negligence and assault and battery, an insurance company whose policy has an assault and battery exception need not defend an insured, so long as the assault and battery is within a narrow scope of foreseeable harms arising from the negligence.

Insurance policies often contain exclusionary clauses that limit the scope of coverage arising from certain types of incidents. In some cases, the “concurrent-proximate-cause” rule applies, which states that “an insurance policy will be construed to provide coverage where an injury was proximately caused by two events—even if one of these events
Continue Reading Assault and Battery Exception in Insurance Contract Applies Even When Plaintiff Was Not The Intended Target, Eighth Circuit Finds

ABSTRACT: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed summary judgment granted in favor of an employer that used an automated timekeeping system, finding that its rounding method resulted in the under-compensation of two-thirds of its employees. Although the court did not rule that all time-rounding was unlawful, it opened the door for plaintiffs to challenge facially neutral rounding policies under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
In Houston v. Saint Luke’s Health Sys., Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri’s grant
Continue Reading Clocking out Injustice: Eighth Circuit Rules Hospital's Timekeeping System Resulted in Systematic Under-compensation.

Baker Sterchi Member Megan Stumph-Turner recently presented the Quimbee CLE course, “Hot Topics in Real Estate Litigation.” This program delves into current trends in real estate litigation, such as antitrust cases, post-pandemic force majeure clause disputes and construction delay and cost-related litigation.
Stumph-Turner is located in Baker Sterchi’s Kansas City office, with a practice focused on civil litigation across various areas, including creditors’ rights, financial services, real estate, construction and commercial litigation. She has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for her outstanding work in real estate and commercial litigation in the Kansas City Metropolitan area. She is
Continue Reading Megan Stumph-Turner Presents on Hot Topics in Real Estate Litigation

ABSTRACT: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, applying Missouri Law, affirmed an Order granting summary judgment in favor of Owners Insurance Company, finding that a request for reimbursement from an adverse party did not breach the applicable insurance policy or duty of good-faith.

Plaintiffs/Appellants, White Knight Diner, LLC, Larry Lee Hinds and Karen Freiner (collectively “White Knight”) brought suit against their insurer, Owners Insurance Company (“Owners”), seeking a declaration that the practice of settling subrogation claims directly with other insurance providers violated Missouri’s subrogation law. [1] The Eighth Circuit affirmed the Eastern District of Missouri – St. Louis’ grant of summary
Continue Reading Eighth Circuit Affirms Decision that Insurance Company Did Not Violate the Terms of its Policy by Requesting Reimbursement from an Adverse Insurer.

ABSTRACT: Courts across the country have become increasingly reluctant to compensate victims of product liability claims when their injuries arise from the victim’s own illegal conduct. A Kansas federal court decision is the most recent installment. Will Missouri follow?

Introduction

In Messerli v. Aw Distrib., Inc., a Kansas federal district court applied Kansas’s illegality defense to bar product liability claims where the plaintiff alleged the decedent violated Kansas law by inhaling toxic vapors from computer duster canisters. Kansas courts have applied the illegality defense to bar other tort claims, but Messerli marks the first instance a Kansas federal court applied
Continue Reading For the First Time, Kansas Federal Court Bars Product Liability Claims Based on Plaintiff’s Illegal Conduct

ABSTRACT: In a move that may further exacerbate the growing “nuclear verdict” issue in Illinois, plaintiffs will now be permitted to seek punitive damages from defendants under the Wrongful Death Act and Survival Act. While this law may be challenged on constitutionality grounds in the near future, we examine the history of this new amendment and its potential impact to businesses in Illinois.

For the first time in its history, Illinois approved an amendment expanding punitive damages recovery to Plaintiffs under the Wrongful Death and Survival Acts. Previously, Illinois courts held that punitive damages rights belonged to the injured person
Continue Reading Illinois Expands Law to Allow Punitive Damages for Wrongful Death and Survival Plaintiffs

ABSTRACT: Last month, the Lawrence City Commission passed a local ordinance, Ordinance No. 10003, which bans race-based hair discrimination in employment and other places of public accommodation, making it the first city in Kansas to do so. The ordinance prohibits restrictions or bans on natural hair or protective hairstyles (i.e., braids, locs, afros, curls and twists, etc.), declaring they violate the anti-discrimination regulations in Lawrence’s City Code.

