Justia Missouri Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Sandy Johme was employed by St. John's Mercy Healthcare as a billing representative, and her work involved typing charges at a computer in an office. After making a pot of coffee at an office kitchen at work, Johme fell and injured herself. Johme was "clocked-in" as an employee at the time of her fall. The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission awarded workers' compensation benefits to Johme after applying Mo. Rev. Stat. 287.020.3(2). The Supreme Court reversed the Commission's decision, holding that Johme was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits because she failed to show that her injury arose out of and in the course of her employment as specified in section 287.020.3(2). View "Johme v. St. John's Mercy Healthcare" on Justia Law

On November 7 2006, Courtney George was elected prosecuting attorney for Phelps County. George did not receive any salary increases during her term in office despite a report issued by the Missouri Citizens' Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials on December 1, 2006 increasing the salary for associate circuit judges in 2007 and 2008. In 2010, George filed a petition for a writ of mandamus against the elected members of the county commission and others (Respondents), requesting a preliminary order compelling Respondents to approve increased compensation rates and to issue her underpayment of her salary for the duration of her term in office. The circuit court issued a preliminary order in mandamus but later quashed the order. At issue on appeal was whether a midterm increase in compensation for a full-time prosecuting attorney violates the provision of the Missouri Constitution prohibiting the compensation of government officers from being increased during the term of office. The Supreme Court made permanent the preliminary writ of mandamus, holding that because the midterm increase in compensation in this case resulted from the application of a statutory formula for calculating compensation in place before George took office, the increase did not violate the Constitution. View "State ex rel. George v. Verkamp" on Justia Law

Michael Patton filed a two-count personal injury action under the Federal Employers' Liability Act against his employer, BNSF Railway Company, alleging that BNSF negligently required him to perform heavy manual labor in extreme heat and, as a result, he lost consciousness and fell, and that striking his head in the fall caused him to suffer subsequent reoccurring seizures and fainting spells. To bolster its defense that Patton's injuries were caused by prescription drug use, BNSF sought discovery of records held by Patton's treating psychiatrist. The trial court issued a protective order preventing the discovery of the records. The Supreme Court granted a writ of mandamus ordering the trial court to lift its protective order, holding (1) the trial court abused its discretion in holding that discovery of the records of a treating psychiatrist is precluded entirely where, as here, the plaintiff alleges only physical rather than psychological injury; and (2) BNSF showed that it had reason to believe that discovery of treatment records held by Patton's psychiatrist was calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence on its theory of causation. Remanded. View "State ex rel. BNSF Ry. Co. v. Judge Neill " on Justia Law