Frank J. Niesen, Jr., lawyers in St. Louis, MO, Missouri

Tort Liability of Members of the Armed Forces

Members of the armed forces are generally immune from liability for damages to another person or to the other person's property as long as the members were acting within the scope of their employment or their official duties and as long as the members were following a lawful command. The immunity applies to the members who were issuing the lawful command and to the members who were obeying the lawful command.More...

Negligence Per Se

Ordinarily, a jury determines whether a defendant was negligent in a personal injury action. However, in some cases, a court may determine that a defendant was "negligent per se." If a court determines that a defendant is guilty of negligence per se, then the defendant's negligence is conclusively established and the plaintiff is not required to offer further evidence of the defendant's negligence. More...

Federal Volunteer Protection Act -- Punitive and Noneconomic Damages

The federal Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) limits punitive damage awards against volunteers in cases in which they are not immune from liability. More...

Attorney Malpractice Liability to Non-Client

In the course of an attorney's representation of a client, he may commit legal malpractice with respect to his prosecution, defense, or appeal of the client's action or his preparation of transactional documents for the client. The attorney's actions may constitute legal malpractice if he fails to use the skill, prudence, and diligence that attorneys of ordinary skill and capacity would use in performing their legal tasks. In addition to being liable to the client, the attorney may also be liable to a non-client in certain circumstances.More...

Federal Volunteer Protection Act -- Exceptions

The federal Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) grants immunity to a volunteer who causes harm to a person while the volunteer is performing services for a nonprofit organization or governmental entity. However, under some circumstances, a volunteer is not immune from liability for such harm.More...