Karla K. Allsberry Missouri Cases

Karla Allsberry, a former circuit clerk, sued Judge Patrick Flynn and his secretary Kathy Hall for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and the Circuit Court of Lincoln County (CCLC) for sex discrimination and retaliation under the MHRA. The trial court granted summary judgment on defamation, directed verdicts on the MHRA claims, and a jury verdict for Flynn on IIED. The appellate court affirmed all judgments, finding no evidence of actual malice for defamation, that the State of Missouri (not CCLC) was Allsberry's employer for MHRA purposes, and that the jury instruction on IIED's "sole purpose" element was a correct statement of law. It also found Allsberry's claims of trial error regarding attorney misconduct were not preserved.

Judge Patrick S. Flynn appealed a trial court's judgment finding him in contempt for violating a permanent injunction that restored Karla K. Allsberry as circuit clerk. The trial court had imposed a per diem fine if Judge Flynn failed to purge himself of contempt within ten days. The appellate court dismissed the appeal, holding that it lacked jurisdiction because the contempt judgment was not a final, appealable judgment, as Judge Flynn had purged himself of contempt, rendering the appeal moot, and the per diem fine had not been enforced.