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[SEE DISTRICT ON PAGE 8][SEE JUDGES ON PAGE 8]
McCaskill
jury duty
Lawyers say they wanted
senator on the jury.
n Page 2
Ferguson
report debated
Data in DOJ report questioned.
n Page 5
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 ■ $8.50■ VOLUME 30 NUMBER 5 WWW.MOLAWYERSMEDIA.COM
EXPERTLY FOCUSED.WIDELY ACCLAIMED.2015 STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS AND PHOTOGRAPHY WINNER
Breckenridge says judges
will get anti-bias training
By Scott Lauck
scott.lauck@molawyersmedia.com
Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge used
her first state of the judiciary address to
acknowledge problems with the state’s
municipal courts while praising collab-
orative efforts between the courts and the
legislature.
Noting recent critical reports from the
U.S. Department of Justice on Missouri’s
municipal and juvenile justice systems,
Breckenridge announced that, starting
this year, the court’s judicial education
program will include instructions about
overcoming implicit biases.
“The Supreme Court also realizes it is
critical for those who sit in judgment of
others to be aware of any bias, implicit or
otherwise, that might unknowingly affect
our decisions,” she said.
Breckenridge, who began her two-year
term as the head of the Missouri Supreme
Court in July, spoke on Wednesday to
a joint session of the Missouri House
and Senate in Jefferson City. Though she
highlighted a number of positive items
— such as the near complete rollout of
e-filing statewide and the success stories
of graduates from treatment courts —
Breckenridge was often blunt in address-
ing the court system’s failings.
She spoke about problems with St. Louis
County’s municipal courts uncovered by
Defending
the district
Defense verdicts tied
to shift in KC school
district’s overall culture
By Jessica Shumaker
jessica.shumaker@molawyersmedia.com
2015 was a good year for the legal team of
Kansas City Public Schools.
The district received defense verdicts in
eachofitssixjurytrialsfortheyear.Plaintiffs
in the cases brought forward claims ranging
from age discrimination to retaliation.
Ivan Nugent, the dis-
trict’s lead litigation at-
torney, said in his time
with the district, he
has not seen a similar
streak of defense ver-
dicts.
He said the district
has faced a number of
hurdles in getting to
that point, from the standard by which em-
ployment cases are litigated, which is less fa-
vorable to employers and defense counsel, to
other factors.
“Jackson County is notoriously a plaintiff-
friendly jurisdiction,” he said, adding that
unfavorable media coverage also plays into
jury perceptions. “The school district has
had its problems, so you take all that into
consideration and the cards are stacked
against you pretty good.”
Nugent said he sees the district’s recent
successes as fitting into a broader shift with-
in the district. Starting in 2010, it has worked
to bring its legal work in-house instead of
relying on outside firms. He said that was a
cost-saving measure.
Today, the department has six attorneys
and three support staff. The team handles
everything from contracts to litigation and
special education compliance.
“We have pieces for every need of the
school district,” Nugent said. “We’re a pretty
big organization and so there are times we
do have to rely on outside counsel, but for
the most part, we are a small operating law
firm.”
A new approach
Another shift in the district has come in
how it handles litigation. Nugent said in the
past, the district was more likely to settle
with plaintiffs. District officials have taken
a more aggressive approach in recent years,
Ivan Nugent
“We are committed to restoring trust in all
our municipal divisions,” Chief Justice Patricia
Breckenridge said to a joint session of the Mis-
souri House and Senate in Jefferson City. File photo
by Karen Elshout
ANNUAL VERDICTS & SETTLEMENTS EDITION
SECTION BEGINS ON PAGE 9
TOP 2015
Photos by Scott Lauck
KANSAS CITY HOSPITAL CASE
AMONG BIGGEST VERDICTS

2 February 1, 2016 | M i s s o u r i L aw y e r s We e k lyLawyers in the News
Edwards to enter
Hall of Fame
St. Louis Circuit
Judge Jimmie Ed-
wards will be induct-
ed into the Missouri
Public Affairs Hall of
Fame on April 14.
He is being recog-
nized for his efforts to
curb school dropouts.
Edwards helped open
the Innovative Concept Academy in 2009.
Edwards has served as a circuit judge in
St. Louis since 1992. From 2007 to 2012, he
was also the administrative judge of the
family court and chief juvenile court judge.
Edwards earned his law degree from Saint
Louis University.
Law clerk appointed
as associate circuit judge
Jason M. Sengheiser has been appoint-
ed as an associate circuit judge in St. Louis.
Sengheiser is a law clerk on the Missouri
Court of Appeals, Eastern District for Judge
Robert G. Dowd Jr. He previously was a
law clerk on the court for Judge Gary M.
Gaertner Sr.
Sengheiser will fill a vacancy created by
Michael W. Noble’s appointment as circuit
judge. Gov. Jay Nixon announced the ap-
pointment Tuesday.
Sengheiser holds leadership positions
and is active in the American Bar Associa-
tion, the Missouri Bar Association and the
Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis.
He is an advisory board member for the
Saint Louis University Prison Program
and an adjunct professor at Fontbonne
University.
Sengheiser earned his law degree from
Saint Louis University and also holds a
LL.M. in International and Comparative
Law from Columbia University in New York.
Two members elected
at Baker Sterchi
Baker Sterchi Cowden Rice LLC elected
two lawyers to member status effective
Jan. 1 – Robert F. Chandler and Jonathan
E. Benevides.
Chandler works in the St. Louis office.
Benevides is in the firm’s Kansas City office.
By Catherine Martin
catherine.martin@molawyersmedia.com
A typically unremarkable slip-and-fall
case was the talk of the St. Louis County
courthouse thanks to a notable juror on the
case – U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.
McCaskill called attention to her service
from the start – she spent a good portion of
Monday tweeting about her time waiting
at the courthouse during the jury selection
process, mentioning it was on her bucket
list to serve.
In an interview with Missouri Lawyers
Weekly, McCaskill said that even though
there is a federal law that allows every mem-
ber of Congress to avoid jury service, she
“consciously chose not to utilize that legal
excuse.”
“I remember trying cases and I remem-
ber how important it was that the jury rep-
resented a cross section of the community,”
she said, adding that she used to yell at
friends who called her for advice on how to
get out of jury duty.
“It was time for me to step up and do
what I think everyone should do, and that
is to welcome the opportunity to serve on a
jury,” she said.
Although she was eager to serve,
McCaskill said she was skeptical that she
would make the cut.
“I was shocked,” she said of finding out
she’d been selected. “I assumed one of the
lawyers would use a peremptory challenge
to remove me,” she said.
Theattorneysinthecasesaidthefactthat
she was a lawyer and a U.S. Senator were not
an issue. In fact, both lawyers saw ways her
background could positively affect the trial.
“I think from our perspective, she’s a
prior prosecuting attorney, and a good one,
and we felt that she
could provide the
jury with assistance
and help in work-
ing through instruc-
tions, which is some-
times confusing to
lay people,” said Paul
Puricelli, a Stone,
Leyton, Gershman
attorney who repre-
sented the defense in the case. “We felt that
she was an intelligent person and would be
a positive influence.”
Kyle Kleefuss, an attorney with the Law
Offices of Derald L. Gab who represented
the plaintiff, said he didn’t have any hesita-
tion about McCaskill serving on the jury.
“I did not want to get her struck from
the jury because I thought that just in gen-
eral, she would be fairer to my side in that
she would stand up for the little person,”
he said. “I think maybe that is part of what
happened.”
Kleefuss represented a man who sued
QuikTrip after tripping on a hose outside
of the store and injuring his knee. The jury
set damages at $45,000 and found QuikTrip
75 percent responsible and the plaintiff 25
percent responsible.
The vote was unanimous.
McCaskill said it was a “surreal” experi-
ence to sit through voir dire and the trial.
“It was terrific to be on the other side. I
wish I could have done it as a young lawyer,”
she said.
Her biggest takeaway, she said, was con-
firmation of her belief that “most juries get
it right.”
“They can smell the essence the case,” she
said. “This jury was conscious. They were
attentive. The discussion was very knowl-
edgeable and thorough.”
McCaskill said she was not interested in
being the foreperson in the case, and was
interested in hearing all of the juror’s opin-
ions.
“I think everybody showed that kind of
respect for one another,” she said. “That we
were able to unanimously agree on the ver-
dict, that is always a good sign.”
Purcelli said he didn’t think the senator
affected the outcome of the case.
Her presence did have some effect on the
atmosphere in the courtroom, at least after
the trial when Puricelli said people were
asking for autographs.
“It was kind of the talk of the court-
house,” Kleefuss said.
Puricelli hopes that McCaskill’s own talk
of her jury duty on Twitter, which included
tweets she saved as drafts throughout the
trial and shared afterward, will have an im-
pact beyond her service.
“I think it shows that all of us have an ob-
ligation to the system, no matter how big or
small, and I think she put out a very posi-
tive message,” Puricelli said. “Many times
people are dreading it when they get a sum-
mons for a jury, hopefully this might influ-
ence people otherwise.”
Kleefuss expressed similar feelings.
“Anything that gets people excited about
jury duty is a good thing,” he said.
McCaskill said that was her aim in shar-
ing her experiences.
“I hope I encouraged people to partici-
pate in jury service. I think there’s a joke in
our country… that it’s the end of the world,”
she said. “I hope people see it as an adven-
ture and an important part of civic respon-
sibility.”
The case is Leotis Tate v. Quiktrip
Corporation, 14SL-CC04414. mo
Dolan Publishing
owner announces
hiring of new CEO
Staff reports
GateHouse Media announced Thursday
that it has hired Adam Reinebach as CEO
and president of the company’s recently ac-
quired business-to-business publishing unit,
Dolan Publishing, which includes Missouri
Lawyers Media.
“Amid an increas-
ingly crowded digi-
tal landscape, the
Dolan brands have
retained a loyal base
of paid subscribers
who rely on our ex-
pert, proprietary con-
tent,” Reinebach said.
“Building a high level
of engagement with these communities puts
us in a unique position to create marketing
solutions that serve customers at a regional
and local level.”
Reinebach’s appointment is effective Feb.
8.
Most recently, he launched and led
Responsive Partners, a digital consultancy
specializing in B2B turnarounds. Previously,
he served as executive vice president and
managing director at SourceMedia, where
he ran the diversified media company’s pro-
fessional services brands and its paid sub-
scriptions business. During his nine years at
the company, Reinebach also held executive
positions leading technology, circulation
marketing and custom solutions.
Prior to SourceMedia, Reinebach was a
vice president at Thomson Financial, where
he was publisher of their private equity
brands, and ran the research and data group
at Venture Economics. He started his B2B
media career as a reporter for Investment
Dealers’ Digest. He is a graduate of Rutgers
University.
“Adam is an accomplished senior execu-
tive with significant sales, marketing and
technology experience in the business-to-
business media and information space,” said
Kirk Davis, CEO of GateHouse Media. “I
anticipate B2B publishing will present excit-
ing growth opportunities for our company
and am thrilled to have Adam leading these
efforts.”
Dolan, composed of 39 print and online
publications, is a leading provider of indus-
try-specific news for the legal, financial, real
estate, and government affairs sectors in the
17 markets it serves across the U.S. Missouri
Lawyers Media includes Missouri Lawyers
Weekly, the St. Louis Daily Record, The St.
Louis Countian, The Jefferson Countian,
The Daily Record of Kansas City, the St.
Charles County Business Record and the
group’s websites, molawyersmedia.com and
mlmcounties.com. mo
Adam Reinebach
U.S.Sen.Claire
McCaskill
Jimmie Edwards
Lawyer named one of first white members of NAACP committee
By Catherine Martin
Jane Dueker, an attorney with Spencer
Fane in St. Louis, is one of the first white
members of the Missouri NAACP’s state-
wide executive committee.
“I am deeply honored and I look for-
ward to listening, learning and serving,”
Dueker said of the appointment.
Recently-elected Missouri NAACP
President Nimrod “Rod” Chapel Jr. an-
nounced the committee appointments
Monday, which included Dueker and
Cheryl Avant, a public health advocate in
Jefferson City who is also white.
Dueker, who has worked with the
NAACP is different capacities, said she
was “exceedingly surprised” to hear that
she and Avant were the first white mem-
bers of the com-
mittee, because the
NAACP has a “his-
tory of inclusion.”
“Missouri just
hadn’t gotten to
that yet. I think it is
a great opportunity
for that to start,”
she said. “In talk-
ing with President Chapel, it’s not going
to stop with the two of us. The whole goal
is to move along the cause of diversity and
inclusion as best we can and as fast as we
can.”
When asked if she felt any added pres-
sure as one of the first white members of
the committee, Dueker responded that
she felt a responsibility “regardless.”
“Because this is one of the biggest issues
of our time, dealing with diversity and in-
clusion and how to bring people together
for the common good,” she said. “I feel
a very large responsibility to do this in a
way that is beneficial for Missourians.”
Dueker said her first order of business
is to “listen and learn.”
“I think the new leadership wants to
make change. I’m very fascinated and
excited about that and to have everybody
look at issues in a new way, to be more
proactive, to be more communicative.
That is all very attractive to me,” she said.
The committee comprises state officers
and appointed at-large members from
across the state. Newly appointed mem-
bers will serve two-year terms.
Pamela Meanes, a partner at Thompson
Coburn in St. Louis, was also appointed
to the committee. mo
Jane Dueker
U.S. Senator serves on St. Louis County jury
■■ INDEX
Calendar 4
Legal Roundup 4
Opinions 21
Classifieds 25
Lawyer to Lawyer 26-27

