Elizabeth C. Carver's list of 2005's top cases

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Dec 31, 2005 by Elizabeth C. Carver

Boerner vs. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., 394 F.3d 594, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 03-3557, handed down Jan. 7, 2005. Punitive damages award of $15 million in wrongful death case was excessive in violation of due process because the $4 million compensatory damage award was substantial and no factor justifying a higher ratio of compensatory to punitive damages was present.

Doe vs. Miller, 418 F.3d 950, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 04-1568, handed down April 29, 2005. Iowa statute that prohibited persons convicted of certain sex offenses against minors from residing within 2,000 feet of school or child care facility is constitutional.

In re St. Jude Medical Inc. Silzone Heart Valve Products Liability Litigation, 425 F.3d 1116, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 04-3117, handed down Oct. 12, 2005. In nationwide class action concerning allegedly defective heart valves, certification of a subclass based on claims under Minnesota consumer protection statutes was improper because of possible conflicts with other states' consumer protection laws, and certification of subclass seeking injunctive relief in form of medical monitoring was likewise improper because of highly individualized circumstances of each plaintiff's need for monitoring.

Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood vs. Nixon, 2005 WL 3148076, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 04-2909, handed down Nov. 28, 2005. Missouri's Infant Protection Act, banning partial birth abortions, was unconstitutional because it made no exception to protect the health of the mother.

Republican Party of Minnesota vs. White, 416 F.3d 738, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (en banc), Nos. 99-4021, 99-4029 and 99- 4025, handed down Aug. 2, 2005. Sections of the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct that bar judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign funds or aligning themselves with political parties were not narrowly tailored to serve state's interest in impartial judiciary and violated First Amendment.

Throneberry vs. McGehee Desha County Hospital, 403 F.3d 972, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 03-3822, handed down April 11, 2005. The Family and Medical Leave Act does not impose strict liability for all interferences with FMLA rights; an employer who interferes with an employee's FMLA rights is not liable if it would have made the same decision had the employee not exercised her FMLA rights.

United States vs. Fellers,397 F.3d 1090, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 01-2045, handed down Feb. 15, 2005, cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 415 (2005). Statements a defendant made after he voluntarily waived his Sixth Amendment right to counsel were admissible even though police had elicited incriminating statements from the defendant before he was advised of his Miranda rights.

United States vs. Mooney, 425 F.3d 1093, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (en banc), No. 02-3388, handed down March 28, 2005. United States Sentencing Guideline provision that sets punishment for insider trading, U.S.S.G. Section 2B1.4, calls for sentencing a defendant based on the total gain actually realized from his illegal securities transactions, not just the gain that occurred before the market finished reacting to the information misused by the defendant.

United States vs. Pirani, 406 F.3d 543, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (en banc), No. 03-2871, handed down April 29, 2005, cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 266 (2005). When a defendant fails to preserve in the district court a sentencing error pursuant to United States vs. Booker, remand to the district court for resentencing is not required unless the defendant meets his burden of demonstrating that a plain error occurred as well as a reasonable probability that he would have received a more favorable sentence if the trial court had considered the United States Sentencing Guidelines advisory rather than mandatory.

Watson vs. Philip Morris Cos., 420 F.3d 852, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 04-1225, handed down Aug. 25, 2005. Tobacco company alleged to have violated state deceptive trade practices statute through its use of the labels lights and lowered tar and nicotine based on tar and nicotine ratings developed by Federal Trade Commission was a person acting under a federal officer and could thus remove suit to federal court under 28 U.S.C. Section 1442(a)(1).

Elizabeth C. Carver is a partner at Bryan Cave L.L.P. and a member of the firm's Appellate Client Service Group. Carver has handled appeals covering a range of subjects, including employment discrimination and other employment issues, commercial transactions, constitutional law, personal injury and intellectual property. She has argued cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Federal Circuit, and for the Eastern and Western Districts of the Missouri Court of Appeals.