Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jan 12, 2026
Appellants K.A.C. and Michael Crites, Jr. sued the Missouri State Highway Patrol for wrongful death after a pursued driver collided with and killed Connor Crites. The trial court granted summary judgment for MSHP, finding Appellants failed to establish proximate cause. The appellate court affirmed, holding that Appellants did not produce sufficient facts to prove MSHP's actions were the proximate cause of the collision, consistent with Supreme Court precedent that proximate cause cannot be based on speculation in police pursuit cases.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Dec 9, 2025
Michael F. Shanahan, Jr. sued Spencer Fane LLP, alleging legal malpractice, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, and fraudulent nondisclosure related to his investment in a car dealership. Shanahan claimed Spencer Fane misrepresented his GM approval status and failed to disclose his lack of approval. The trial court granted summary judgment for Spencer Fane on all claims, which Shanahan appealed. The appellate court affirmed the summary judgment, finding Shanahan failed to produce evidence of an attorney-client relationship, an affirmative misrepresentation, or a duty to speak.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Nov 25, 2025
Tina Hursman sued the City of Sedalia for injuries sustained after falling on a city sidewalk. The circuit court granted summary judgment for the City, finding the sidewalk was not a dangerous condition and was open and obvious. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether the sidewalk constituted a dangerous condition, whether it was open and obvious, and whether the step caused Hursman's fall or the City had notice of the condition.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Aug 1, 2025
Julia Ann Richardson sued Dr. Arthur Hawes and Ferrell-Duncan Clinic, Inc. for medical negligence related to cosmetic surgeries. A jury found in favor of the defendants. On appeal, Richardson contended the trial court erred by admitting certain demonstrative exhibits during the defendants' expert testimony, arguing they contained inadmissible hearsay and were not properly authenticated. The Southern District affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding no error in the admission of the exhibits and concluding that Richardson failed to preserve one argument and did not demonstrate prejudice for the other.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jul 29, 2025
J.N. and Colleen Nentwig sued Dr. Dale Anderson for wrongful death, alleging medical negligence after Ryne Dobson killed his stepfather, Kevin Nentwig. Appellants claimed Dr. Anderson failed to warn of Dobson's danger or negligently prescribed medication. On appeal, Appellants argued the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on a novel theory of duty for psychiatrists to third parties regarding medication-induced harm. The appellate court affirmed the judgment for Dr. Anderson, declining to recognize this new duty because Dobson's violent conduct was not reasonably foreseeable.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jul 23, 2025
A.O. sued Lester E. Cox Medical Centers and CoxHealth for negligent hiring, retention, supervision, and failure to protect, after a certified medical assistant allegedly sexually assaulted her during an allergic reaction observation. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding A.O. failed to present competent medical expert testimony to establish the standard of care for her medical negligence claims. The appellate court affirmed, agreeing that A.O.'s claims required medical expert testimony, which she failed to provide, and that summary judgment for one defendant properly disposed of claims against all.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Jul 1, 2025
Rose Howland sued Truman Medical Center, alleging co-workers improperly accessed her patient records, discovered her COVID-19 vaccination status, and subsequently harassed and demoted her, forcing her resignation. The trial court dismissed most claims for lack of standing and a negligence per se claim for failure to state a claim. The appellate court reversed the dismissal of Howland's claims for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of implied contract, negligence, and negligent training and supervision, concluding she had sufficiently alleged standing. However, the court affirmed the dismissal of the negligence per se claim, holding that HIPAA and HITECH do not provide a private right of action. The case was remanded for further proceedings.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jun 24, 2025
Mark and Karen McCostlin appealed the trial court's grant of a directed verdict in favor of Monsanto Company in their strict liability and negligence action, alleging Mr. McCostlin's exposure to Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The McCostlins contended their expert testimony established a submissible case on causation, the trial court misinterpreted evidence, and erred in denying a motion to recall an expert and sustaining an objection during redirect. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the McCostlins' causation expert failed to demonstrate a causal connection, and the trial court did not err in its procedural and evidentiary rulings.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jun 17, 2025
Kyle D. Becker sued Thomas M. Schenk for personal injuries sustained during an amateur ice hockey game, specifically a broken wrist. The circuit court granted summary judgment for Schenk, concluding Becker had assumed the risk of injury. The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, affirmed the judgment, holding that Becker expressly assumed the risk of breaking a bone by signing a clear and unambiguous liability waiver. The court also found that Becker impliedly assumed the inherent risks of playing ice hockey.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / May 20, 2025