February 1, 2016 | M i s s o u r i L aw y e r s We e k ly 3
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Supreme Court orders probation for adoption attorney
By Scott Lauck
scott.lauck@molawyersmedia.com
The Missouri Supreme Court on
Tuesday put a Kansas City attorney on two
years’ probation, saying he misled a court
and opposing counsel in an adoption case.
Although the entire court agreed that
Sanford “Sandy” Krigel of Krigel Krigel
had violated multiple rules, the court split
over which violations to apply and his
punishment.
Krigel had represented a birth mother
who wanted to give the child up for adop-
tion over the objections of the birth father.
The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel
alleged that Krigel had failed to let the
father know about the hearing where the
mother’s parental rights were terminated.
The court said Krigel also asked the
mother questions in court that indicated
the father hadn’t taken steps to claim pa-
ternity, even though Krigel had spoken to
the father’s lawyer about the matter. The
questions, the Supreme Court said, were
“designed to mislead the trial court as to
the actual circumstances” between the
birth parents.
The mother allegedly had lied about the
birth date to the father, though Krigel has
said he didn’t know about the lie. The fa-
ther didn’t learn of the baby’s birth until
after the mother had given up her parental
rights and prospective adoptive parents
took the baby home. The father won full
custody about a year later.
Krigel had characterized his actions as a
“passive strategy” — to “actively do noth-
ing” to let the father know what was going
on. But the Supreme Court called the law-
yer’s lack of candor an “egregious” viola-
tion of ethics rules.
“Krigel’s conduct in this matter was not
passive; he knew material information
was withheld from the trial court, and he
took no remedial action during any of the
proceedings,” Judge George W. Draper III
wrote for the majority. He was joined by
Judges Laura Denvir Stith and Mary R.
Russell.
The majority found Krigel guilty of vio-
lating four Rules of Professional Conduct
by offering false evidence, making false
statements to a third person, engaging in
conduct prejudicial to the administration
of justice and using tactics that “have no
substantial purpose other than to embar-
rass, delay, or burden a third person.”
That final rule violation prompted a
partial dissent from Chief Justice Patricia
Breckenridge. She said Krigel didn’t have
a duty to disclose information to an op-
posing party that could hurt his client’s
interests, though she noted that adoption
proceedings are supposed to be less adver-
sarial because they hinge on the best inter-
ests of the child.
“But even being mindful of the special
nature of such proceedings, the major-
ity opinion’s finding would require an at-
torney to divulge to a potential opposing
party information that is not only detri-
mental to his or her client but also infor-
mation that the majority opinion does not
show the party had a legal duty to disclose
at that time,” she wrote. “Therefore, to
the extent Mr. Krigel concealed informa-
tion from Birth Father and Birth Father’s
counsel, he did so to avoid harm to his cli-
ent.”
Breckenridge agreed that Krigel had
given false information and said that alone
warranted punishment.
In a separate dissent, Judge Zel Fischer,
joined by Judges Richard Teitelman and
Paul C. Wilson, said Krigel should have
been disbarred. Fischer wrote that Krigel’s
actions “created a web of fraud entangling
these entire proceedings” and pointed to
other cases where lawyers were disbarred
for false statements.
“The principal opinion turns an ‘about
face’ from this precedent in merely sus-
pending Krigel, staying the suspension,
and permitting Krigel to continue to prac-
tice on probation,” the dissent said. “That
result does not protect the public nor the
integrity of the legal profession.”
The court imposed a six-month sus-
pension that won’t go into effect if Krigel
completes probation successfully. The ma-
jority noted that it was Krigel’s first disci-
plinary action in his 40-year career.
Jacqueline A. Cook of Franke Schultz
Mullen, an attorney for Krigel, didn’t re-
turn a call seeking comment.
The court heard arguments in the case
in October. In December, Krigel’s de-
fense asked the court to consider addi-
tional evidence. It submitted a letter from
retired Jackson County Family Court
Commissioner Molly Merrigan, who had
presided over the 2010 hearing at issue
in the case. Merrigan wrote that she had
never been contacted about the discipline
case against Krigel and disagreed with the
findings.
“I do not believe Mr. Krigel commit-
ted ethical violations in that proceeding,”
Merrigan wrote.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the
request was moot and overruled it.
Jacqueline A. Cook of Franke Schultz
Mullen, an attorney for Krigel, said “while
we’re disappointed in the result, we re-
spect the decision of the Supreme Court.”
She otherwise declined to comment on the
ruling.
The case is In re: Sanford P. Krigel,
SC95098. mo
“Krigel’s conduct in this matter was not passive;
he knew material information was withheld from
the trial court, and he took no remedial action
during any of the proceedings.
”Judge George W. Draper III

4 February 1, 2016 | M i s s o u r i L aw y e r s We e k ly
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St. Louis court to
hear case on GM
ignition switches
JEFFERSON CITY (Staff report) A
lawsuit over defective ignition switches
in General Motors vehicles will remain
in St. Louis.
The case is the result of lawsuits filed
by hundreds of vehicle owners suing GM
over defective ignition switches installed
on several of its vehicle models. The
defect has been linked to 169 deaths and
caused GM to recall millions of vehicles.
General Motors had sought to sepa-
rate the claims and have them moved to
other courts. The automobile manufac-
turer appealed its case to the Missouri
Supreme Court, but the court on
Tuesday declined to intervene, leaving
St. Louis Circuit Court as the proper
venue and the claims grouped as one
joint action.
The case is State ex rel. General Motors
LLC v. Dowd, SC95383.
Coalition votes to
send death penalty
repeal to state Senate
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) For the first
time in decades, the Missouri Senate will
debate a bill that would repeal the state’s
death penalty.
The bill received bipartisan support
Tuesday in 4-3 vote of the Senate General
Laws and Pensions Committee.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports
that the full Senate has not debated a
death penalty repeal bill since 1974.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Paul Wieland,
R-Imperial, acknowledges the bill faces
an uncertain future but said it’s impor-
tant to keep discussing the issue.
The bill is SB 816.
Missouri Senate
passes limits on
municipal fines
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) Minor traf-
fic tickets and ordinance fines would
be capped at $200 under a bill that has
passed the Missouri Senate.
Senators voted 25-6 on Thursday
to send the bill to the House. Four
Republicans and two Democrats voted
against it.
Bill sponsor Sen. Eric Schmitt said
some towns in St. Louis County use mi-
nor citations to extract as much revenue
as possible from their residents. The St.
Louis County Republican said that tactic
has trapped some people in a cycle of
poverty.
Sen. Jill Schupp is a St. Louis-area
Democrat who voted against the bill.
She said state government shouldn’t tell
cities what is and isn’t appropriate to
keep their communities safe and clean.
She said voters in those municipalities
already have the power to change unfair
ordinances.
The bill is SB 572.
Justices extend bar
on automatic life
terms for teenagers
WASHINGTON (AP and staff) The
Supreme Court ruled Monday that
people serving life terms for murders
they committed as teenagers must have a
chance to seek their freedom.
The justices voted 6-3 to extend a
ruling from 2012 that struck down
automatic life terms with no chance of
parole for teenage killers. Now, even
those who were convicted long ago must
be considered for parole or given a new
sentence.
Missouri courts have split on whether
or not previously sentenced inmates who
were under 18 at the time of the crime
should get new sentencing hearings.
Cases are now pending in the Missouri
Supreme Court, which has been waiting
for the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the
matter.
A Missouri House committee on
Wednesday heard a bill that would allow
defendants to get parole hearings and
to petition the courts to review their
sentences.
The case is Montgomery v. Louisiana,
14-280.
■■ CALENDAR
Feb.2
Family Law: Collaborative Divorce–What
Is It andWhy Are Clients Choosing It?
Time: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: ArmstrongTeasdale, Clayton
Info: mkrebsbach@bamsl.org
Feb.10-11
MML Legislative Conference
Where: Jefferson City
Info: mocities.com
Feb.18
The Lawyers Association of St. Louis Black
History Month Program
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Where:TheWestin Hotel
Info: susgroup@gmail.com
Feb.18
SMBA Feb. Bar Brew: Don’t Blow It—DUI
Basics
Time: 5:10-6 p.m.
Where: Springfield Brewing Company
Info: springfieldbar.com
February18
KCMBA Member Social
Time: 5-7 pm
Where: Boulevard Brewery
Info: kcmba.org
Feb.19
MACDL DefendingYour Clients Driver’s
License: Administrative Hearings Trials
De Novo
Where: Stoney Creek Inn, Independence
Info: macdl.net
Feb.25-27
2016 NALS Professional Development
Education Conference
Where: DoubleTreeWarren Place,Tulsa,
Oklahoma
Info: nalsofmissouri.org
Feb.27
Justice for All Ball
Where: Hyatt Regency at the Arch
Info: lsem.org
March17
SMBA Mar. Bar Brew: Judges Harpool
Cordonnier, Not in My Court: Differences
in State Federal
Time: 5:10-6
Where: Springfield Brewing Company
Info: springfieldbar.com
Mizzou suspends professor in assault case
COLUMBIA (AP) The University of Missouri on Wednesday suspended an
assistant professor who is charged with assault in a campus run-in with student
journalists during protests in November.
The university system’s governing board of curators announced the move in
a statement after a special meeting Wednesday night.
Melissa Click was charged Monday with misdemeanor assault and has
pleaded not guilty through an attorney. Click had a confrontation with a stu-
dent photographer and a student videographer on Nov. 9 during protests at the
Columbia campus over what some saw as university leadership’s indifference
to racial issues. Click called for “some muscle” to help remove the videographer
from the protest area on the campus. She later said publicly that she regretted
her actions.
The board of curators ordered its general counsel to conduct an investiga-
tion so it can determine whether additional discipline “is appropriate,” Pam
Henrickson, chair of the board, said in a written statement.
Click “is suspended pending further investigation,” the statement said.
Click did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The
Associated Press.
Melissa Click, an assistant professor in the University of Missouri’s communications department, is
seen confronting a photographer and calling out for “muscle” to help remove him from the protest
area. Image via YouTube

