Janson et al v. LegalZoom.com, Inc.
Filing
154
MOTION in limine to exclude any evidence or argument concerning the In re Thompson decision filed by David T. Butsch on behalf of Gerald T. Ardrey, C & J Remodeling LLC, Chad M Ferrell, Todd Janson. Suggestions in opposition/response due by 8/19/2011 unless otherwise directed by the court. (Butsch, David)
IN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
CENTRAL DIVISION
TODD JANSON, et al., on behalf of
themselves and on behalf of all others
similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.
Defendant.
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Case No. 2:10-cv-04018-NKL
PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION IN LIMINE TO EXCLUDE EVIDENCE OR ARGUMENT
CONCERNING THE IN RE THOMPSON DECISION
Come now Plaintiffs, by and through counsel, and for their Motion in Limine to exclude
any evidence or argument concerning the In re Thompson decision, state as follows:
Plaintiffs anticipate, based on arguments asserted by LegalZoom in their summary
judgment papers, that LegalZoom will attempt to introduce evidence or argument before the jury
that the use of legal forms is legal in Missouri based upon the decision in In re Thompson, 574
S.W.2d 365 (Mo. banc 1978). LegalZoom’s argument is that because the Missouri Supreme
Court approved the sale of do-it-yourself divorce kits in Thompson, LegalZoom’s conduct is
lawful as well. Such evidence or argument should be excluded because “[e]vidence which is not
relevant is not admissible.” Fed. R. Evid. 402. Furthermore, such evidence would mislead and
confuse the jury who are charged with determining issues of fact, not law.
How the Missouri Supreme Court decided the Thompson case has no bearing on the
factual issues to be presented to the jury. The statutory underpinning of plaintiffs’ cause of action
is Section 484.020.1 RSMo, which prohibits “the drawing” or “assisting in the drawing for a
valuable consideration” of “any paper, document or instrument affecting or relating to secular
rights.” Thus, the factual question for the jury to decide is whether LegalZoom participated in or
assisted in the drawing of legal documents. What occurred in a unrelated lawsuit, Thompson, has
no bearing on that factual question.
“‘Relevant evidence’ means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any
fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than
it would be without the evidence.” Fed. R. Evid. 401. “Evidence which is not relevant is not
admissible.” Fed. R. Evid. 402. “A defendant has no right to offer and a jury has no right to
hear inadmissible evidence.” U.S. v. Ceballos, 593 F. Supp. 2d 1054, 1059 (S.D. Iowa 2009).
The circumstances of the Thompson lawsuit, which may relate to the legal issues presented, have
no bearing whatsoever on the factual determination to be made by the jury concerning whether
LegalZoom violated Section 484.020.1 RSMo.
This court has broad discretion in determining the admissibility of evidence, Fortune
Funding, LLC v. Ceridian Corp., 368 F.3d 985, 990 (8th Cir. 2004), and should exercise its
discretion to exclude evidence or argument concerning the availability of legal forms in
Missouri.
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Edward D. Robertson, Jr., # 27183
Mary Doerhoff Winter, # 38328
BARTIMUS, FRICKLETON,
ROBERTSON & GORNY
715 Swifts Highway
Jefferson City, MO 65109
573.659.4454, 573.659.4460 (fax)
chiprob@earthlink.net,
marywinter@earthlink.net
/s/ David T. Butsch
David T. Butsch, # 37539
James J. Simeri, #52506
BUTSCH SIMERI FIELDS LLC
231 S. Bemiston Ave., Ste. 260
Clayton, MO 63105
314.863.5700, 314.863.5711 (fax)
butsch@bsflawfirm.com
simeri@bsflawfirm.com
Timothy Van Ronzelen, #44382
Matthew A. Clement, #43833
Kari A. Schulte, #57739
COOK, VETTER, DOERHOFF &
LANDWEHR, PC
231 Madison
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
573.635.7977, 573.635.7414 (fax)
tvanronzelen@cvdl.net
mclement@cvdl.net
kschulte@cvdl.net
Randall O. Barnes, #39884
RANDALL O. BARNES & ASSOCIATES
219 East Dunklin Street, Suite A
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
573.634.8884, 573.635.6291 (fax)
rbarnesjclaw@aol.com
Steven E. Dyer, #45397
LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN DYER
10850 Sunset Office Drive, Ste. 300
St. Louis, MO 63127
314.898.6715
jdcpamba@gmail.com
Attorneys for Plaintiffs
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that on August 2, 2011, I filed the foregoing with the Clerk of the Court using the
CM/ECF system. The system sent notification of this filing to the following:
Party
Counsel
Robert M. Thompson
James T. Wicks
BRYAN CAVE LLP
One Kansas City Place
1200 Main Street, Ste. 3500
Kansas City, MO 64105
816.374.3200, 816.374.3300 (fax)
Defendant
LegalZoom.com, Inc.
John Michael Clear
Michael Biggers
James Wyrsch
BRYAN CAVE LLP
One Metropolitan Square, Ste. 3600
211 N. Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
314.250.2000, 314.259.2020 (fax)
/s/ David T. Butsch
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