Firm Obtains Favorable Settlement in Recount Litigation Over Attorney General Primary Election
Democratic Attorney General candidate Margaret Donnelly obtained a favorable result this week in her quest for a review of uncounted ballots in the Missouri AG primary last month, in which she finished second to Chris Koster by a margin of 780 votes out of the more than 346,000 cast. Member Richard Rhyne of Lathrop Gage’s Kansas City office led the legal team representing the Donnelly campaign in this matter.
While the firm and the campaign have requested a recount through the secretary of state's office, a lawsuit in the state’s Supreme Court was also filed against 26 local election jurisdictions seeking a review of absentee and provisional ballots that the firm argued were incorrectly rejected. Last week Missouri’s High Court directed that the case should be heard in circuit court and gave strict time guidelines to accelerate the process.
Mr. Rhyne served as chair of the Donnelly for Attorney General Greater Kansas City-Area Steering Committee during the campaign, and has also handled election recount matters in his legal practice. The firm has handled a number of high-profile election law cases, including Dolan v. Powers recount of the Johnson County, Missouri Auditor’s race, a precedent-setting case that set the standard for election recounts since Missouri enacted the Uniform Counting Standards.
About Lathrop Gage:
A leading Midwest full-service law firm, Lathrop Gage L.C. has approximately 300 attorneys in 10 offices nationwide – from Denver, Colo. to New York, New York. In 2007, Chambers USA ranked Lathrop Gage’s corporate, environmental, intellectual property, litigation, real estate and labor and employment teams among the best in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.lathropgage.com.