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DOJ’s Ferguson report debated
By Catherine Martin
AtadebateTuesday,SaintLouisUniversity
Law Professor Brendan Roediger conceded
that the Department of Justice may not have
had sufficient data available for all the as-
sessments contained in its Ferguson report,
but to him, that isn’t the point.
“I don’t care that much because we live
here. We’ve been there. We know it’s not
OK,” he said. “The police in Ferguson are
not the same as the police in Ladue… every-
one here knows it.”
Roediger debated Peter Kirsanow, who
has served as a commissioner on the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights since 2002.
He is also a partner at Cleveland law firm
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan Arnoff.
Kirsanow maintained that the DOJ report
is flawed in a “profound and serious man-
ner.”
The debate, sponsored by the Federalist
Society’s St. Louis Lawyers Chapter and
the Saint Louis University Student Chapter,
aimed to provide “much needed civil discus-
sion” about relevant issues, Mark Bremer,
an attorney at Shands, Elbert, Gianoulakis
Giljum and member of the Federalist
Society’s steering committee, said as the
event got underway.
Roediger presented his side first, reiterat-
ing that the DOJ report highlights three con-
stitutional violations – violations of the first,
fourth and 14th amendments.
One issue some have with the report is
that it expands what many saw as a possible
police misconduct issue to also look at the
judiciary in Ferguson, Roediger said, but he
said it was impossible to separate the two be-
cause they are so intertwined.
Another problem, he said, was proving ra-
cial discrimination with a lack of data.
The Department of Justice was put in a
position where they had to compare traffic
stop data with other demographic informa-
tion, Roediger said.
That combined data, he continued,
showed that African-Americans were dis-
proportionally stopped.
Kirsanow said the report takes various
analytics together and reaches conclusions
that aren’t always accurate. He specifically
pointed to regression analysis, which he said
is supposed to compare “apples to apples”
but “in many cases, apples were compared to
elephants.”
The report doesn’t control for variables in
some cases, he said. When you control for
variables, like the proportion of the black
population that are young males, compared
to an older white population, the disparities
go away, Kirsanow said.
Kirsanow said there are “enormous con-
sequences” for what happened in Ferguson,
and pointed to a spike in crime in some cit-
ies, including St. Louis, since Ferguson.
Roediger countered that while there is
“no way to argue” there is sufficient data in
any community in the U.S. regarding racial
discrimination, the DOJ did have some con-
crete facts.
It knew, for example, that fact African-
Americans are twice as likely to be searched
by police in Ferguson, even though the
searches are less likely to yield results, and
that 90 percent of use of force incidents in-
volved African-Americans.
“The Department of Justice dealt with
what was available,” Roediger said, also
stressing that no one was defending what
was going on in the area.
The two continued back and forth, cit-
ing various statistics. When asked for solu-
tions to issues in Ferguson, and elsewhere,
Kirsanow suggested better police training.
Roediger said getting rid of municipal courts
would be a step in the right direction.
The City of Ferguson posted a proposed
settlement agreement with the Department
of Justice on its website Wednesday. The city
is seeking public comment on the 131-page
document.
In the agreement, the city agrees “to
continue to change how [Ferguson Police
Department] polices, and how it enforces
the Ferguson Municipal Code and resolves
municipal charges.” mo
Retired Judge Stephen Limbaugh Sr., center right, moderated the debate between Saint Louis University Law
Professor Brendan Roediger, center left, and U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Peter Kirsanow right. Mark Bremer
of the Federalist Society stands at left with Quinten Mitchell (back to camera). Photo by Karen Elshout

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George Fitzsimmons
St. Louis
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Michael Geigerman
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Jefferson City attorney sentenced
for marriage fraud conspiracy
By Jessica Shumaker
jessica.shumaker@molawyersmedia.com
A Jefferson City attorney was sentenced
Monday to one month of prison for con-
spiracy to commit marriage fraud.
James Douglas Barding, 63, was also
sentenced to a year of supervised release
and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine, ac-
cording to a statement from the office of
Tammy Dickinson, U.S. Attorney for the
Western District of Missouri.
Barding pleaded guilty in August to en-
listing a U.S. citizen to marry co-conspir-
ator Darya Chernova, 41, his Ukrainian
mistress at the time, who now lives in
Chandler, Arizona, to allow Chernova to
remain in the U.S. and seek citizenship.
Barding was also initially indicted on a
second charge of fraud and misuse of vi-
sas/permits, but the charge was dropped.
Chernova pleaded guilty to her role
in the conspiracy and was sentenced
Monday to three years of probation, in-
cluding 100 hours of community service,
and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine.
She entered the U.S. on a student visa
and formerly lived near Barding and his
wife. The two had two children.
Barding admitted to telling another co-
conspirator, identified only as T.D., that
if he agreed to marry Chernova he would
not have to live with her and they could
divorce after she gained sufficient status
to remain in the U.S.
T.D. and Chernova were married in
2005. According to court filings, the two
were married in Cape Girardeau County
at a ceremony Barding attended as a wit-
ness.
The two never lived together, but they
filled out forms claiming to share a
Jefferson City apartment.
“Chernova also submitted documents
that purported to show they shared ac-
counts and bills when, in truth, the ma-
jority of the submissions were in name
only and no accounts or bills were actu-
ally shared,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office
said said. “The only purpose for their
marriage was so that she could evade im-
migration laws and remain in the United
States with Barding.”
Chernova also admitted to falsely list-
ing T.D. as the father of one of her chil-
dren on a birth certificate and immi-
gration forms in 2009. Ultimately, she
received conditional permanent resident
status in November 2008.
Barding also admitted to meeting with
Chernova and T.D. the day before they
were scheduled to meet representatives
of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Service for questioning, in April 2010.
The meeting was held to discuss testi-
mony and Barding admitted to advising
them to make false statements about their
fraudulent marriage. Barding also gave
them a ride to St. Louis for the interview.
The case was brought to law enforce-
ment and the Missouri Bar by T.D.’s ex-
girlfriend through an attorney. Letters
written by her initiated the investiga-
tions by the Office of Chief Disciplinary
Counsel, local and federal authorities and
immigration authorities.
Disciplinary records show Barding is
currently suspended from practicing law
in Missouri. He was placed on interim
suspension on Oct. 19, pending the out-
come of the case.
Christopher Slusher of Holder Susan
Slusher Oxenhandler in Columbia rep-
resented Barding in the case. He did not
respond to a request for comment. mo
James Douglas Barding
pleaded guilty in August
to enlisting a U.S. citizen
to marry his Ukrainian
mistress at the time to allow
her to remain in the U.S.
and seek citizenship.
15 apply for Missouri
Court of Appeals,
Eastern District vacancy
Staff Report
Fifteen people ap-
plied for the vacancy
on the Missouri Court
of Appeals, Eastern
District, created by the
resignation of Judge
Patricia L. Cohen to
become a federal magis-
trate judge.
The applicants are:
Colleen Dolan, Joel D.
Ferber, Richard A. Gartner, Patrick L. King,
JamesR.Layton,BenjaminA.Lipman,Levell
D. Littleton, James R. McAdams, Shawn R.
McCarver,ErwinO.Switzer,JoanM.Tanner,
Robin R. Vannoy, Kenneth K. Vuylsteke,
Stanley J. Wallach and Carl M. Ward.
The applicants include three women and
two minorities. Eight applicants work in
the public sector, including three trial court
judges, and seven work in the private sector,
including five in solo or small firm practices.
Five of the applicants are from outside of the
St. Louis metropolitan area.
The applicant’s mean age is 55.3 years.
The commission will conduct interviews
from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 8 at the
Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District,
815 Olive Street in St. Louis. The interviews
are open to the public.
The commission will meet immediately
after to select the three nominees to submit
to Gov. Jay Nixon. mo
Judge Patricia
L. Cohen

