A bill expanding the use of mail-in ballots in Missouri during the COVID-19 pandemic passed the legislature even after the Secretary of State criticized the bill for failing to include a fix to the state's voter identification law.
JEFFERSON CITY – After an overnight filibuster that lasted 19 hours in late February, Republican state senators advanced a proposed change to the state’s legal system designed to clamp down on excessive lawsuit payouts.
JEFFERSON CITY – Although a bill introduced in January that would have permitted asbestos victims to secure some benefits from asbestos trust claims without sacrificing a future tort disbursement was filibustered for 20 hours, the senator who introduced Senate Bill 575 views the experience as a success.
An ability to immediately ask for punitive damages when filing suit can be unfairly used as a bargaining tool by plaintiffs, according to a Missouri senator who introduced a bill to reform the approach to such awards.
JEFFERSON CITY – Sen. Ed Emery (R-Lamar) believes the impact from two recently enacted tort reform laws - Senate Bill 7 and SB 30 - are already being felt in Missouri.
JEFFERSON CITY – While the Missouri Chamber of Commerce has seen some success in civil justice reform in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vice President of Governmental Affairs Matthew Panik sees a long road ahead in the remainder of 2019 and 2020.
Proposed legislation aimed at reforming the way asbestos civil actions are dealt with in Missouri courts is moving forward and is scheduled to be debated in the Senate on Tuesday.
JEFFERSON CITY – A Missouri representative who last year successfully ushered through the House a bill aimed at curtailing claims over asbestos exposure that died in the Senate is making another attempt this session.
Missouri-based attorney Elad Gross is pursuing lawsuits against A New Missouri, a nonprofit linked to former governor Eric Gritens and which could allegedly be funneling what Gross calls "dark money" into political campaigns.
JEFFERSON CITY – In the wake of a bill in Wisconsin dealing with changes to civil litigation guidelines being signed into law, Brad Jones, Missouri state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said his organization is supportive of two similar bills introduced to the Missouri Legislature.
JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri lawmakers are considering House Bill 1578, which modifies provisions relating to civil procedures in tort claims and potentially could make it harder for plaintiffs not connected to the state to file cases here.
JEFFERSON CITY – A Missouri state representative is holding out hope that the governor will veto a spending plan that he says may go against the state constitution and leaves a $35 million hole in next year’s budget.
JEFFERSON CITY — A key tort reform measure to stop out-of-state attorneys from trying their cases in Missouri has advanced in the state legislature, but a rift between the Republican governor and some GOP senators could leave the bill in limbo.
