A $1.5m Case Goes Forgotten for Six Years: Retiring Mo. Judge Rules After Cleaning Out Her Office

Summary

---

Judge Evelyn Baker was preparing to retire late last month when a clerk told her about a little unfinished business. In cleaning out Baker's office, the clerk had found a 2002 case in which the judge had found for the plaintiff but no formal ruling was ever issued.

So, on March 31, Baker's last day as a judge, she awarded a college instructor $1.5 million. The judgment came 15 years after the case was filed.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

A $1.5m Case Goes Forgotten for Six Years: Retiring Mo. Judge Rules After Cleaning Out Her Office

Baker said the case shouldn't have been forgotten but said it can happen with as large and active a court system as St. Louis has, and with regular staff turnover.

"Everyone thought it was done and all of a sudden at the very end it was like 'whoa,' " the retired judge said, adding that she was aware of pieces of paper ending up in the wrong spot regul...

See the full content of this document

---