John provides legal services in a number of areas, including business litigation, trustee/beneficiary litigation and toxic tort/environmental litigation.
His business litigation experience includes breach of contract, fraud, interference with contracts, covenants not to compete, trade secrets, royalty underpayments and civil RICO claims. He has successfully represented mortgage businesses in numerous cases involving multiple business torts. John's experience representing these businesses includes recoveries from mortgage insurers regarding mortgage servicing practices and insurance coverage disputes.
In securities litigation, John has successfully represented financial service corporations and individuals in individual actions and class actions. He also has represented individuals before the Securities Exchange Commission and the National Association of Securities Dealers.
John has successfully represented individual and corporate trustees involving claims of breach of fiduciary duties and breach of trust agreements in his trustee/beneficiary litigation experience.
In 2000, John received one of the top 20 defense verdicts in Missouri according to Missouri Lawyers Weekly.
Professional Associations & Memberships
· Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
· The Missouri Bar
Civic Involvement
· The Children's Place
Experience
· Represented a distributor of dry cleaning chlorinated solvents in a CERCLA action resulting in a judgment of less than one percent of the amount sought by the plaintiff
· Represented manufacturer in a putative class action alleging property damage from a release of mercury. After a multiple day hearing, the court denied motion for class certification and the case, along with nine other personal injury cases were favorably settled. (Labauve v. Olin Corp., 231 F.R.D. 632)
· Defended corporate and individual trustees in a 60 day arbitration against numerous claims of breach of fiduciary duty concluding in a decision in favor of clients on all claims
· Defended individual trustee in an action involving multiple trusts and numerous claims of breach of fiduciary duty concluding in the plaintiffs dismissing their case
· Defended Fortune 100 company in a putative class action alleging property damage and emotional distress from mercury released from a mercury cell chlor-alkali plant; case settle favorably
· Obtained defendant's verdict in a one-week age discrimination action in federal court