8 February 1, 2016 | M i s s o u r i L aw y e r s We e k ly
both in heading off lawsuits and in responding to them.
Nugent said his role is preventive in addition to respond-
ing to suits. He stressed the importance of collaborating
with other departments to ensure the district is making
sound decisions and that training is in place for the dis-
trict’s business operations side. He sees his job as directly
impacting students.
“If we are spending money and exorbitant legal fees or
we’re spending money paying judgments, that’s money that
can’t go directly into the classroom,” he said. “So it’s a task
that the legal department takes very seriously so we can do
our part in helping the educational process.”
When it comes to his personal approach to the cases,
Nugent said his team’s preparation is a point of pride.
He said that doesn’t mean there aren’t last-minute sur-
prises at trial, but knowing every detail of a case makes a
difference.
“We will pour and pour over the case and two or three of
us will sit and just discuss the case every which way until
we feel like we’ve got a great grasp on
it and that we know everything about
it we possibly can,” he said.
Acollaborativeeffort
Nugent is quick to point out the
district’s recent litigation successes
are the result of teamwork.
That team has included litigation
attorney Stephen Williams, also
with KCPS, and occasionally outside counsel like Tyson
Ketchum and Lynn Hursh of Armstrong Teasdale in Kanas
City and S.J. Moore of Shank Moore in Mission Woods,
Kansas.
Moore has been working with the district on cases since
2014. In 2015, he played a role in three of the six trials.
He said the district’s wins can be credited to the quality
of the district’s in-house attorneys. He praised their dedica-
tion and commitment to the work.
“I would also say it’s a credit to the district as a whole,”
he said.
He said the legal team’s work ties into the district’s big-
ger goal of improving the district. That work starts in the
Human Resources department and filters down to school
principals, and includes terminating employees who aren’t
working to meet the district’s goals to better itself.
Moore said one change that has strengthened the de-
fense’s cases has been an effort to improve employee docu-
mentation.
“The problem for a long, long time was just that the left
hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing,” he said.
“Documentation would sometimes slip through the cracks
and problem employees would go from school to school.”
He said that lack of documentation made it difficult to
try termination-related cases.
Moore said he’s excited by both the work of the district
and its legal department.
“The progress that they’ve made, the dedication, from my
perspective as outside counsel, it’s very rewarding to work for
a client like that that has such a good, productive mission,”
he said. “Trying to be a small part of that big turnaround, it’s
very gratifying and it’s very humbling.” MO
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the unrest that followed in the wake of
Michael Brown’s shooting in Ferguson in
2014. Breckenridge said the excessive fines
and arrest warrants in some areas was part-
ly due to the unusual structure of municipal
courts, where judges and staff are typically
hired by the cities. That “may have caused
some court personnel to promote the in-
terests of municipalities over the interests
of justice,” she said, but she reminded law-
makers that municipal courts are in fact
part of the circuit court system and are
overseen by the Supreme Court.
“We are committed to restoring trust
in all our municipal divisions,” she said.
She noted that a work group on municipal
courts is due to issue recommendations for
additional changes by March 1.
Breckenridge also noted last July’s Justice
Department report that found that black
children in St. Louis County Family Court
were more likely to have cases handled for-
mally and be put in detention centers than
white children.
The news that judges would receive anti-
bias training builds on the Supreme Court’s
establishment last year of a commis-
sion on racial and ethnic fairness, which
Breckenridge unveiled during her address
at the Missouri Bar’s annual conference in
October.
“Even a perception that justice is contin-
gent on the color of one’s skin or the part of
the state one comes from should concern us
all, no matter who we are or where we live,”
Breckenridge said Tuesday.
Despite the problems highlighted in the
DOJ report, Breckenridge lauded the work
of Missouri’s treatment courts, which in-
clude diversion programs for drug and al-
cohol offenders. She said the non-adversar-
ial juvenile system, established 50 years ago,
was really the state’s first treatment court.
Breckenridge said the Supreme Court
was working with lawmakers this year to
identify best practices for such courts and
to expand their availability.
“We know treatment courts work,” she
said, “but they aren’t available to everyone
who could benefit from them.” MO
‘We are committed to restoring trust in all our municipal divisions’
[JUDGES FROM PAGE 1]
[DISTRICT FROM PAGE 1]
Team’s preparation is a point of pride

TOP 2015
PLAINTIFFS IN
LITIGATION CASES
HAD A GOOD 2015
T
wo civil cases resulted in verdicts of more than
$400 million each in 2015, dwarfing the top plain-
tiff’s wins in several recent years.
The cases also seemed to reverse a 2014 trend
that showed diminishing plaintiff’s wins.
A $491 million judgment in a lawsuit against
PNC Bank and a $434 million judgment in a case
brought by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas
City were the two highest plaintiff’s verdicts, according to
data analyzed by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
The top cases of 2015 both involved major corporations
with deep pockets. Jo Ann Howard and Associates P.C., spe-
cialdeputyreceiver,etal.v.PNCBankandForeverEnterprises
Inc., resulted in a jury verdict of $491 million. Plaintiffs sued
PNC Bank over the role of its predecessor, Allegiant Bank, as
a trustee for assets meant to cover consumers’ future funeral
expenses. Allegiant Bank had been a trustee for National
Prearranged Services, Inc., a company that sold funeral ser-
vices to consumers that collapsed in a Ponzi scheme. The
case was tried primarily by out-of-state attorneys.
In the second-biggest case, the Health Care Foundation
of Greater Kansas City sued the Hospital Corporation of
America after the company failed to make improvements to
the urban hospitals it had purchased. Meanwhile, the com-
pany built hospitals in the suburbs of Kansas City. When
HCA bought the hospitals in 2003, it was the largest sale of
not-for-profit hospitals in the history of the United States,
said lead plaintiff’s attorney, Paul Seyferth of Seyferth,
Blumenthal and Harris in Kansas City.
“Our case was a very unique situation,” Seyferth said.
“You could argue that our case was a one-off type of case. It
involved a single transaction that was actually negotiated 13
years ago. There were so many dollars at stake and so many
back-end loaded obligations. Ours is the nature of the beast
that there’s a lot of money at stake.”
The company had agreed to spend $450 million to im-
prove the hospitals it bought and $500 million over five years
on charity care. HCA’s commitment to upgrade existing
hospitals and other obligations necessitated the large judg-
ment, but doesn’t necessarily signal a change in plaintiff’s
wins, Seyferth said.
In 2014, the single largest plaintiff’s win was a settlement
of $263 million, and in 2013, the top plaintiff’s win was a
settlement for $220 million, according to Missouri Lawyers
Weekly data.
The third-ranking plaintiff’s case in 2015 involved a
jury lodging $82 million in punitive damages against a
debt-recovery company. In Portfolio Recovery Associates v.
Guadalupe Mejia, the original plaintiff had gone after Mejia
for a little more than $1,000 owed to HSBC Bank. Mejia had
not accrued the debt, but Portfolio pursued her anyway us-
ing inaccurate information about the identity of the debtor,
her attorney, Gina Chiala said. Mejia countersued for viola-
tions of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and mali-
cious prosecution, according to court records.
Jurors awarded Mejia $250,000 in actual damages for ma-
licious prosecution and violations of the FDCPA, and $1,000
for statutory damages. The millions in punitive damages ap-
peared to be the jury’s way of sending a message to the debt-
recovery business.
Personal injury cases made up the bulk of 2015’s top plain-
tiff’s verdicts and judgments, and those also topped the pre-
vious year’s results in similar cases. The sixth case rounding
out the top plaintiff’s verdicts and judgments, Sherry Spence
vs. The BNSF Railway Co., resulted in a $20 million wrongful
death verdict.
By comparison, in 2014, the top plaintiff’s jury verdict was
a personal injury case totaling $15 million. In 2013, the me-
dian plaintiff’s win in cases above $1 million, was $2.75 mil-
lion, which dipped to $2 million in 2014. In 2015, the median
for all plaintiff’s verdicts, judgments and settlements above
$1 million was $3.37 million. The median for verdicts and
judgments excluding settlements climbed to $4.4 million.
These calculations are based on cases covered by Missouri
Lawyers Weekly reporters and those submitted to our
Verdicts Settlements database. These sources are not a
complete record of cases litigated in Missouri.
Michael Ponder, the attorney who represented Spence,
said the case’s result was due to the clear liability on the part
of the railroad and a client with a compelling story to tell
the jury. In the Spence case, a widow sued the railroad after
her husband was struck by a train while driving his truck in
Pemiscot County. The plaintiff contended that the railroad
crossing had overgrown vegetation, obscuring the driver’s
view and lacked lights or a gate.
“It’s been my experience that whether this verdict is
classified as low, high or in-between, juries always have a
way of finding right value for a case,” said Ponder, of Cape
Girardeau’s Cook Barkett Ponder and Wolz. “Truthfully, at
end of the day, those people will know more about the case
than they wanted to and they have the tools to properly do
By Rachel Webb • rachel.webb@molawyersmedia.com
[CONTINUED ON PAGE 10]
The $434 million judgment found Hospital Corporation of America had underfunded formerly non-profit
hospitals in Kansas City’s urban core, including Research Medical Center, that it had purchased in 2003.
PaulSeyferth,MichaelBlumenthal,DeenaJenabandKevinKarpinofSeyferthBlumenthalHarris,theteam
thatwonanearly$434millionjudgmentinalengthylawsuitoverfundingforKansasCity-areahospitals.It
wasthelargestplaintiffs’judgmentof2015,astrackedbyMissouriLawyersWeekly.PhotosbyScottLauck

10 February 1, 2016 | M i s s o u r i L aw y e r s We e k lyTOP 2015
Bartimus Frickleton Robertson is pleased to congratulate our partner
Edward “Chip” Robertson
along with the firm of Seyferth Blumenthal Harris LLC on
Securing the Largest Reported Plaintiffs’ Verdict of 2015.
Congratulations...
Seyferth Blumenthal Harris LLC
4801 Main Street, Suite 310
Kansas City, MO 64112
816.756.0700
www.sbhlaw.com
11150 Overbrook Road #200
Leawood, KS 66211
913.266.2300
www.bflawfirm.com
DATA TRENDS
An overview from the
past six years of
annual VS
rankings reports:
Single largest
plaintiffs’ win:
2015: $491 million (V)
2014: $263 million (S)
2013: $220 million (S)
2012: $4.7 billion (S)
2011: $750 million (S)
2010: $60 million (S)
Combined value
of top 10 plaintiffs’
wins:
2015: $1.25 billion
2014: $470.2 million
2013: $713.5 million
2012: $6.03 billion
2011: $1.43 billion
2010: $313.58 million
2013
2012
2011
$2.75 million
$3.05 million
$2.5 million
2010 $2.5 million
2015 $4 million
2014 $2 million
Median value of plaintiffs’ wins of $1 million or more:
2013
2012
2011
74
91
77
2010 80
2015 77
2014 72
Number of plaintiffs’ wins of $1 million or more:
2013
2012
2011
18
21
16
2010 17
2014
2015
29
25
Number of defense wins of $1 million or more:
the job. I think you can look at this verdict
and call it high, but you really should look at
this verdict and say the system worked.”
SETTLEMENTS
Despite plaintiffs receiving higher verdicts
and judgments in 2015, the tendency did not
carry over into plaintiffs receiving settle-
ments.
The top settlement of 2015 totaled $18
million in the case of Laura Unverferth vs.
American Traffic Solutions Inc. regarding
red-light cameras in Missouri cities. The top
five settlements of 2014 ranged from $263
million to $15.5 million.
The settlement covered several lawsuits
pending in Missouri over so-called red-light
cameras, which capture photos of drivers
running red lights, resulting in traffic tick-
ets for the vehicle’s registered owner. The
settlement put to rest suits that had been
pending since 2009, said plaintiff’s attorney
Ryan Keane, who was then of the Simon
Law Firm. The class-action suit argued the
cameras did not comply with the state’s laws
regarding moving violations, the tickets vio-
lated statutory and constitutional require-
ments of proper notice and due process; and
that27municipalitiesandATSwereunjustly
enriched from the fines collected from the
tickets.
During the litigation, several appellate
courts invalidated red-light camera ordi-
nances but held that the plaintiffs could not
recover fines paid on their tickets. The 2015
settlement allows class members to collect
reimbursement of 20 percent of the fines
they paid.
“The appellate decisions were the biggest,
most prominent feature of our case and were
the impetus behind getting this case settled,”
said Keane, now of the Keane Law Firm.
Wrongful death cases, traffic collisions
and premises liability comprised the rest of
the top five settlements of 2015.
DEFENSE
In 2015, the defense side also had wins sig-
nificantly greater than the preceding year.
The top case of the year, Black Veatch
Corp. v. Strongwell Corp., was nearly triple
other contenders in damages sought by
plaintiffs. Black Veatch had sought $140
million in damages from Strongwell Corp.,
but a jury found that the majority of fault
lay with the plaintiff. Black Veatch sued
Strongwell in January 2012 claiming that
Strongwell had supplied defective products
to the plaintiff’s power plants.
The defense presented evidence that Black
Veatch had sought bids for the equipment
using inaccurate specifications. The power-
plant company based in Overland Park,
Kansas, had significantly underestimated
the load specifications the equipment would
need to withstand, said Randy Scheer, of
Sanders Warren Russell, who led the de-
fense team. Black Veatch has since rebuilt
its plants with equipment that has a load
specification 30 times higher than what it
ordered from Strongwell, Scheer said.
The case involved such big numbers be-
cause of the nature of the equipment in-
volved and the damages alleged by the plain-
tiff, Scheer said.
“When you’re dealing with construction
cases, numbers for construction cases usu-
allytalkabouthardnumbersversuspersonal
injury cases, where they talk about pain and
suffering,” Scheer said.
The second-highest defense verdict, In the
matter of The Robert Kaplan Trust, Michael
Kaplan et al. v. Christine Murray-Kaplan et
al., involved a dispute between members of
a wealthy Ladue family over the patriarch’s
estate. In that case the plaintiff had sought
stock and investments totaling $50 million.
Medical malpractice cases rounded out
the rest of 2015’s top five defense wins, rang-
ing from $20 million to $5.4 million. MO
[CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9]

