Jackson County Circuit Judge Charles Atwell will hear final arguments today over whether a city-proposed tax district designed to fund a $100m street car is legal. Yesterday, Judge Atwell heard testimony from those for and against the proposal.  While supporters of the streetcar tax district outnumbered opponents of the plan, wide division remains within that community. While some business owners showed a willingness to tax themselves in hopes that a streetcar would bring economic development, others feared that the tax would drive out their businesses. Others were concerned [...]

Developer Michael Atcheson received bad news from a Jackson County jury who awarded a $280,650 against him in favor of his former business partner, Major Hammett, II.

Attorney Mark Bredemeier, principal of the The Law Offices of Mark Bredemeier in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, represented Atcheson.

Hammett filed the lawsuit in 2011 relating to a development project in Bolivar, Missouri that had been stalled.  He argued that Atcheson used funds from the Simon Square development project for political contributions and overpayments to construction companies that he owed.

Attorney [...]

The Missouri Supreme Court continues to weigh whether John Davis, former estate attorney for Kansas City’s Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, should be allowed to keep his license to practice law.

While the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments in that case early this April, a decision is still awaited.

Davis was accused of making tax payments by using a trust account he had handled for a widow for nearly 20 years.  Before he resigned from Stinson in 2010, he repaid $85,000 into that account.  Stinson’s tax, [...]

As Legal Sonar previously reported, Kansas City attorney Jean Maneke, principal at The Maneke Law Group, represents parents of 17-year-old twin brothers who were suspended from Lee’s Summit North High School for 180 days for maintaining an offensive, racist blog.

Now, the twins are going to back to Lee’s Summit North High School early on April 9th.

Senior U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs ruled yesterday to allow the twins to return.

Judge Sachs issued a preliminary injunction staying the remaining [...]

James Clark, former owner of the Kansas City Knights basketball team, has been charged with bank fraud and evading federal taxes.

Kansas City, Kansas prosecutors filed charges against Clark on March 9th, alleging that the former team owner owes nearly $503,000 in unpaid payroll taxes and penalties from 2002-2004.

According to the suit, Clark withheld taxes from employees but failed to forward those withholdings to the IRS.  Clark withheld those payroll taxes from employees of the SWISH Holding Corp., a corporation which Clark owned.

In addition [...]

Former Polsinelli Shughart shareholder and vice chairman of its health care business group Randy Schultz recently left Polsinelli to join another of Kansas City’s big firms.

Shultz will lead Lathrop & Gage’s health care business law strategic planning group.

Shultz will work from Lathrop’s Overland Park office.

According to the Kansas City Business Journal: Previously, he led the national health care practice at Shughart Thomson & Kilroy PC before that firm merged with Polsinelli.

With more than 25 years of health care experience, Schultz has formed large-scale physician practices, provided regulatory counsel and advised on the creation of accountable care [...]