Missouri Suits

A $37-million judgment against Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, setting up a third trial in a case brought by a woman who was paralyzed in 1990 when the Suzuki Samurai in which she was riding flipped over. Suzuki has been the target of dozens of suits by Samurai drivers and passengers since the four-wheel-drive vehicle, no longer sold in the U.S., was savaged in a 1988 review in Consumer Reports.

A Missouri jury cleared Ford Motor Co. of liability for the death of a state trooper and burn injuries suffered by a 50-year-old man in a post-collision fire involving a Ford Crown Victoria police car. The officer, Michael Newton, burned to death after the gas tank of the Crown Victoria he was driving ruptured after the accident, setting off a fire. Michael Nolte, a passenger in the police car, sustained severe burns before being pulled out of the vehicle.

Angry over the alleged abuse of their prisoners in a Texas jail, Missouri officials sued Brazoria County, accusing it of a cover-up. The suit comes in the wake of a videotape that appears to show jail guards kicking Missouri inmates, zapping them with stun guns and forcing them to crawl around on their stomachs. The inmates were in the Brazoria County Detention Center, south of Houston, where guards work for a private company that manages the jail.

A $37-million judgment against Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. was overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, setting up a third trial in a case brought by a woman who was paralyzed in 1990 when the Suzuki Samurai in which she was riding flipped over. Suzuki has been the target of dozens of suits by Samurai drivers and passengers since the four-wheel-drive vehicle, no longer sold in the U.S., was savaged in a 1988 review in Consumer Reports.

Missouri officials agreed Wednesday to investigate prisoners' claims that they suffered beatings worse than those shown in a videotape that led to their being removed from a Texas jail. Corrections Director Dora Schriro said she had not heard those allegations before they were reported Wednesday by the Kansas City Star.

For the first time, the Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with a disturbing question that thousands of family members, doctors and nurses face each year: Under what conditions can a profoundly ill or comatose person be allowed to die? Since a 1983 auto accident, Nancy Beth Cruzan has lain unconscious and been fed through a surgically inserted tube. Her parents are asking that the tube be removed and that their daughter, now 32 years old, be allowed to die.

A wealthy Missouri prison inmate was ordered this week to foot his own prison bill. Daryle Gilyard, a millionaire serving a life sentence for murder, was ordered by a Cole County judge to pay $97,724.61 for his room and board. Officials said the amount was the largest lump sum ever won from an inmate under the Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act, a 1988 law that allows the state to recover costs for inmate care after any obligations to a spouse or children are met. Gilyard won a $4.

A Missouri jury cleared Ford Motor Co. of liability for the death of a state trooper and burn injuries suffered by a 50-year-old man in a post-collision fire involving a Ford Crown Victoria police car. The officer, Michael Newton, burned to death after the gas tank of the Crown Victoria he was driving ruptured after the accident, setting off a fire. Michael Nolte, a passenger in the police car, sustained severe burns before being pulled out of the vehicle.

Missouri officials agreed Wednesday to investigate prisoners' claims that they suffered beatings worse than those shown in a videotape that led to their being removed from a Texas jail. Corrections Director Dora Schriro said she had not heard those allegations before they were reported Wednesday by the Kansas City Star.

Angry over the alleged abuse of their prisoners in a Texas jail, Missouri officials sued Brazoria County, accusing it of a cover-up. The suit comes in the wake of a videotape that appears to show jail guards kicking Missouri inmates, zapping them with stun guns and forcing them to crawl around on their stomachs. The inmates were in the Brazoria County Detention Center, south of Houston, where guards work for a private company that manages the jail.

A wealthy Missouri prison inmate was ordered this week to foot his own prison bill. Daryle Gilyard, a millionaire serving a life sentence for murder, was ordered by a Cole County judge to pay $97,724.61 for his room and board. Officials said the amount was the largest lump sum ever won from an inmate under the Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act, a 1988 law that allows the state to recover costs for inmate care after any obligations to a spouse or children are met. Gilyard won a $4.

For the first time, the Supreme Court grappled Wednesday with a disturbing question that thousands of family members, doctors and nurses face each year: Under what conditions can a profoundly ill or comatose person be allowed to die? Since a 1983 auto accident, Nancy Beth Cruzan has lain unconscious and been fed through a surgically inserted tube. Her parents are asking that the tube be removed and that their daughter, now 32 years old, be allowed to die.