February 1, 2016 | M i s s o u r i L aw y e r s We e k ly 11TOP 2015
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President, Lisa G. Moore, on being named as a
2016 Law Firm Leader by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Paule, Camazine Blumenthal, P.C. handles a wide range of cases in practice
areas such as corporate law, family law, estate law, immigration law, and
litigation, among others. With offices in Clayton, MO and O’Fallon, MO,
the firm serves clients in both Missouri and Illinois.
www.pcblawfirm.com
314.727.2266
The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
Rank Total Value Type Type Of Action Court Caption Plaintiff(s) Attorney(s) Defendant(s) Attorney(s)
1 $491,000,000 V Negligence,
Breach Of
Fiduciary Duty,
Racketeering
U.S. District
Court, EDMO
Jo Ann Howard and
Associates P.C., special
deputy receiver, et al. v.
PNC Bank, Forever
Enterprises Inc.
Dan Reilly, Larry Pozner,Wendy Fisher, Clare
Pennington, Glenn Roper and Michael
Kotlarczyk, Reilly Pozner, Denver; Maurice
Graham, Gray, Ritter Graham, St. Louis
Stephen Raber,Teagan Gregory, Mary Hickcox-
Howard, J. Andrew Keyes and Amy Saharia,
Williams Connolly,Washington, D.C.; Mike
Bartolacci,Thompson Coburn, St. Louis
2 $434,000,000 J Contracts Jackson County Health Care Foundation
of Greater Kansas City v.
HCA, Inc., and HM
Acquistiion, LLC
Paul D. Seyferth, Michael L. Blumenthal, Kevin
J. Karpin and Deena B. Jenab, Seyferth
Blumenthal Harris, Kansas City
Miles N. Ruthberg, Latham Watkins, New
York
3 $82,260,549 DV* Fair Debt
Collections
Practices Act
Jackson County Portfolio Recovery
Associates LLC v. Mejia
Josh Dickinson, Spencer Fane, Omaha,
Nebraska; Carlos Marin, Kansas City
Gina Chiala and Fred Slough, Slough Connealy
Irwin Madden, Kansas City
4 $77,900,000 V Breach Of
Fiduciary Duties
St. Louis
County
Morriss v.Wells Fargo
Bank
Jim Bennett, Megan Heinsz, Edward L. Dowd Jr.
and Matthew Crane, Dowd Bennett, St. Louis;
Paul Lane, Doug Dowd, Lia Obata Dowd and
Kevin Lane, Dowd Dowd, St. Louis
DavidWells, Michael Morris and Catherine
Schroeder,Thompson Coburn, St. Louis
5 $38,000,000 V Personal Injury St. Louis City Schmidt v. Abbott
Laboratories Inc.
John Boundas, John E.Williams Jr., and Sejal
Brahmbhatt ofWilliams Kherkher (Houston);
WilliamT. Dowd of Dowd Dowd (St. Louis)
Dan Ball of Bryan Cave (St. Louis, Missouri);
Paul Strain ofVenable (Baltimore)
6 $35,100,000 V MotorVehicle
Collision
Adair County Sanborn and Lopez v.
Worstell
AaronW. Smith ofThe A.W. Smith Law Firm
(Columbia); Jay Benson ofThe Benson Law
Firm (Kirksville)
David G. Briggs of Briggs Law Firm (Kirksville)
7 $35,000,000 J Personal Injury St. Louis City McWorthey v. Omega
Demolition Corporation
Chris Finney of the Finney Law Office, (St.
Louis), Gerard B. Schneller ofWilkins Schneller
Law, (St. Louis)
JerryWilding of Holtkamp Liese Schultz
Hilliker (St. Louis)
8 $20,000,000 V Wrongful Death Stoddard
County
Spence v. BNSF Railway
Co.
J. Michael Ponder, KathleenWolz, Phillip
Barkett Jr. and Mallory Gibson of Cook, Barkett,
Ponder Wolz, (Cape Girardeau)
Laurel Stevenson of Haden, Cowherd Bullock,
(Springfield); Douglas Dalgleish of Stinson
Leonard Street, (Kansas City)
n TOP PLAINTIFF WINS IN 2015
RESULTS KEY: V = VERDICT S = SETTLEMENT B = BENCH AWARD A = ARBITRATION J = JUDGMENT C = COUNTERCLAIM

Thompson Coburn
congratulates our partner
Pamela Meanes
a 2015 Influential Lawyer
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LEGAL
MALPRACTICE
• Failure to Observe
Statute of Limitations
• Failure to Disclose Conflicts
• Failure to Properly
Document Transactions
INVESTMENT
LOSSES
• Suitability
• Churning
• Account Mismanagement
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
• Patent Infringement
• Copyright Infringement
9 $18,000,000 S Red Light
Cameras
St. Louis
County
Unverferth v. American
Traffic Solutions Inc.
Ryan Keane ofThe Simon Law Firm, (St. Louis);
RussellWatters and Patrick Bousquet of Brown
James (St. Louis)
Edward L. Dowd Jr. and James E. Crowe III of
Dowd Bennett, (St. Louis); GerardT. Carmody
and Sarah J. Bettag of Carmody MacDonald (St.
Louis)
10 $15,000,000 S Business/
Commercial
Jackson County Health Care Foundation
of Greater Kansas City v.
HM Acquisition LLC,
HCA Inc.
Paul D. Seyferth, Michael L. Blumenthal, Kevin
J. Karpin and Deena B. Jenab, Seyferth
Blumenthal Harris, (Kansas City)
Miles N. Ruthberg of Latham Watkins, (New
York)
11 $12,500,000 V Breach Of
Contract
Greene County Meridian Creative
Alliance LLC v. O’Reilly
Automotive Inc.
Jim Foland and Joe Roper, Foland,Wickens,
Eisfelder, Roper Hofer, Kansas City
Charles Cowherd, Spencer Fane Britt Browne,
Springfield
12 $12,000,000 V Personal Injury Cedar County Price v. Pfeiffer Eric M. Belk, of Eric M. Belk, Springfield; C.J.
Moeller of Brad Bradshaw, MD JD, Springfield
Monte Clithero Mr. ofTaylor, Stafford, Clithero,
Fitzgerald Harris (Springfield, Missouri)
13 $11,600,000 S Wrongful Death Platte County Confidential v.
Confidential
Jason P. Roth, Copley Roth Wilson, Overland
Park, Kansas; Brennan P. Fagan, Fagan Emert
Davis, Lawrence, Kansas
Confidential
14 $11,500,000 V Asbestos
Exposure
St. Louis City Poage v. Crane Co. FletchTrammell,Trammell Law, Houston; Rob
Cowan, Aaron Heckaman and Justin Jenson,
Bailey Peavy Bailey, Houston; Ben Schmickle of
SWMK Law, St. Louis
Rebecca Nickelson andTana Franklin,
HeplerBroom, St. Louis; Mike Schalk; KL
Gates; Pittsburgh
14 $11,500,000 J MotorVehicle
Collision
Jefferson
County
Coleman v. MB
Taverns and Richard
Farney
John L.Wilbers,TheWilbers Law Firm, Clayton Martha Ravenhill, Franke, Schultz Mullen,
Kansas City
16 $10,300,000 S MotorVehicle
Collision
Barry County Kuzmanov v. Maktrans
Logistics Inc, Larisa
Morosanu, Hristo
Hristov, LaurenWeiner,
Amy Rhoades,
Confidential Driver and
Company
Samuel M.Wendt and Peter E. Goss,Wendt
Goss, Kansas City; R. Denise Henning,The
Henning Law Firm, Kansas City
Joseph Swift and Kurt Schmid, Brown James,
St. Louis (for Maktrans and Morosanu); M.Todd
Moulder and James Morrow, MorrowWillnauer
Klosterman Church, Kansas City (for Hristov);
James Bingley, Farmers Insurance (forWeiner);
Keith Cary and John Mullen, Franke, Schultz
Mullen, Kansas City (for Rhoades)
Rank Total Value Type Type of Action Court Caption Plaintiff(s) Attorney(s) Defendant(s) Attorney(s)
n TOP PLAINTIFF WINS IN 2015 (CONTINUED)

