News & Resources

Dying without an estate plan is known as dying “intestate.” Property you owned only in your name will go to your spouse, close relatives and sometimes to more distant relatives. If no relatives are found, a highly unusual circumstance, your property goes to the state! Without an estate plan, Missouri statutes will determine who receives your estate. If You ... Read more

You may not have thought about it, but you have an estate. An estate is all the property a person currently owns, regardless of type and amount. This includes real estate, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, and personal property such as vehicles, jewelry, and furniture.   As the saying goes, you ... Read more

Smith Mueller recently won a trial without calling a single live witness! Mike and Tricia defended the owner and tenant of a building located in the City of St. Louis against a slip and fall claim. A patron of the tenant alleged she had slipped in water on the floor of the building and claimed ... Read more

Under Missouri law, the answer is yes. How you do it depends on your level of sophistication. In general, when entering into a contract, to effectively release yourself from or limit your liability for  your own negligence, you must include language in the contract that is “clear, unequivocal, conspicuous and include the word ‘negligence’ or ... Read more

In a recent decision, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Western District of Missouri examined a defendant’s assertion of comparative fault for the plaintiff’s failure to keep a careful lookout in case involving injuries from a slip and fall due to water on the floor. In Isaiah Rider v. The Young Men’s Christian Association ... Read more

The Missouri Supreme Court recently issued an opinion clarifying Missouri law on claims by an insured for bad faith refusal to settle against an insurer. Previously, many attorneys (and insurers) assumed that bad faith refusal to settle claims only arose if an insurer received a demand to settle a third-party claim within the insured’s policy ... Read more

Michael Smith was again voted a Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyer in the field of medical malpractice litigation. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high-degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased and includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. ... Read more

In Lewellen v. Franklin, a fraud and Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (“MMPA”) case, the Missouri Supreme Court has struck down the cap on punitive damages enacted by the Missouri legislature during its 2005 tort reform in certain cases. Lillian Lewellen (“Lewellen”) obtained a verdict against Chad Franklin National Auto Sales North, LLC (“National”) and its ... Read more

When the Missouri Legislature passed tort reform in 2005 tort, it attempted to limit a hospital’s liability for the negligence of doctor’s on staff at the hospital. In the majority of the cases, these doctors were not paid by the hospitals and neither the doctors nor the hospitals viewed their relationship as being that of ... Read more

In a recent decision, the Missouri Supreme Court again questioned the constitutionality of a provision of Missouri tort reform legislation. In Mayes v. St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, the Court was presented with an interesting scenario. The family of Ira Mayes brought an action for wrongful death alleging medical malpractice had killed Ira. They actually ... Read more