James R. LaytonToday the Missouri Supreme Court overruled both the Missouri Public Service Commission and the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, in a victory for a company trying to build a transmission line to carry wind-generated energy from western Kansas to Missouri and to states farther east. Concluding that it was bound by a recent decision by the Western District, the PSC refused a certificate of need for the project. Jim Layton, head of Tueth Keeney’s appellate practice group, teamed up with former Missouri Governor Jay Nixon of Dowd Bennett LLP to persuade first the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, and then the Missouri Supreme Court that the Western District was wrong and that the PSC could issue the certificate.
James Layton leads the firm’s Appellate practice group and is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation, Labor, and Education groups. He assists clients with analysis and presentation of complex legal issues in Missouri and federal courts, both trial and appellate. In addition to handling cases himself and with other attorneys at Tueth Keeney, Jim consults with clients on appellate strategy and assists other counsel in high-stakes, complex appeals.
Jim has briefed and argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and before all Missouri appellate courts””including more than 90 cases before the Missouri Supreme Court. He has represented clients in U.S. district courts and in Missouri circuit courts from Jackson County to the City of St. Louis. He has extensive experience with government-related litigation and state taxation disputes. Jim is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, a past president of the Bar Association of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and a past chair of the American Bar Association’s Council of Appellate Lawyers. He is a frequent speaker in the areas of appellate practice and constitutional law, both state and federal.