2016 Missouri Lawyers Awards
Congratulations to Wendt Goss, P.C.
Recognized for securing the largest reported
settlements of 2015
City Center Square, 26th Floor • 1100 Main Street, Suite 2610
Kansas City, MO 64105 • Local (816) 531-4415
Fax (816) 531-2507 • Toll Free (866) 539-4415
www.wendtgoss.com
17 $9,000,000 V Personal Injury Buchanan
County
Jane Doe v. Hughes WilliamW. Bird,The Bird Law Firm, St. Joseph;
Rose C. Briscoe, Law Office of Rose C. Briscoe,
St. Joseph
Steven Coronado and Paul Gordon, Coronado
Katz, Kansas City
18 $8,000,000 J Wrongful Death Platte County Miller v. Smoke-N-
Mirrors
Douglass Noland and Jennifer N.Wettstein,
Noland Law Firm, Liberty
Jonathan Bortnick, Bortnick McKeon, Kansas
City
18 $8,000,000 J Wrongful
Eviction,
Defamation
Jackson County Vitti v. 504Tavern LLC
et al.
Richard Rhyne, Lathrop Gage, Kansas City;
JamieWalker, James DeanWalker Law, Kansas
City
Peter Chung, Benton Lloyd Chung, Kansas
City
20 $7,000,000 V Employment St. Louis City Vacca v. Missouri
Department of Labor
and Industrial
Relations, Division of
Worker Compensation,
Brian May
Joan Swartz, Law Offices of Joan M. Swartz;
Chris McDonough,The McDonough Law Firm;
Ryan Shaughnessy, Shaughnessy Law Firm; St.
Louis
Joel Poole, Julianne O’Bannon Germinder,
KatherineWalsh and Brandon Laird, Missouri
Attorney General’s Office, Jefferson City, St.
Louis and Kansas City
20 $7,000,000 S Federal
Employers
Liability Act
St. Louis
County
King v. Union Pacific
Railroad Co. and U.S.
Silica
Jerome J. Schlichter, Nelson G.Wolff and
Andrew D. Schlichter; Schlichter Bogard
Denton, St. Louis
Nicholas Lamb,William Hakes, Kristine H.
Bridges and David Dick,Thompson Coburn, St.
Louis (for Union Pacific Railroad); Rebecca
Nickelson, HeplerBroom, St. Louis (for U.S.
Silica); Jared S. Hawk, K L Gates, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania (for U.S. Silica); JohnT.Walsh and
James P. Sanders; SmithAmundsen, Clayton
(for U.S. Silica); James E. Gilson; Gilson Athans,
Atlanta (for U.S. Silica)
20 $7,000,000 A Wrongful Death St. Louis Gold v. Eubanks John F. Medler, Jr., andTammy Medler ofThe
Medler Law Firm, St. Louis
John Doe, of Missouri
23 $6,900,000 V Business/
Commercial
U.S. District
Court, EDMO
Captiva Lake
Investments v. Fidelity
NationalTitle Co.
Richard A.Wunderlich, John M. Hessel and
Steven D. Hall, Lewis Rice, St. Louis
Thomas Fritzlen Jr., and Shawn Briner, Martin,
Leigh, Laws and Fritzlen, Kansas City
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24 $6,800,000 A Wrongful Death Miller County Cardoso and Ambriz v.
Missouri Highways and
Transportation
Commission
Patrick R. Dowd and James M. Dowd,The
James M. Dowd Law Firm, St. Louis
Gary Holtmeyer, Missouri Highways and
Transportation Commission, Jefferson City
25 $6,700,000 V Wrongful Death Howell County Holesapple v. Missouri
Highways and
Transportation
Commission
H. Lynn Henry and Nikki Kinder, Henry
Williams,West Plains
John Koenig, Missouri Highways and
Transportation Commission, Sikeston
26 $6,000,000 S Personal Injury Taney County Confidential v.
Confidential
Steve Garner and Grant Rahmeyer, Strong-
Garner-Bauer, Springfield
Steve Snead, Baty, Holm, Numrich Otto,
Springfield
27 $5,900,000 V Property
Damage
Jackson County JJ’s Restaurant v.Time
Warner Cable Midwest
LLC, USIC Locating
Services Inc
Steve Emerson andThomas H. Davis, Stinson
Leonard Street, Kansas City
Frederick K. Starrett and Kenton E. Snow,
Douthit Frets Rouse Gentile Rhodes, Kansas
City; David Helm, Lewis Rice, St. Louis;Traci
Martinez of Squire Patton Boggs, Columbus
28 $5,610,689 V Business/
Commercial
St. Louis
County
Heifetz, et al. v. Apex
Clayton Inc.
Martin M. Green, Law Office of Martin M.
Green, Clayton; Joe D. Jacobson, Jacobson Press
Fields, Clayton
John S. Sandberg of Sandberg Phoenix von
Gontard, St. Louis
29 $5,000,000 S Employment Jackson County Ardese v. Kansas City
Southern Railway
Company
Rik N. Siro and Eric Smith, Siro Smith Dickson,
Kansas City
Jeff Simon and Jeff Hanslick, Husch Blackwell,
Kansas City
30 $4,850,000 V Employment St. Louis City Wilkins v. Board of
Regents of Harris Stowe
State University, et al.
Michael S. Meyers and Amy B. Meyers, Meyers
and Meyers, Charlotte; Brian M. Faucett, St.
Louis
Robert J. Isaacson of Missouri Attorney
General’s Office (St. Louis, Missouri); Colleen
Vetter of Missouri Attorney General’s Office (St.
Louis, Missouri)
31 $4,825,000 S Premises
Liability
Confidential
(MO)
Confidential v.
Confidential
Tom Hershewe, Dollar, Burns Becker, Kansas
City
Confidential
32 $4,750,000 S Telephone
Consumer
Protection Act
U.S. District
Court, EDMO
Lees v. Anthem Blue
Cross and Blue Shield
Alexander Burke, Burke Law Offices, Chicago;
Larry P. Smith and David M. Marco,
SmithMarco, Chicago
David Z. Smith, Dan Hofmeister Jr., James A.
Rolfes and Christine N. Czuprynski, Reed Smith,
Chicago

33 $4,500,000 V Negligence U.S. District
Court,WDMO
Eckerberg v. Inter-State
Studio, Inc.
Bob Langdon, Langdon Emison, Kansas City,
and Mark Emison, Langdon Emison,
Lexington
Kevin D.Weakley, Jim Sanders, Robyn Butler
and MarkWare,Wallace Saunders, Overland
Park, Kansas.
34 $4,400,000 V Federal
Employers
Liability Act
St. Francois
County
Hays v. BNSF Steven Groves and Linda Powers, Groves
Powers, St. Louis; Joseph Goff Sr., Reeves
Goff, Farmington
David Stratmann,Thompson Coburn, St. Louis;
Michael Coyle, Fraser Stryker Omaha, Nebraska
Collision
Cass County Confidential v.
Confidential
Rik Siro and Athena Dickson, Siro Smith
Dickson, Kansas City
Lee Baty, Baty, Holm, Numrich Otto, Kansas
City
36 $4,300,000 V Federal
Employers
Liability Act
Clinton County Curl v. BNSF Wes Shumate, Davis, Bethune Jones, Kansas
City; Christopher H. Leach, Hubbell Law Firm,
Kansas City
William P. Coates, Coates Logan, Overland
Park, Kansas; Nichole Bogen, Sattler Bogen,
Lincoln, Nebraska
37 $4,000,000 S Wrongful Death Phelps County Morrow et al. v. Arbor
Row
A.W. Smith,The A.W. Smith Law Firm,
Columbia (for Morrow, Shields and Scantlin);
Joseph L. Goff, Reeves Goff, Farmington (for
Ramsey and Gibson-Weiler)
Michael Hamlin, Pitzer Snodgrass, St. Louis
38 $3,817,228 V Product Liability Cook County Davis v. Life Rising
Corporation
Mark R. Niemeyer, Niemeyer, Grebel Kruse,
St. Louis
Milo Lundblad, Brustin Lundblad, Chicago
39 $3,600,000 S Medical
Malpractice
Confidential
(MO)
Confidential v.
Confidential
James P. Frickleton and Kip Robertson,
Bartimus Frickleton Robertson Goza,
Leawood, Kansas; Nancy Kenner, Kenner
Nygaard DeMarea Kendall, Kansas City
Confidential
40 $3,500,000 S Consumer/
Antitrust
Jackson County Tessandori, et. al. v.
Dairy Farmers of
America Inc.
John F. Edgar and Boyce N. Richardson, Edgar
Law Firm, Kansas City; Isaac L. Diel, Sharp
McQueen, Overland Park, Kansas;Thomas H.
Brill, Law Office ofThomas H. Brill, Leawood,
Kansas
Steven R. Kuney,Williams Connolly,
Washington, D.C.; Jonathan P. Kieffer,Wagstaff
Cartmell, Kansas City
41 $3,255,035 B Wrongful
Foreclosure
Clinton County Holm v.Wells Fargo
Home Mortgage Inc.,
Freddie Mac
Gregory Leyh, Gregory Leyh PC, Gladstone` Janet McKillip, Martin Blanchard and Andrew
Jones, Kozeny McCubbin, Fairway, Kansas
42 $3,250,000 V Premises
Liability
Jackson County Wieland v. Owner-
Operator Services Inc.
Scott S. Bethune,Wes Shumate and Jarrett
Leiker of Davis, Bethune Jones, Kansas City
Michelle R. Stewart and Jennifer R. Johnson of
Hinkle Law Firm, Overland Park, Kansas; Edwin
H. Smith, Polsinelli, St. Joseph
Collision
Callaway
County
Keeling v. Missouri
Military Academy
Shafer
Ron Netemeyer and Jill Elsbury, Harper, Evans,
Wade Netemeyer, Columbia
Glen Ehrhardt, Rogers, Ehrhardt,Weber
Howard, Columbia (for Cincinnati Insurance);
Mariam Decker, OliverWalkerWilson, Columbia
(for Cincinnati Insurance); Louis Leonatti,
Leonatti Baker, Mexico, Missouri (for Missouri
Military Academy)
43 $3,000,000 V Inverse
Condemnation
Cass County Hull, Pleasant Hill Golf
Inc v. Pleasant Hill
School District
Steve Mauer, JD Moore, Heather Zerger and
Jessica James, Zerger Moore, Kansas City
Duane Martin, Missouri EdCounsel, Columbia;
Drew Marriott, Missouri EdCounsel,
Independence
Collision
Cole County Confidential v.
Confidential
A.W. Smith andT. Drew Schauffler,The A.W.
Smith Law Firm, Columbia
Confidential
Collision
U.S. District
Court, EDMO
Sorrells v. ADT Erica Blume Slater and John Simon,The Simon
Law Firm, St. Louis
Paul Petruska of Law Offices of Craig A. Hansen
(St. Louis, Missouri); PaulWilliams of Shook,
Hardy Bacon (Kansas City, Missouri); Charles
Eblen of Shook, Hardy Bacon (Kansas City,
Missouri)
46 $2,500,000 J MotorVehicle
Collision
St. Louis City Szolga v. Loehr and
Colvin
Dale R. Funk, Dale Funk and Associates, St.
Louis
None
46 $2,500,000 V Employment St. Louis City Kader v. Board of
Regents of Harris Stowe
State University
Eric S. Playter and Chris R. Playter, Playter
Playter, Kansas City
Robert J. Isaacson and ColleenVetter, Missouri
Attorney General’s Office, St. Louis
49 $2,450,000 S Wrongful Death St. Charles
County
Avalos, et al v. Britt Christopher J. Finney, Finney Law Office, St.
Louis
Robert J.Wulff, Evans Dixon, St. Louis
Collision
Greene County Powers v. Sharkey
Transportation, Inc.,
Shippers Rental
Company
Eric M. Belk, Springfield; Christopher J. Moeller
of Brad Bradshaw, M.D., J.D., L.C. Springfield,
Lynn C. Rodgers and Jennifer R. Hargis, Evans
Dixon, Springfield
51 $2,100,000 S Missouri
Merchandise
Practices Act
St. Louis
County
Lay, et.al. v. SSM
Healthcare St. Louis
Mitchell L. Burgess and Blake Green, Burgess
Green, Kansas City; Ralph Phalen, Ralph K.
Phalen Attorney at Law, Kansas City
Kevin Hormuth, Greensfelder Hemker Gale,
St. Louis
52 $2,098,228 S Insurance Jackson County Layden v. Research
Medical Center,
Centerpoint Medical
Center, Lafayette
Regional Health Center
Lee’s Summit Medical
Center, Belton Regional
Medical Center
Ralph Phalen, Ralph K. Phalen Attorney at Law,
Kansas City; Mitchell L. Burgess, Burgess
Green, Kansas City;William C. Kenney, Bill
Kenney Law Firm, Kansas City
Kristin D. Kiehn, Debevoise Plimpton, New
York; Lauren E.Tucker, Amy D. Pitts and Philip
J.R. Zeeck, Polisnelli, Kansas City

