News & Events
02.02.21 | Joanna Orscheln joins Baker Sterchi's Kansas City office as an associate. Her practice focuses on the defense of corporate clients in the areas of products liability, premises liability, and personal injury and extends to the representation of clients in a variety of industries, including propane, retail, railroad, recreational transportation, healthcare, insurance, and trucking.
07.08.20 | Travis McDonald joins Baker Sterchi's St. Louis office as an associate. His practice is focused on litigation with an emphasis in insurance defense in product liability, premises liability, and personal injury claims.
05.15.19 | Baker Sterchi Member John Lord has been appointed as the 2019-2020 General Counsel Committee Chair by the Board of Directors of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).
04.25.19 | Baker Sterchi is pleased to welcome Julie Simaytis to the firm's St. Louis office. Simaytis joins the firm as Of Counsel. Having practiced exclusively in litigation for over fifteen years, her practice is focused on...
Blog Posts
08.16.21 | Remember May 13, 2021? The day the CDC gloriously lifted the mask mandate for fully vaccinated individuals? Well, in the words of Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist II…"They're baaaaccck." But this time, its masks – not evil spirits.
08.03.21 | Employee or independent contractor? Despite imperfections, the economic reality test remains the standard to determine whether a worker is classified as an "employee" entitled to Fair Labor Standards Act benefits and protections.
07.06.21 | Thinking about DQ'ing a potential hire due to a prior conviction? Think again. Illinois employers better listen up, and look to the newly enacted employment law (known as Senate Bill 1480). Key changes in the law deal with protections to employees and potential hires with criminal convictions, as well as new requirements for employers on providing information to State agencies regarding demographics and payroll data.
06.15.21 | At-will...the ability to do something as one pleases. While most employment relationships are at-will, may an employer modify, at-will, Missouri Approved Jury Instructions in a case involving a violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act? As the Western District Court of Appeals explains, you better have a lawful reason…
06.03.21 | Governor Pritzker has signed into law SB72 (PA102-0006), which imposes a 6% prejudgment interest on personal injury and wrongful death actions effective July 1, 2021.
04.27.21 | Bread. Cherry. Bogart. Bippy. Fink. IDK what any of these words mean, but apparently, they are slang words popularized in the 1960s by Boomers. Find out about Boomer discrimination and how Boomers aren't too different from Millennials (their generational arch nemesis) in this far out post. I promise it won't be a drag.
03.26.21 | Governor Pritzker vetoed amended HB 3360 which would have imposed a 9% prejudgment interest. Unfortunately, HA2 is already in front of the Senate and is a modified version of HB 3360 with a 6% per annum interest on personal injury and wrongful death actions.
03.04.21 | OMG. Some Millennials are now protected under the ADEA and state age discrimination laws. Learn what this all means for Millennials and employers in the workplace. Unless, of course, you want to be basic.
02.08.21 | Little about 2020 was normal, and the number of trials in the Kansas City area was no exception. Data released by the Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service shows that the total number of jury trials in the Kansas City area was down over 65% in 2020 when compared to 2019.
01.25.21 | If signed by Governor Pritzker, amended HB 3360 would impose a "litigation penalty" on civil defendants who chose to litigate a case through trial by taxing them with a 9% per annum interest which accrues from notice of injury.
10.26.20 | With recent statutory changes, Missouri is taking meaningful steps to reform the state's punitive damages standards and consumer protection statute—two aspects of Missouri law that have made it one of the most plaintiff-friendly venues in the country.
07.27.20 | The Supreme Courts of Missouri and Illinois have addressed Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California to further define the instances in which specific personal jurisdiction can be constitutionally exercised over out-of-state defendants.
07.27.20 | The Supreme Courts of Missouri and Illinois have addressed Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California to further define the instances in which specific personal jurisdiction can be constitutionally exercised over out-of-state defendants.
07.09.20 | Missouri Court of Appeals compels arbitration, where the parties agreed to submit threshold issues of arbitrability to a third-party neutral rather than the court.
05.19.20 | On March 11, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed an Eastern District of Missouri judgment, finding that the Plaintiff failed to establish that a product was inherently defective or dangerous, where he had failed to provide evidence of when a product entered the stream of commerce.
03.11.20 | Missouri Supreme Court held the Missouri Human Rights Act is not a remedy for out-of-state employees aggrieved by discriminatory practices of Missouri-headquartered companies.
03.02.20 | The data is out on Kansas City area jury verdicts for calendar year 2019, and it contains mostly good news for defendants. While the total number of jury verdicts was up slightly from 2018, the percentage of those verdicts in plaintiffs' favor was down, with nearly 60% of claims that went to a jury ending in a defense verdict. 2019 also saw a drop of almost 30% in the number of verdicts over $1 million. Although the data shows a rise in the average verdict amount, that increase is entirely attributable to a single mega verdict of more than $100 million; controlling for that outlier, the size of the average award was also down significantly.
02.12.20 | City of St. Louis has seen a steady decline on the judicial hellhole rankings with modest reforms but the Illinois counties of Madison and St. Clair remain hotspots for asbestos litigation and "no-injury" BIPA lawsuits according to the 2019/2020 American Tort Reform Foundation Judicial Hellholes Report.
02.12.20 | City of St. Louis has seen a steady decline on the judicial hellhole rankings with modest reforms but the Illinois counties of Madison and St. Clair remain hotspots for asbestos litigation and "no-injury" BIPA lawsuits according to the 2019/2020 American Tort Reform Foundation Judicial Hellholes Report.
02.06.20 | The new rule governing special interrogatories gives the trial court power to prevent confusing special interrogatories, as the one in Doe v. Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hosp., but it also rips away an important tool for the defense. 735 ILCS 5/2-1108.
01.28.20 | As a flood of lawsuits continue to be filed under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, many businesses are now aware of the Act and the potential for significant liability under it. However, is your business aware of multiple privacy laws recently proposed by the Illinois General Assembly, some of which create private rights of action for violations? In honor of Data Privacy Day, we examine several privacy bills that, if enacted, could have a significant impact on companies that transact business in Illinois.
12.11.19 | 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, didn't accurately state the law applicable to Plaintiff's claim.
10.14.19 | The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has, for the second time, reversed and remanded a railroad employment case. Both reversals were based on jury instructions the Court deemed erroneous.
09.13.19 | Though seemingly obvious, the Eighth Circuit affirmed arbitration agreements are not immune to contract law basics when it denied an employer's motion to compel arbitration for lack of acceptance.
08.21.19 | The U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a split among state and federal courts on the issue of whether lost wages under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) are taxable under the Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA). The Illinois Appellate Court was one of the first in the nation to apply the Supreme Court's holding that awards of lost wages in FELA cases are taxable.
07.16.19 | SECOND UPDATE: Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs Senate Bill 7, which amends venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.
05.20.19 | UPDATE: House Passes Senate Bill 7, in which the Missouri legislature seeks to amend venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.
03.18.19 | In Senate Bill 7, the Missouri legislature seeks to amend venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.
01.08.19 | The Eighth Circuit affirms summary judgment in an employer's favor in a disability discrimination case, where the employee's excessive absenteeism was attributed to a disability and other family medical issues.
12.26.18 | Defense attorneys beware. The 2018-2019 American Tort Reform Foundation's (ATRF) Judicial Hellholes Report is out, and the City of St. Louis landed fourth on this list because of its massive verdicts, forum shopping, and legislative failures.
08.24.18 | The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a railroad's products liability and breach of contract claims that were based on federally-imposed standards of care are not preempted. BNSF Railway Co. v. Seats, Inc., (No. 17-1399, 8th Cir. 2018).
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