News

Lashly & Baer attorney admitted as Solicitor of England and Wales

March 1, 2010 - Vivek Malik, immigration attorney at Lashly & Baer, P.C., was admitted as a Solicitor of England and Wales on March 1, 2010.

Lashly & Baer, P.C. Receives Approval for a 32-Bed Expansion for Client

March 2, 2010 - Lashly & Baer, P.C. client Crystal Oaks, a skilled nursing facility in Crystal City, Missouri, has received approval for a 32-bed expansion for rehab services.  Lashly & Baer, P.C. attorneys, Richard D. Watters and Margaret Scavotto, represented Crystal Oaks before the Missouri Health Care Facilities Review Committee on January 11, 2010, at which time the project received approval.  Lashly & Baer, P.C. attorney, Stuart J. Vogelsmeier, is providing counsel to Crystal Oaks on corporate and financing issues related to the project.

Click here to view article published in the St. Louis Business Journal.

EMPLOYER BEWARE: Employers Face Increased Wrongful Discharge Claims

February 9, 2010 - Recent rulings from the Missouri Supreme Court gives Missouri employers cause for concern. On February 9, 2010, in three separate opinions, the Court continued to erode the employment at-will doctrine and kept course with its recent pro-employee holdings. For the first time, the Missouri Supreme Court expressly adopted the cause of action for wrongful discharge based on the public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine. The Court ruled that an at-will employee may not be terminated for: (1) refusing to violate the law or any well-established and clear mandate of public policy as expressed in the constitution, statutes, regulations promulgated pursuant to statute, or rules created by a governmental body; or (2) reporting wrongdoing or violations of law to superiors or public authorities, i.e. whistle-blowing. Read more.

John Fox Arnold selected by the St. Louis Business Journal as a Most Influential St. Louisan

February 19, 2010 - Lashly & Baer attorney John Fox Arnold was selected by the St. Louis Business Journal as a Most Influential St. Louisan.

Tort Un-Reform in Illinois

On February 4, 2010, the Illinois Supreme Court again held that noneconomic damages caps are unconstitutional in the State of Illinois. Click here to learn more about the Illinois ruling or pending Missouri case.

James C. Hetlage and Michael D. Regan of Lashly & Baer, P.C. Settle Condemnation Case for $410,000

January 25, 2010 – The Missouri Highways and Transportation paid Lashly & Baer’s clients $410,000 for the acquisition of approximately seven acres of flood plain land for the expansion of Highway 141 in St. Louis County, Missouri. The Department of Transportation had originally offered the property owner approximately $50,000 for the acquisition of approximately 2.5 acres of the parcel and proposed to leave the property owner with two unusable remnants after the taking. The property owners were able to negotiate a settlement, after presenting expert testimony at the condemnation commissioners’ hearing, that entailed a taking of the full seven-acre parcel of flood plain and recovery of $410,000. The property owners were represented by James C. Hetlage and Michael D. Regan of Lashly & Baer, P.C.

Obtained Five Certificates of Need from the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee:

On January 11, 2010, attorneys Richard D. Watters and Margaret Scavotto of Lashly & Baer, P.C. obtained 5 certificates of need from the Missouri Health Facilities Review Committee:

• Flint Hill Care and Rehabilitation Center received approval to build a 240 bed skilled nursing facility in St. Charles County.
  
• Vintage Park of St. Joseph and Vintage Senior Living, Inc. received approval to add 45 assisted living beds to its existing campus of assisted living and independent living apartments in St. Joseph, Missouri.
  
• St. Luke’s Episcopal-Presbyterian Hospital obtained approval to acquire a Siemens Artis Zeego angiography system for use in a hybrid operating room capable of performing both surgical and minimally invasive endovascular procedures.
  
• Crystal Oaks Long Term Care and JMH Diversified Health Care received approval to expand the Crystal Oaks skilled nursing facility by adding 32 beds for short-term rehabilitation and Alzheimer’s care.
  
• Patients First Health Care, LLC received approval to replace its existing MRI with a Siemens 1.5 T Magnetom Espree open bore MRI system.
  

Making the Case for Uniform Law in Missouri

An article written by John Fox Arnold, “Making the Case for Uniform Law in Missouri,” was published in the December 2009 issue of the St. Louis Bar Journal.  Mr. Arnold has represented Missouri in the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws since 1973.  During his tenure, he has served as a member of more than a dozen drafting and review committees including the drafting of the Uniform Securities Act, the Uniform Partnership Act, and the Uniform Commercial Code Article 2 (Sales), Article 2A (Leases), and Article 8 (Investment Securities).