Beyond Borders
Significant out-of-state verdicts and settlements
T
hroughout the year, Missouri attorneys have
worked hard in and out of the Show-Me State.
Our Verdicts Settlements rankings are devot-
ed to cases that take place within Missouri, but
we would like to recognize a few cases Missouri
attorneys handled in other states that achieved
significant results.
$131 million class-action settlement
Bennett et al. v. Sprint Nextel Corporation, et al.
■■U.S. District Court District of Kansas
■■Winning Counsel: Norman Siegel, Rachel Schwartz,
Stueve Siegel Hanson, Kansas City
A group of Sprint shareholders argued the Overland
Park, Kansas company made false and misleading state-
ments about its “tightened credit standards, decreas-
ing reliance on subprime subscribers, improved wire-
less subscriber metrics” and its 2005 merger with Nextel
Communications. In 2008, the company revealed sub-
stantial financial losses, causing significant losses to
shareholders through plummeting stock prices.
$44 million settlement
Trustee v. In re Peregrine Financial Group Customer
Litigation
■■U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Eastern
Division
■■Winning Counsel: Norman Siegel, Stueve Siegel
Hanson, Kansas City
A Kansas City firm represented plaintiffs in a class-
action suit against a collapsed financial firm resulting
in a $44.5 million settlement. Plaintiffs alleged the CEO
of Peregrine Financial Group committed fraud and U.S.
Bank and JP Morgan Chase Co. negligently assisted the
company and the CEO in a scheme to misappropriate
$200 million in customer funds. The settlement was ap-
proved in October 2015.
$38.2 million defense win
RLIS Inc. v. Cerner Corp., Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc.
■■U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
■■Winning Counsel: Trent Webb, Shook, Hardy
Bacon, Kansas City
A Texas jury sided with North Kansas City-based health
care company Cerner in this patent infringement case.
The case alleged that Cerner had licensed and sold elec-
tronic medical records software that used RLIS’ technol-
ogy and that Cerner incited other companies to infringe
on RLIS’ patent. The jury agreed with defense attorney
Webb that hospitals were using the technology RLIS had
patented before the date its owner claimed to have invent-
ed it, and therefore found his patent invalid.
$10 million class action settlement
Consumer Cases v. In re: Target Corporation Customer
Data Security Breach Litigation
■■U.S. District Court District of Minnesota
■■Winning Counsel: Norman Siegel, Stueve Siegel
Hanson, Kansas City
The case goes back to December 2013, when the retailer
revealed that hackers had stolen the credit and debit card
data of 40 million customers, and compromised the pri-
vate information of about 70 million consumers. In addi-
tion to the $10 million settlement, the retailer agreed to
improve its data security practices and to pay class no-
tice and administrative expenses, which will also be paid
apart from the fund.
$7.4 million Settlement
Schutte v. Secretary of Health and Human Services
■■U.S. Court of Federal Claims, District of Columbia
■■Winning Counsel: Leland Dempsey, Dempsey
Kingsland, Kansas City
Carolyn Schutte, a former mayor of Excelsior Springs,
suffered an adverse reaction from an immunization she
got in 2011 at a public health center, resulting in severe
brain damage. Schutte’s family filed a claim with the U.S.
Court of Federal Claims under the National Childhood
Vaccine Injury Act, which compensates those who suffer
vaccine-related injuries and shields the vaccines’ manu-
facturers from liability.
$6 million settlement
Malone et al. v. Horn Distributing, Inc. et al.
■■Johnson County District Court (KS)
■■Winning Council: Laurie L. Del Percio, The Horn Law
Firm, Independence
Staff at a warehouse jobsite recommended the plaintiff,
an electrical worker, use a forklift outfitted with a plat-
form made of scrap wood to reach the lights on the ceil-
ing. The worker fell off the makeshift platform, resulting
in a traumatic brain injury.
$5.6 million defense win
Melvin Austin, Jennifer Austin v. Louisville Ladder Inc.
■■Southern District of Iowa (Eastern Division), Federal
Court
■■Winning Counsel: Bruce A. Moothart, Paul D.
Seyferth, Seyferth, Blumenthal Harris, Kansas City
The plaintiff contended a bolt on an extension ladder,
which held a rung lock in place, had been overtightened
during the manufacturing process, partially fracturing
the component. When the plaintiff put his full weight on
the ladder, the bolt broke, causing the plaintiff to fall and
sustain numerous injuries. The defense contended suc-
cessfully that the injury occurred as the plaintiff moved
from the ladder to the roof and that the bolt was broken
afterwards.
Here’s a look at some of the more inter-
esting confidential settlements of 2015:
MarzetteandDunmirev.Anheuser-Busch
Inc.,et.al.
St. Louis Circuit Court
A pair of female security guards sued
their former employer and their supervi-
sors at the St. Louis beer empire on the
grounds that they were treated unfairly
due to being women. The plaintiffs’ con-
tentions included that they were assigned
inferior work vehicles compared to male
guards and were not allowed to rotate
among job assignments or train for pre-
ferred positions. The suit also contended
that women were disciplined more severe-
ly than male counterparts and that male
guards were allowed to use vulgar and de-
grading terms to refer to women. The par-
ties settled for a confidential amount a few
weeks before a scheduled trial.
Harrisv.SweetiePie’sUpperCrust
A former employee sued Sweetie Pie’s
for discrimination, claiming she was fired
after declining to participate in a prayer
session at work. Sweetie Pie’s management
claimed she was terminated for cursing
within earshot of customers and not fol-
lowing the dress code. Sweetie Pie’s is a
popular soul-food restaurant and subject
of the reality show “Welcome to Sweetie
Pie’s.” The parties settled for a confidential
amount a few days before a scheduled trial.
Jonesv.AfricanMethodistEpiscopal
ChurchInc,et.al.
Brenda Jean Jones reached a confiden-
tial settlement with the Philadelphia-based
African Methodist Episcopal Church and
its bishop over sexual abuse that she alleged
occurred at a St. Louis church. Jones worked
as a minister at Wayman AME Church in
St. Louis when she said pastor Frederick
McCullough began making sexually explic-
it comments to her and engaging in other
behavior, like showing her a photo of his
genitals and touching her inappropriately.
Jones settled her suit with the AME head-
quarters, but a suit against McCullough
remains ongoing. The dollar amount is
confidential, but Jones’ attorney said the
settlement agreement stipulated that Jones
be allowed to return to the Wayman con-
gregation to preach and that the congrega-
tion publicly apologize to her on behalf of
its members. Ministers in the church’s Fifth
District must also take at least eight hours of
annual sexual harassment training.
Claggettv.Sableman
Plaintiff Sherry Claggett was crossing a
street in downtown St. Louis with a walk
signal when she was struck by media law
attorney Mark Sableman’s car. The law-
suit originally contended that Sableman
had refused to exit his car to help her and
that he had been using his cell phone, but
eyewitnesses later equivocated. Sableman
said that he exited his car immediately,
stayed with Claggett while onlookers
called 911 and cooperated with law en-
forcement. Cell phone logs also indicated
the attorney had not been on his phone
at the time of the incident and a photo
that he took of Claggett indicated he had
in fact exited his car to help her. Claggett
had broken bones in her left leg and in her
left eye socket, and she was knocked un-
conscious and diagnosed with traumatic
brain injury. The parties settled out of
court in March.
Borchardtv.Frazier
Livingston County Circuit Court
A Missouri woman settled with her
ex-husband’s landlord after a smoldering
fire claimed the lives of her two children
and their father. Robert Borchardt extin-
guished a kitchen fire on August 2012, but
the blaze reignited after Borchardt and his
children went to bed. The house was filled
with carbon monoxide and smoke, which
led to the deaths of the three family mem-
bers. The house lacked working smoke
detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
The plaintiff contended the landlord was
negligent for failing to provide proper fire
safety equipment to the rental property,
which is required under local ordinance.
The landlord contended the lease shifted
that responsibility to Borchardt. The case
settled in mediation in November.
Confidential Settlements
S E N D U S Y O U R
ONLINE at http://verdicts.molawyersmedia.com

