Judicial data via CourtListener (Free Law Project). Social links via Wikidata.
Decision levers
AI-measured from their own opinions — each lever cites its cases
Living constitutionalismOriginalism
Enforces the original-purpose clause of article III, section 21 by examining the bill's enacted text and legislative history of amendments in [2]. Missouri Ass'n of Club Executive… ↗
Deference to government powerSkepticism of government power
Rejects probable-cause findings based on flawed police testimony in [0] and excludes uncharged-crime evidence in [8], showing scrutiny of state actors. York v. Director of Revenue ↗ State v. Davis ↗
Party: Democratic →J.D., University of Missouri-Kansas CityJD, University of Missouri-Kansas City
RL
Ronnie Lee White
Judge, District Court, E.D. Missouri · Born 1953 · St. Louis, MO
In this case, Jerry Crockett obtained a 1994 judgment against Thomas Polen on a promissory note and later sought to collect via wage garnishment after earlier attempts were blocked by child support orders. When Polen moved in 2005 to quash the garnishment, claiming the ten-year statute of limitations had expired in September 2004, the trial court denied the motion and allowed collection to continue until the debt was paid. The appellate court affirmed, holding that garnishment payments received and recorded by the court in March 2004, before the original limitations period ended, tolled the statute under section 516.350.1. The court reasoned that the statute contains no requirement of voluntary payment by the debtor and distinguished prior cases where payments were recorded only after the limitations period had already lapsed.
In Gibbons v. J. Nuckolls, Inc., a consumer who purchased a used car sued both the retail dealership and the upstream wholesaler under Missouri's Merchandising Practices Act, alleging that the wholesaler failed to disclose the vehicle's prior accident damage, causing the buyer an ascertainable loss. The trial court dismissed the claim against the wholesaler for lack of privity of contract. The Missouri Supreme Court reversed, holding that the MPA's definition of "person" expressly includes corporations such as wholesalers and does not require a direct contractual relationship between the plaintiff and defendant. The court's reasoning relied on the statute's plain language, prior cases permitting attorney-general actions against upstream sellers, and the Act's purpose of protecting consumers from deceptive practices regardless of the chain of sale.
The case involved a wrongful death claim by Kimberly Hodges against the City of St. Louis after her mother died from injuries in a car accident caused by a police officer driving the wrong way without lights or sirens. The City asserted sovereign immunity and argued it could not be vicariously liable because officers are employed by the Board of Police Commissioners rather than the City, while Hodges challenged the constitutionality of the statutory cap on damages against public entities. The court held that Missouri statute creates a dual agency relationship making the officer an agent of the City for liability purposes in motor vehicle negligence cases, affirmed the waiver of sovereign immunity under section 537.600.1(1), upheld the damages limitation as constitutional, and affirmed the reduced judgment of $335,118.
The case concerned whether the fictional gain from ABB C-E Nuclear Power's deemed asset sale—triggered by its parent's stock sale and an IRC section 338(h)(10) election—qualified as business income apportionable to Missouri under the multi-state tax compact or as non-business income. The Administrative Hearing Commission ruled the gain was non-business income, resulting in no Missouri tax liability, and the Supreme Court affirmed. The court applied the transactional and functional tests, finding the one-time liquidation was not a regular business transaction nor an integral part of ABB's ongoing operations, so the proceeds were not subject to apportionment.
The case involved disciplinary proceedings against attorney Edgar Lim for his representation of clients seeking work visas, labor certification, and residency permits in an immigration matter. The Missouri Supreme Court found that Lim violated Rule 4-1.16(d) by withholding a labor certification document to which the clients were entitled after terminating the representation in an effort to coerce payment of fees. The court concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish violations of other rules regarding disclosure of confidential information, use of information to a former client's detriment, or implying a partnership. Considering Lim's 31-year practice record with only one prior minor disciplinary action, the court ordered a public reprimand as the appropriate discipline.
The case involved the Missouri Association of Club Executives challenging the constitutionality of HB 972 after the bill, originally focused on intoxication-related traffic offenses, was amended late in the legislative session to add provisions regulating adult entertainment establishments, including bans on private viewing rooms and certain activities. The circuit court ruled for the association and severed the new provisions, and the state appealed. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, holding that the amendments violated article III, section 21 of the Missouri Constitution by changing the bill's original purpose. The court reasoned that the adult entertainment regulations were unrelated to the bill's initial subject of alcohol-related traffic offenses and constituted the type of log-rolling the constitutional provision was designed to prevent.