Midwest Trust Co., as conservator for K.P., sued United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) for in utero injuries K.P. sustained in a car accident caused by a UPS driver. The jury awarded K.P. $65 million in compensatory damages on a vicarious liability negligence claim, and the circuit court added prejudgment interest. UPS appealed, challenging the admission of evidence regarding the driver's prior cocaine use and the award of prejudgment interest. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, finding no abuse of discretion in the evidentiary ruling and no error in the prejudgment interest award.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / May 14, 2025
Terry Metcalf sued four government employees in their individual and official capacities for various torts, including malicious prosecution, negligence, and tortious interference, stemming from an audit and attempted prosecution related to his service on a road district board. The trial court dismissed all claims. The appellate court affirmed the dismissal, holding that Metcalf's claims were barred by sovereign immunity, official immunity, and the public duty doctrine, as he failed to establish any waiver of immunity or sufficiently plead exceptions.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Apr 1, 2025
Christopher Hanshaw sued Crown Equipment Corporation after a forklift accident resulted in the amputation of his leg, alleging defective design. The circuit court excluded Hanshaw's expert witness, finding him unqualified and his opinions unreliable, and subsequently granted summary judgment to Crown. The appellate court reversed, concluding that the expert was qualified and his opinions regarding the lack of a door as a design defect were reliable. The case was remanded for further proceedings on Hanshaw's product defect claims.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Apr 1, 2025
Carrie L. Gruhn and Izeck K. McCown, mother and child of a decedent, brought wrongful-death claims against Joshua Elam, a passenger in an ATV accident that killed the decedent. The circuit court dismissed the claim against Elam for failure to state a claim, finding no duty was pleaded. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the plaintiffs' amended petition failed to allege facts establishing Elam voluntarily undertook a duty to protect the decedent under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 323. The court also found the appeal was timely despite an initial interlocutory judgment.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Apr 1, 2025
Robert and Susan Ferguson, along with other property owners, sued the City of Sunrise Beach for nuisance and negligence, alleging property damage from improperly treated wastewater discharged from the City's facility. The trial court denied the City's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict after a jury found for the property owners. The appellate court vacated the judgment and remanded the case, holding that inverse condemnation is the exclusive remedy for property damage claims against a public entity with eminent domain authority, even when framed as tort claims. The court allowed the property owners to amend their petition to assert inverse condemnation claims.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Mar 25, 2025
Plaintiffs, who were injured when a motorist drove into a Starbucks storefront, sued Keat Properties, LLC, McKnight Investors, LLC, and Starbucks Corporation for negligence and premises liability. The circuit court granted summary judgment for the defendants. On appeal, the Eastern District affirmed, holding that the defendants owed no duty to protect invitees from unforeseeable third-party negligence, as a single prior incident ten years earlier was not sufficiently numerous or recent to establish foreseeability. The court also found that the parking lot's configuration did not, by itself, constitute a dangerous condition.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Mar 18, 2025
Melissa Moody sued Dynamic Fitness Management Ltd. for negligence after suffering a herniated disc during a weightlifting class. A jury found Dynamic 30% at fault and awarded Moody $300,000. Dynamic appealed the judgment, arguing the circuit court erred in denying its motions for directed verdict and new trial, and in allowing adverse inference admissions. The Supreme Court of Missouri affirmed, concluding Dynamic failed to preserve most of its claims of error by not filing a JNOV motion or making contemporaneous objections, and its argument regarding the verdict director lacked merit.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Mar 4, 2025
Presley Karlin sued Urban Air Springfield for negligence after sustaining injuries at its trampoline park. Urban Air moved to compel arbitration based on an agreement signed by Karlin's mother, which the circuit court overruled. The Missouri Supreme Court vacated the circuit court's order and remanded the case with instructions to sustain Urban Air's motion to compel arbitration. The Court held that challenges to the validity or scope of an arbitration agreement, when it contains a delegation clause and the challenges are not specific to that clause, must be resolved by an arbitrator.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Mar 4, 2025
Rochelle Ameer appealed the dismissal of her product liability and negligence claims against Lyft, Inc., after her son, a Lyft driver, was killed during a carjacking initiated through the Lyft App. The trial court had dismissed the claims for failure to state a cause of action, finding the App was not a product and no duty existed. The appellate court reversed, holding that a mobile ridesharing application can be considered a product for product liability purposes and that the petition adequately alleged Lyft's duty to protect against third-party criminal acts, remanding for further proceedings.
