Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries
Articles Posted in Missouri Supreme Court
State ex rel. Praxair, Inc. v. Mo. Pub. Serv. Comm’n
The Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Great Plain Energy's acquisition of Aquila, a Missouri utility company. Before approval was granted, Praxair, AG Processing, and Sedalia Industrial Energy Users' Association (collectively, Praxair) intervened. During evidentiary hearings, Great Plains, Aquila, and a subsidiary of Great Plains filed a motion to limit the scope of the proceedings, seeking to preclude any evidence as to their gift and gratuity policies. The regulatory law judge granted the motion, finding the evidence was wholly irrelevant to the merger. After the merger was approved, Praxair and the Office of Public Counsel filed petitions for writs of review. The circuit court affirmed the regulatory law judge's order. After opinion by the court of appeals, the Supreme Court granted transfer. The Court affirmed, holding (1) while the evidence as to Great Plains' gift policy should have been admitted, its exclusion was not prejudicial as the gift policy could not have substantially impacted the weight of the evidence evaluated to approve the merger; and (2) although certain PSC commissioners who heard the merger application had been subject to ex parte contact with executives from Great Plains, Public Counsel did not overcome the presumption that the PSC acted impartially.
Mo. Ass’n of Nurse Anesthetists v. State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts
The State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts is an agency with the authority to register and supervise all state physicians, surgeons, and midwives. After receiving a series of letters regarding the propriety of instances in which a physician delegates certain pain management procedures to advance practice nurses (APNs), the Board published a letter stating that APNs did not have the appropriate training or experience to perform those procedures. Appellants, medical professionals, filed a petition in the circuit court seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting the Board from enforcing its "letter rule" and claiming that (1) the Board's letter failed to adhere to statutory public rulemaking requirements, and (2) the Board's letter exceeded the authority of the Board insomuch as it defined the scope of practice for nurses. The trial court granted the Board's motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding (1) the Board failed to comply with rulemaking procedures and therefore the letter had no legal effect; and (2) it was unclear whether the Board was attempting to regulate the practice of physicians or the practice of nursing. Therefore, the record did not support summary judgment as a matter of law.
Lindhorst v. Lindhorst
Tonya Lindhorst and Eric Lindhorst divorced in 1998. The dissolution decree ordered Eric to pay $1,100 monthly in child support and $1,000 monthly in maintenance. In 2003, Tonya began receiving Social Security disability benefits. In 2008, both parties filed motions to modify the decree. The trial court reduced Eric's maintenance obligation but increased his child support obligation and did not make the modified child support award retroactive to the date that Tonya served her motion to modify. Tonya appealed. At issue was whether the trial court erred in imputing income to Tonya from part-time employment while assuming the continued receipt of Social Security disability benefits. The Supreme Court held (1) the level of work and income imputed to Tonya would disqualify her from Social Security benefits and therefore the trial court erred in considering both the imputed income and Tanya's Social Security disability benefit as a basis for reducing Eric's maintenance obligation; and (2) because Tonya demonstrated the trial court abused its discretion in its modification of the child support award, that part of the judgment declining to make the increased child support obligation retroactive is reversed. Remanded.