The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld an award of $1,135,120 in compensatory damages against Craig Politte after he admitted his sexual exploitation of client Anita Karase was intentional and substandard. Politte initially treated Karase and her husband for couples counseling before moving to individual sessions without securing signed informed consent or addressing clear conflicts of interest. However, the appellate panel struck down a $1 million punitive damages verdict because it relied on a negligence per se theory tied to state counselor regulations. The court held that administrative ethics rules do not authorize independent civil causes of action, prompting a remand to the lower court.
Key points
Licensed therapists in Missouri face substantial compensatory liability when breaching st…: Licensed therapists in Missouri face substantial compensatory liability when breaching standards of care through sexual misconduct.
State professional counseling regulations cannot serve as the sole legal foundation for a…: State professional counseling regulations cannot serve as the sole legal foundation for an independent negligence per se claim.
The Missouri Court of Appeals sustained claims of battery, medical negligence, and consum…: The Missouri Court of Appeals sustained claims of battery, medical negligence, and consumer protection violations against the practitioner.
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A Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld most of a jury’s decision against a licensed therapist who became sexually involved with a woman during her counseling sessions, but it has removed $1 million in punitive damages from the judgment. The case, Anita Karase v. Craig Politte, was decided on November 10, 2026, and centres on allegations that Craig Politte exploited the therapeutic relationship with Anita Karase, a woman he had initially counselled alongside her husband, as mentioned on Justia U.S Law's website.
The appeals court affirmed the jury’s findings on medical negligence, battery, and a violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. It reversed only the negligence per se claim, which had carried the $1 million punitive award, because it found that Missouri’s counselor ethics regulations do not create a separate private cause of action for that type of claim.
How the relationship began
According to the court record, Politte began counselling Karase’s husband in 2018 through his private practice, Life Counseling Centers. He later provided couples therapy to Karase and her husband, then began seeing Karase individually.
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