Supreme Court of Missouri / Feb 28, 2025
D.J., a fourth-grader, was struck by a hit-and-run driver after being dropped off by a First Student, Inc. bus at an intersection. D.J. sued First Student, alleging negligence for failing to provide the substitute bus driver with the correct route information, which resulted in D.J. being dropped off at an unsafe location. The jury found in favor of D.J. on this claim, but the Supreme Court of Missouri vacated the judgment, holding that the criminal act of the third-party driver was an intervening and superseding cause, breaking the chain of proximate causation.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Feb 20, 2025
The Springfield R-XII School District sought a writ of mandamus after the trial court denied its motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a minor plaintiff alleging sexual assault on school premises. The plaintiff claimed the lack of surveillance cameras in a "blind spot" stairwell constituted a dangerous condition, thereby waiving the school district's sovereign immunity. The appellate court issued a permanent writ of mandamus, holding that the alleged lack of cameras and failure to supervise did not constitute a physical defect in property necessary to waive sovereign immunity under Section 537.600.1(2). The court directed the trial court to dismiss the plaintiff's petition with prejudice.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Feb 18, 2025
Appellant Joanne Knight filed a wrongful death claim against Dr. Huilin Li, Dr. Sam Bishara, and St. Louis Cardiology Consultants, Ltd. (SLCC) following her husband's death from cardiac arrest. The trial court granted summary judgment for all respondents, striking Knight's expert witness against Dr. Li and finding no physician-patient relationship with Dr. Bishara and SLCC. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in striking the expert and that material questions of fact remained regarding the physician-patient relationship.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Feb 11, 2025
John L. Durnell sued Monsanto Company, alleging that exposure to Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, asserting claims including strict liability failure to warn. A jury found in favor of Durnell on the strict liability failure to warn claim, awarding $1.25 million in compensatory damages. Monsanto appealed, arguing that Durnell's claim was both expressly and impliedly preempted by federal law. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the state-law claim was not preempted by FIFRA.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Jan 28, 2025
Cecil J. McFall (Plaintiff) obtained a default judgment against David E. Hogan (Defendant) in a negligence action. The trial court granted Defendant's motion to set aside the default judgment, believing the service date on the return was 2023, making the default judgment premature. The appellate court reversed, finding that the return of service, when read in conjunction with the notary public's date, clearly indicated service occurred in 2022, meaning the default judgment was not premature. The case was remanded for reentry of the default judgment.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Jan 17, 2025
Jane Doe, a minor, sued First Baptist Church of Pierce City (FBC) for negligence, alleging sexual assaults suffered while participating in FBC's youth ministries program. The circuit court granted summary judgment for FBC, concluding that the First Amendment barred the negligence claim. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the First Amendment prohibits courts from entertaining negligence claims against religious organizations that would require excessive entanglement in religious doctrine, policy, and administration. The court also found that FBC was not required to plead the First Amendment as an affirmative defense, as it negates an element of the plaintiff's prima facie case.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Dec 31, 2024
Mary Beth Fryman sued The Board of Regents of Southeast Missouri State University for premises liability and negligence after falling on stairs on the Board's property. The circuit court granted summary judgment to the Board, finding it immune from liability because Fryman's injury was not caused by an alleged dangerous condition of the stairs. The appellate court reversed, holding that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding causation, as Fryman's expert opined the stairs were defectively designed and caused her fall, despite her testimony of tripping on her own feet.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District / Dec 17, 2024
Willie Roark sued KC Pet Project for negligence after being bitten by a dog, alleging the organization failed to take adequate animal control enforcement action. A jury awarded Roark $200,000 in compensatory damages. On appeal, KC Pet Project raised arguments concerning the public duty doctrine, lack of contractual privity, and errors in jury instructions. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, finding that KC Pet Project failed to preserve any of its claims of error for appellate review by not raising them in timely motions for directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or by explicitly stating "no objection" to the jury instruction.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Dec 10, 2024
Douglas Overfield, a locomotive engineer, sued BNSF Railway Company under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) for injuries sustained when his reflective vest snagged on a door handle. A jury awarded Overfield $2.75 million. BNSF appealed, arguing the verdict director was improper due to disjunctive bases lacking substantial evidence and constituting a roving commission, and that the trial court erred in refusing a withdrawal instruction. The appellate court affirmed the trial court's judgment, finding no instructional error as the verdict director was supported by substantial evidence and was not a roving commission, and the withdrawal instruction was properly refused.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Dec 3, 2024
Sharlean Gordon sued Monsanto Company, alleging that her prolonged exposure to Roundup and its ingredient glyphosate caused her to develop non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, asserting claims of strict liability product defect, strict liability failure to warn, and negligence. Following a jury verdict in favor of Monsanto, and the trial court's denial of Gordon's motion for a new trial, Gordon appealed. The Eastern District of Missouri affirmed the judgment, finding no reversible error in the trial court's evidentiary rulings regarding the exclusion of a scientific publication, the restriction of expert testimony, or the admission of foreign regulatory documents.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Nov 26, 2024
Stacy Albright sued Union Electric Company for negligence and breach of contract after a fire damaged his home, alleging UE failed to turn off electrical power as requested. The circuit court granted summary judgment for UE, concluding Albright could not provide substantial evidence that electricity caused the fire. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that UE's summary judgment motion failed to meet its initial burden under Rule 74.04 by merely reciting Albright's petition allegations and an interrogatory response, thus the burden never shifted to Albright.
Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District / Nov 25, 2024
A minor student, J.S., sustained severe head injuries on school grounds. Her parents, A.S. and K.S., sued Willard Public Schools and several individual employees for negligence, premises liability, and emotional distress. The circuit court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss, finding the claims barred by sovereign and official immunity. The appellate court affirmed, concluding that the petition did not plead facts sufficient to waive sovereign immunity under the dangerous condition exception, nor did it establish that the individual employees failed to perform a ministerial duty, thus upholding official immunity.