Articles
Liability of Successor-in-Interest for Assessments
The Missouri Court of Appeals recently addressed a condominium declaration's provision that purportedly obligated a successor-in-interest to a unit to remain liable for the prior owner’s unpaid condominium assessments. In that case, the condominium association...
New Overtime Rule Doubles Minimum Salary for Exemption; Takes Effect Dec. 1, 2016
The most significant change in years to the Fair Labor Standards Act will require that an employee paid $913 a week (or $47,476 per year) or more be exempt from overtime pay. Currently, employers are exempt from paying overtime for employees who make more than $455...
Powers and Responsibility: How a Condominium Association Created a Potential Liability
In 2013, a resident at Homefield Gardens Condominium Association was attacked by another resident’s pit bull. She brought suit against her Condominium Association alleging negligence, among other theories of recovery. Her allegations included that the Condominium...
Parking on Subdivision Streets; Even if Streets are Dedicated to Municipality?
Occasionally the question arises regarding the enforceability of prohibiting truck or commercial vehicle parking within subdivisions. It should be noted that parking either a truck or a commercial vehicle in a closed garage is almost always excluded from the scope of...
Short-Term Condominium Rentals: Time to Double-Check Your Governing Documents
The rising popularity of websites such as Airbnb.com, Roomerama, Sublet.com and multiple other sites has made it attractive to some condominium owners to rent all of, or just a bedroom in, their condominium unit to earn a little extra money. In most of these cases,...
Shhh…Can You Keep a Secret?
Recently enacted federal “Defend Trade Secrets Act “ includes whistleblower protection not previously afforded by state law. On May 11, 2016 the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) was signed into law and became immediately effective to protect misappropriation of trade...
Court Reaffirms the Obvious: Condominium Act Trumps a Declaration; Declaration Trumps the By-Laws
The Missouri Court of Appeals was recently presented with a case where the issue was whether the Missouri Condominium Act, the condominium’s declaration or its by-laws controlled a particular matter. The case of The Ventana Owners Association, Inc. v. Ventana KC, LLC,...
Your Loss, My Gain: Easements in Missouri
Easements in General An easement is an interest in land owned by someone other than the owner of the property. The land which is benefited by the easement is referred to as the "dominant estate," while the land impressed with the easement is generally referred to as...
Physician Entitled To Compensation From Collections Received By Hospital After Her Contract Ended, Court Says
The Missouri Court of Appeals recently interpreted a physician’s employment contract and found that she was entitled to compensation for services rendered while employed with the hospital, but for which payment was not received until after her last date of employment....
Solar Panels Must Come Down Pursuant to Subdivision’s Covenants, Appeals Court Rules
“Let the sun shine,” may have been the tune being hummed by homeowners while first installing a photovoltaic solar array system on various roofs and grounds of their property located within a subdivision. But, the Missouri Court of Appeals subsequently upheld the...
Consultant’s advice to client not a trade secret, court rules
The legal parameters of the Missouri Uniform Trade Secret Act (MUTSA) are a frequent issue addressed by both Missouri federal and state courts. While MUTSA contains a specific definition of “trade secret,” a court must complete its analysis of particular information...
Undue Influence — Trusts and Wills
Morse v. Volz, 808 S. W. 2d 424, is a case involving Marvin Morse, who died in 1986. His first wife, with whom he had one child, predeceased him in 1978. He remarried in 1984 to a woman who had a child by her first marriage. The second wife died in 1987. Before his...