Dan Tobben Takes Case of Disabled Firefighter over Disability Pay

A disabled Joplin firefighter has filed a lawsuit against Joplin and its Police and Firemen’s Pension Fund over what he contends is miscalculation of his disability pay over a duty-related disability. Rather than receiving one-half of his prior working wages, he is receiving only slightly more than a third of the wages he made when he was working.

According to his attorney, Dan Tobben, two issues are in play.

First, the city is not granting the full amount of service for the firefighter (15 years and 11 months) but is rounding it down to 15 years.

Second to the case, and more important, involves a change to the plan in 1993. Tobben asserts that the pension board did not disclose to the firefighters prior to a vote to amend their pension changes years regarding a reduction in benefit pay to those with less than 20 years of service. This change decreased the benefit pay from one-half of their working pay at the time of disability to one-third of their pay.

When Tobben appeared before the pension board in May, he stated that there is nothing that documents that firefighters were informed of the change to their disability pay and if they had been informed, the firefighters never would have voted for the amended plan.

Read more… Joplin Globe

Joe Soraghan Named One of the St. Louisans to Know

One of Danna McKitrick’s own, Joe Soraghan, has been named in St. Louis Small Business Monthly’s “100 St. Louisans to Know to Succeed in Business – 2011″.

Soraghan’s motivation to help small businesses first stems from the fact that small businesses constitute the bulk of business in this country and are likely the developers of new ideas, processes and products to improve people’s lives.

Read more… St. Louis Small Business Monthly

Danna McKitrick Named as One of the Best Law Firms

Danna McKitrick, P.C. is honored to be named as a top law firm in the June 2011 issue of St. Louis Small Business Monthly: The Best in Business awards.

Read more… St. Louis Small Business Monthly

DeWoskin Comments on Chemical Building Situation

Bankruptcy attorney Tom DeWoskin remains hopeful Chemical Building Acquisition LLC can yet obtain crucial financing for renovating historical downtown St. Louis building.  The lender, Centrue Bank, has commenced foreclosure against the building, which is valued at $4-4.2 million against a debt of $7.8 million. Without financing, planned renovations cannot be made. About the situation, DeWoskin said: “It’s still a very difficult economy to find financing.”

Read more… St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Technology and Divorce

Our own Sophy Qureshi Raza is quoted in a Ladue News article: Computer Privacy in Divorce.

This is a very hot topic due to the increasing role of technology in discovering a spouse’s infidelity. And many people contemplating divorce or those in the midst of it wonder about the admissibility of discovered texts, emails, and social media posts in their divorce case.

Bohm States Increased Tourism Taxes Equate to “Double Taxation” in St. Louis

David Bohm interviewed in St. Louis Business Journal article entitled, “St. Louis hotels livid over taxes“.

David Bohm, a lawyer at Danna McKitrick, said he is preparing two suits, one to be filed in St. Louis County and one in St. Charles County, on behalf of the owners of the Seven Gables Inn and the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, the Cheshire Inn in Richmond Heights, and the Drury Inn in St. Peters. Other plaintiffs may be added, he said. In all, four hotels are located in Clayton, three in Richmond Heights, and five in St. Peters.

The lawsuits will contend that additional tourism taxes imposed by the cities would be unconstitutional because they are beyond the taxing authority granted by the state legislature. “It’s a double taxation,” Bohm said.

Read more… St. Louis Business Journal

Tobben Questions Springfield Suit Challenging Retirees’ 3% Benefit Increase

Both Tobben & MO Attorney General Seeks Dismissal of Suit

Dan Tobben interview included in “Attorney General’s Office Files for Dismissal in Springfield Pension Lawsuit” on August 2, 2010, KSPR News.

One by one, retired Springfield firefighters and police officers filled the meeting at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center. Attorney Dan Tobben, representing about 260 of them against the city, gave a presentation. In June, each former public servant was served a summons for a civil case. In the case the city is asking for a declaratory judgment which affirms a legal right or interpretation.

Dan Tobben Comments on KSPR

“The attorney general has said in a pleading file with the court ‘we did not give you an opinion, why are you dragging us into it; we are not threatening to sue you,’” attorney Tobben said.

It’s unclear what is next for the lawsuit. Four judges have said they can’t hear the suit, citing possible conflicts with taking the case.

The City of Springfield is paying the COLA increase. Retirees received their July check.

Read more… KSPR News

Springfield “Pension Lawsuit Unnecessary” Contends Tobben in Springfield News Leader

The Springfield News Leader article entitled, “Pension lawsuit unnecessary, contends lawyer for Springfield police, fire retirees,” features an interview with Dan Tobben.

Hired by the police and fire associations, Tobben has signed on to represent more than half of the retirees.

Speaking with the News-Leader before the closed meeting with his clients, Tobben said he understands the city’s motivation but thinks the suit is unnecessary.

“I don’t think it’s based on ill will,” he said. “To me it’s just unfortunate.”

Tobben said he doesn’t think the restrictions in state law or the constitution apply to the cost-of-living adjustments, which are not new benefits but rather the annual application of an existing one.

He also doesn’t think the suit is based on a real controversy — a view shared by the Attorney General’s Office, which filed a motion July 19 asking that the lawsuit be dismissed.

Read full story… Springfield News Leader

“Is Equitable Subrogation Dead for Lenders and Insurers in Missouri?” Published in Journal of the Missouri Bar

Scott Mueller authored an article entitled, ”Is Equitable Subrogation Dead for Lenders and Insurers in Missouri?” in the July-August 2010 edition of the Journal of the Missouri Bar.

Overview: This article discusses the recent abandonment of the equitable subrogation doctrine as a remedy in Missouri for lenders and how this withdrawal also affects the remedy’s availability to insurers. The article also maps the definitive features of the remedy by synthesizing notable cases that alternately developed and then nearly destroyed the doctrine in Missouri. These cases also project how future courts may rule on future equitable subrogation cases in Missouri.

Remarkably, the doctrine’s fall from grace as a lender’s remedy has been so precipitous as to jeopardize the availability of the remedy for insurers as well.

Read the full article…  Journal of the Missouri Bar

Listen to Sophy Qureshi Raza on Understanding the Divorce Process on KWMU

An on-air discussion about understanding the divorce process and navigating through it as smoothly as possible.

Don Marsh talks with Sophy Qureshi Raza on St. Louis Public Radio’s July 27, 2010 edition of “St. Louis on the Air.”

Listen to the interview… St. Louis Public Radio