Civil Practice & Procedure

Heavy Burdens to Overturn Foreign Judgment.  Peoples Bank, v. Frazee, Frazee and Frazee, No. 90536 (Mo. banc, August 31, 2010), Breckenridge, J.
Peoples Bank obtained a judgment against the defendant in Oklahoma based on defendant's guarantee of a loan the bank made to a relative of the defendant.  The relative had defaulted on the note to the bank but after the guarantee, the bank renewed the loan to the relative.  After a default on the new note, suit was filed against the guarantor.  The bank then proceeded to register its judgment in Missouri but defendant Frazee filed a motion to quash.  The trial court ruled that the bank had the burden of proof and it found that it had not met the burden of proof to establish personal jurisdiction.  The bank appealed.

Held: Reversed.  Given the strong presumption of the validity of a foreign judgment that is regular on its face puts the burden of challenging a motion to register the foreign judgment on the party attacking the judgment.  The court went on to a de novo review of the issue of personal jurisdiction and held that it had personal jurisdiction over the defendant guarantor after a lengthy factual analysis. 

HIPAA Prohibits ex parte Meetings.  State ex rel. Proctor and Proctor v. The Honorable Messina, Circuit Judge, Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, Jackson County, Missouri, No. 90610, (Mo. banc, August 31, 2010), Fischer, J.
In this widely reported original proceeding and prohibition the Supreme Court ruled that the trial court had exceeded its authority in ordering that it was permissible for non-party medical providers to engage in informal ex parte communications with the defense attorneys.  The Supreme Court made the writ absolute holding that HIPAA prohibits ex parte meetings by counsel with health providers.

The Missouri Bar Courts Bulletin, 11-Jan