Legal Articles

Service by Publication

Due process requires that a Defendant/Respondent be given the best notice practicable under the circumstances. In many cases, this means that the Defendant/Respondent must be personally served with a lawsuit/petition/complaint. Several exceptions exist to this rule. For example, under Missouri Rule 54.13(b), personal service may be had by leaving a copy of the summons and…

Counterclaims, Countersuits

Being served with a lawsuit can be a jarring experience. The initial petition will often have big requests for these like “damages in excess of $25,000” “damages in excess of $75,000,” or even punitive damages or attorney fees. Without having any prior experience or knowledge of legal verbiage, the Petition can also be very confusing….

Statutory Breach of Trusts of Revocable/Irrevocable Trusts

In a trust relationship, the trustee is the individual/entity who is entrusted with managing the assets in the beneficiaries’ best interests.  A breach of trust, therefore, is a violation by a trustee of a duty the trustee owes to a beneficiary. While a trust may alter the scope of what duties a trustee owes, generally a trustee will…

Contractual Indemnification — "Hold Harmless"

Indemnification is the legal term applied where one individual/entity is obligated to provide compensation, loss or reimbursement to another individual/entity. Indemnification is usually created by contract, but can exist at law in some circumstances. Contractual indemnity is the most widespread. Under this situation, two parties make a formal indemnification  agreement. The reason this is so…

Real Estate Slander of Title

Slander is generally associated with harm to an individual’s reputation in the community. It can also exist in the context of real estate. The essential elements required to recover on an action for slander of title are that (1) the plaintiff has an interest in the real property, (2) that the words published were false,…

Post-Judgment Interest

Prejudgment interest is more complicated than post-judgment interest. Under the post-judgment interest statute, the statutory interest rate — 9% — begins tolling when there is money due under a judgment or order. Specifically, section 408.040, RSMo, states that: “interest shall be allowed on all money due upon any judgment or order of any court from…

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