Old Standards Die Hard: MHRA Pre-Amendment “Contributing Factor” Standard Allowed for Harassment Claim Based on Events Before and After MHRA Amendment
The Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), which prohibits employment discrimination, was amended in 2017 to require an employee claiming employment discrimination to show that his or her protected characteristic was a “motivating factor” of the adverse actions, rather than merely a “contributing factor” as required under the previous standard. It also applied a $500,000 damages […]
Putting Your Legal Malpractice Carrier on Notice of a Potential Claim: Must a Missouri Lawyer “Foresee” Changes in the Law?
In determining whether a lawyer must report a potential malpractice claim on a professional liability “errors and omissions” renewal or application form, must the insured attorney foresee how Missouri appellate courts would interpret a legal issue never before addressed? Based on a recent Missouri Court of Appeals opinion, the answer seems to be perhaps yes. […]
What’s in a Name? Missouri’s Constitutional Prohibition Against Negligence-Based Claims Arising out of Alleged Sexual Misconduct of Clergy: Who Exactly Qualifies as Clergy?
In the seminal case outlining the contours of permissible civil liability against religious organizations, the Missouri Supreme Court in Gibson v. Brewer made clear that civil courts must not be in the business of analyzing or interpreting religious doctrine and administration. Any such “excessive entanglement” between church and state has the effect of inhibiting religion, which of […]
Missouri Appellate Court Finds Ambiguity in Anti-Stacking Provision, Allows Stacking of Limits of Liability in Four Separate Auto Liability Policies
The Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, issued an opinion on Jan. 31, 2018, in Shelter Mutual Insurance Company v. Lester that allowed stacking of full auto liability coverage policy limits on four separate policies. The underlying matter involved bodily injury claims brought by multiple claimants. Each of the auto insurer’s liability policies had applicable bodily injury limits of […]