53 $2,000,000 J Intellectual
Property
U.S. District
Court, EDMO
Coach Inc. v. Frison Flea
Market Inc., Frison and
Samb
Jason A. Kempf and Carol Li, Bryan Cave, St.
Louis; S. Patrick McKey, Bryan Cave, Chicago
John G. Schultz, Franke, Schultz Mullen,
Kansas City, Missouri; Noel Sevastianos,
Sevastianos Associates, St. Louis
53 $2,000,000 S Product Liability Osage County Confidential v. Iguana
Watersports Inc.
Kevin A. Sullivan, Sauter Sullivan, St. Louis Michael Reda, HeplerBroom, St. Louis
Collision
Camden
County
Richard v. School of the
Osage R-2 School
District and Elliott
Tim McDuffey, McDuffey Law Firm, Osage
Beach
Scott Kehlenbrink, Childress Ahlheim Cary, St.
Louis
53 $2,000,000 V Business/
Commercial
Greene County Trust Company of the
Ozarks and Lambert v.
CentralTrust Company
David L. Steelman, Steelman, Gaunt
Horsefield, Rolla;Thomas H. Hearne, Hearne
and Pivac, Springfield
Robert J. Selsor of Polsinelli PC (St. Louis,
Missouri); Jennifer Growcock of Polsinelli PC
(Springfield, Missouri)
Collision
Perry County Confidential v.
Confidential
Antoinette Schlapprizzi and Craig Schlapprizzi,
Schlapprizzi Attorneys at Law, St. Louis
Confidential
58 $1,850,000 S Wrongful Death St. Louis City Williams and Clemons
v. ARR Pizza, Inc.
Daniel Brown, Law Office of Smith Brown, St.
Louis; James D. O’Leary, Onder, Shelton,
O’Leary Peterson, St. Louis
Jon Sanner, and Laurie Strathman, Brinker
Doyen, Clayton
Collision
St. Louis City McGinness v. Baer Brent Sumner, Sumner Law Group, St. Louis Jon Sanner, Brinker Doyen, Clayton
59 $1,750,000 S Product Liability Confidential
(MO)
Confidential v.
Confidential
Kent Emison, Mark Emison and Adam Graves,
Langdon Emison, Lexington
Confidential
61 $1,700,000 S Medical
Malpractice
Platte County Ferguson v.Tumanut,
SLN Medical Specialists,
LLC
Victor A. Bergman and Daniel Singer,
Shamberg, Johnson and Bergman, Kansas City
ThomasW.Wagstaff and Brandon Henry,
Wagstaff Cartmell, Kansas City
62 $1,550,000 S Product Liability St. Louis
County
Confidential v.
Confidential
Morry S. Cole, Gray, Ritter Graham, St. Louis J. Randall Davis, Cassiday Schade, Chicago
63 $1,525,000 V Employment Cole County Fuchs v. Missouri
Department of Revenue
Carla G. Holste and Ryan J. McDaniels, Carson
Coil, Jefferson City
Brandon Laird and Audrey Danner, Missouri
Attorney General’s Office, Jefferson City
64 $1,508,500 S Wrongful Death Jackson County Mael v. McLaughlin Zane Cagle, Cagle Law Firm, St. Louis; Clifford
K.Wells; Herman Wells, St. Petersburg,
Florida
Richard F. Lombardo and Hank Stitt, Shaffer
Lombardo Shurin, Kansas City
Collision
Greene County Russom v. American
Family Mutual
Insurance
Steve Garner and Grant Rahmeyer, Strong-
Garner-Bauer, Springfield
Michael Mayes, Evans Dixon, Springfield
66 $1,435,000 S Premises
Liability
St. Louis
County
Macharia v.
Sandalwood Creek
Condominium Owners
Assocaition, Smith
Management Group
and Burns
Gary Burger, Cantor Burger, St. Louis Jon Sanner and Laurie Ann Loeschner, Brinker
Doyen, Clayton (for Smith Real Estate); David
C. Berwin, Evans Dixon, St. Louis (for
Sandalwood Creek); DanielWilke and Kent
Zschoche,Wilke Wilke, St. Louis (for Burns)
67 $1,400,000 S Class Action Cass County Hedges v. Farmers
Insurance Co. Inc.
Stephen K. Nordyke, Law Offices of Stephen K.
Nordyke, Butler; Edward J. Hanlon, St. Louis
Curtis E.Woods, Robert J. Morrison andWilliam
T. Barker, Dentons, Kansas City and Chicago
68 $1,310,000 S Workers
Compensation
Division of
Workers’
Compensation
(MO)
Byrd v. Pasha
Distribution Services
LLC
Jagadeesh B. Mandava and Ann G. Dalton,
Hammond and Shinners, Clayton
Christopher Patt, McAnany,Van Cleave
Phillps, St. Louis
Collision
SullivanCounty Cox v. Seiglar et al. Drew Schauffler,The A.W. Smith Law Firm,
Columbia; Jay Benson,The Benson Law Firm,
Kirksville
Darrell J. Flesner and Daniel L. Bradley,
DeFranco Bradley, Fairview Heights, Ill.;
James L. Hodges, Hennessy Roach, St. Louis
Collision
Scott County Confidential v.
Confidential
Joshua P. Myers and Stephen R. Schultz,
Schultz Myers, St. Louis
Corey Kraushaar, Brown James, St. Louis
Collision
Boone County Knight andTalley v.
Hathman
Ronald Netemeyer and Jill Elsbury, Harper,
Evans,Wade Netemeyer, Columbia
Johnathon Brereton-Hubbard,Thompson
McDonald, St. Louis
Collision
Boone County Irwin v. Dunn Ron Netemeyer and Jill Harper, Harper, Evans,
Wade Netemeyer, Columbia
Michael Baker, Ford, Parshall Baker, Columbia
73 $1,005,000 S Personal Injury Howard County Taylor v. Sulltrop A.W. Smith,The A.W. Smith Law Firm,
Columbia
None
Collision
Jackson County
at
Independence
Stanton v. Confidential DannyThomas and Nichelle Closson,
Humphrey, Farrington McClain,
Independence
Stephen Strum and David Hoffman, Sandberg
Phoenix von Gontard, St. Louis
74 $1,000,000 S False Arrest St. Louis City Cooper v. M B Oil,
BDA Crown Market and
Abdelkarim
Rufus JamesTate Jr.,TheTate Law Firm, St.
Louis; Anthony D. Gray, Johnson Gray, St. Louis;
NimrodThomas Chapel Jr.,The Chapel Law
Group, Jefferson City;Wayne C. Harvey,Wayne
C. Harvey and Associates, St. Louis
Jon R. Sanner and Laurie A. Loeschner, Brinker
Doyen, St. Louis

n TOP DEFENSE WINS IN 2015
Collision
Jasper County Box v. Precision/Master
Made Paints, Inc., and
Mincks
Philip R. Holloway, Dougherty Holloway,
Kansas City
Gerald A. King, ArmstrongTeasdale, Kansas
City; Daniel C. Estes of Fisher, Patterson, Sayler
Smith, Overland Park, Kansas
74 $1,000,000 S Wrongful Death Jefferson
County
Elmer v. King Septic
Services, Inc. andYoung
Shaun M. Lieser, Lieser Law Firm, Saint Louis Lawrence Hartstein, St. Louis
Rank Amount Type Case Category Venue Caption Winning Counsel Opposing Counsel
1 ($140,000,000) DV Property Damage U.S. District
Court,WDMO
Black Veatch Corp.
v. Strongwell Corp.
Randy P. Scheer, S. Jacob Sappington, Kenneth
A. Sprenger and Jeffrey C. Baker, Sanders
Warren Russell, Springfield and Overland
Park, Kansas
Roy Bash, Catherine R. Bell and Christopher P.
Sobba, Polsinelli, Kansas City
2 ($50,000,000) DJ Estate St. Louis
County
The Robert Kaplan
Trust v. Murray-
Kaplan,
Bob Blitz, Christopher Bauman and Kelley
Farrell, Blitz, Bardgett Deutsch, St. Louis
Catherine Hanaway, Husch Blackwell, St. Louis
3 ($20,300,000) DV Medical
Malpractice
Jackson County Antenia Dinkins v.
Smith
Jacqueline A. Cook and Christopher A.
Brackman, Franke, Schultz Mullen, Kansas
City
Samuel Cullan, Cullan Cullan, Kansas City
4 ($5,500,000) DV Medical
Malpractice
Franklin County Thomas v. Mercy
Hospitals East
Communities
Kenneth Bean and Bobbie Moon, Sandberg
Phoenix von Gontard, St. Louis
Brad Bradshaw, Brad Bradshaw MD JD,
Springfield; Stephen Ringkamp, Hullverson
Law Firm, St. Louis
5 ($5,429,126) DV Medical
Malpractice
Marion County Carroll v. Bennett David P. Ellington and Halle L. Dimar, Brown
James, St. Louis
David Zevan, Kevin Davidson and Rachel
Roman; Zevan and Davidson Law Firm, St.
Louis;Thomas Falb,Williamson,Webster, Falb
Glisson, Alton, Illinois
6 ($4,590,000) DV Personal Injury Franklin County Viehland v. BMC
Leasing Inc.
Joseph Callahan and Kate Hausman, Rouse
Cary, St. Louis
James O’Leary and James Corrigan, Onder,
Shelton, O’Leary Peterson, St. Louis
7 $4,076,807 DJ Insurance U.S. District
Court,WDMO
Akers v. Auto-
Owners Insurance
Company
Bradley Hansmann, Brown James, St. Louis Charles E.Weedman Jr., Crouch, Spangler
Douglas, Harrisonville
8 ($4,000,000) DV Business St. Charles
County
Story vs. KMT Golf
LLC, Hill and Nelson
Daniel L. Goldberg, St. Charles John J. Gazzoli Jr. andTheresa A. Phelps,
Rosenblum Goldenhersh, St. Louis
8 ($4,000,000) DV Medical
Malpractice
Buchanan
County
Menschik v.
Heartland Regional
Medical Center
Ronald Marney, Jeffrey Dunn and Brett Simon,
Sandberg, Phoenix von Gontard, St. Louis
and Overland Park, Kansas for Heartland, Kropf
and Peterson; Jim Bandy and Brad Dowd of
Horn Aylward Bandy, Kansas City, for
radiologists and Alvarez
H.W. McIntosh, Steven L. Hobson and Meredith
Peace,The McIntosh Law Firm, Kansas City
8 ($4,000,000) DV Wrongful Death DeKalb County Wilson v. Union
Pacific Railroad
Company
Craig Leff and Carl Christensen,Yeretsky
Maher, Overland Park, Kansas
Russell C. Purvis, Montee Law Firm, St. Joseph
(forWilson);William S. Lewis and JasonT.
Wilson, Andereck, Evans,Widger, Johnson
Lewis,Trenton (for Romesburg)
11 ($3,441,930) DV Medical
Malpractice
Jackson County Murillo v. Rapley Bruce Keplinger and Christopher J. Lucas, Norris
Keplinger, Overland Park, Kansas
Samuel K. Cullan and Gene Cullan, Cullan
Cullan, Kansas City
12 ($2,900,000) DV Medical
Malpractice
St. Louis
County
Will v. PeposeVision
Institute
PhilipWillman and Angela Pozzo, Brown
James, St. Louis
Leonard Cervantes and Jennifer Suttmoeller,
Cervantes Associates, St. Louis
13 ($2,500,000) DV Asbestos Clay County Goens v. Lockheed
Martin Corp.
Guy P. Glazier, Deborah M. Parker and Laura P.
Yee, GlazierYee, Los Angeles and San Francisco;
Karrie J. Clinkinbeard, ArmstrongTeasdale,
Kansas City
JamesT.Thompson and Melissa Steed, Edelman
Thompson, Kansas City;
David C.Thompson, Grand Forks, North Dakota
14 ($2,200,000) DV Medical
Malpractice
St. Louis City Whitehead v.
Washington
University
Philip L.Willman and Angela E. Pozzo, Brown
James, St. Louis; David R. Noteware and
Timothy E. Hudson,Thompson Knight
Attorneys and Counselors, Dallas
Edward Hershewe, Lauren Peterson and
Michelle O’Neal,The Hershewe Law Firm,
Joplin
15 ($2,000,000) DV Wrongful Death Greene County Memenga v. Brady Brian D. Malkmus and Bianca P. De Amorim,
Malkmus Law Firm, Springfield
Roger Johnson and Patrick Martucci, Johnson,
Vorhees Martucci, Joplin
16 ($1,900,000) DV Sexual
Harassment
Jackson County Ellis v. Kansas City 33
School District
Ivan L. Nugent, Kansas City, and Lee M. Baty
and Kathryn A. Baty, of Baty, Holm, Numrich
Otto, Kansas City, for Kansas City 33 School
District;Tedrick A. Housh III and Jehan K.
Moore, Lathrop Gage, Kansas City, for Greater
KC LINC; Christopher A. Brackman, Franke,
Schultz Mullen, Kansas City, for Steven
Bradford.
Edward A. Stump,The Law Offices of Edward
Stump, Kansas City; Mark E. Meyer, Lee’s
Summit

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