The CROWN Act, which I posted about last year, stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair”. Twenty-four states now have enacted some version of the CROWN Act into law.
Continue Reading Lawrence, KS Passes CROWN Act Ordinance Banning Race-Based Hair Discrimination

ABSTRACT: The Missouri Supreme Court recently clarified that a non-Missouri plaintiff’s personal injury claim must be filed in the county of the corporation’s current, not past, registered agent. This ruling avoids the doubt and uncertainty that would arise if a plaintiff claimed that the injury occurred when the corporation held a registered agent in a potentially less favorable venue.

An August 15, 2023, Missouri Supreme Court decision, State ex rel. Monsanto v. Mullen, provides corporate defendants with more certainty and flexibility regarding the venue for lawsuits brought by out-of-state tort plaintiffs.  Between 2017 and 2021, six plaintiffs had
Continue Reading Venue and Selection of Registered Agents for Corporate Defendants

ABSTRACT: First AI software case involving discriminatory filtering of potential applicants is settled by the EEOC for $365,000; EEOC provides guidance on how to avoid discriminatory practices with AI.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) software has become increasingly popular in corporate America as a tool for HR to use in recruitment and talent acquisition. Recent studies show that 85% of U.S. companies are using AI software in some capacity, with nearly 80% of those companies using AI in hiring and recruitment. As a result, the EEOC created a task force in 2021 through the Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Fairness Initiative to address
Continue Reading EEOC Enters into First Settlement Involving AI Software Discrimination

ABSTRACT: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals found a waiver of sovereign immunity under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) and reversed a District Court’s dismissal in favor of the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service. Now two Circuits (the Third and Seventh), plus the District of Columbia, have found that the FCRA unequivocally and unambiguously waives the federal government’s sovereign immunity from private damages claims.
We have our eyes on Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Reginald Kirtz, where the Supreme Court will resolve a Circuit Split regarding whether the Fair
Continue Reading The Scales Tilt Away from the Federal Government – Third Circuit Joins the Seventh Circuit in Finding Waiver of Sovereign Immunity by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

ABSTRACT: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Defendant’s removal to federal court based on (1) diversity; (2) preemption; (3) and U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) were improper and thus, a COVID-19 nursing home wrongful death suit can proceed in Missouri state court.

In June 2020, the plaintiff, the son of a nursing home resident who contracted and died from COVID-19, brought suit in Missouri state court against the nursing home, its corporate owners, and twelve individual defendants. Plaintiff asserted Missouri causes of action for wrongful death, negligence per se, and lost chance of survival. While none of the corporate
Continue Reading Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Allows COVID-19 Case to Proceed in Missouri State Court

ABSTRACT: The Supreme Court reversed the standard for “undue hardship” under Title VII. What that means for employers and vaccine requirements.
In a Supreme Court term with many headline-grabbing decisions, the high court’s decision in Groff v. De Joy might be the most immediately consequential for employers. In Groff, the Supreme Court changed the prevailing standard for employers responding to employees’ religious accommodation requests under Title VII. By the plain language of the statute, it is unlawful for employers to deny a religious accommodation unless the accommodation would create an “undue hardship” for the employer. Thanks to language from
Continue Reading Supreme Court Reverses Standard for "Undue Hardship" in Title VII Religious Accommodation Cases

ABSTRACT: In a recent opinion from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the Court examined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices portion of its Supervision and Examination Manual.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has found itself entangled in a complex legal dispute stemming from its March 2022 update to the Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) portion of its Supervision and Examination Manual. This blog post will provide an in-depth legal analysis of the situation and explore its broader implications for regulatory agencies and their authority.
Continue Reading Unraveling the CFPB’s UDAAP Update: Legal Analysis and Implications for Regulatory Authority