Kansas

Foulston Siefkin is celebrating 100 years in the legal business this year, having been founded in 1919. Since then, the firm has grown to have about 90 lawyers in three offices around Kansas: Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita. They have
become one of Kansas’s most esteemed law firms, covering a wide range of legal issues including litigation.

Experienced practitioner Holly Dyer represented Aeroflex Wichita in a business tort litigation matter, specifically regarding trade secrets. The plaintiff, Aeroflex Wichita, accused defendants Tel-Instrument Electronics, Kenneth Filardo and Chris Allen of tortious interference and breach of contract for the improper use and disclosure of the plaintiff’s confidential and proprietary business information. This action caused the plaintiff to lose a multimillion dollar opportunity. A Sedgwick County jury ruled in favor of Aeroflex Wichita, awarding them a total of $5.425 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Following this ruling, the defendants filed post-trial motions, which were consequently denied by the court. An appeal to this ruling was filed by the defendants, the result of which is pending. Jay Fowler is another key individual at the firm, who recently began advising Alan Vance, Teri Hubbeling, Broce Manufacturing and Broce Ranch in a dispute over the control of Broce Manufacturing and Broce Ranch. The dispute is between three siblings, who have various claims of breach of fiduciary duty in the management of the companies. There are several lawsuits pending or planned in relation to this dispute. These lawsuits regard a trust involving the siblings, Broce Ranch, Broce Manufacturing, corporate governance issues and corporate reorganization issues.

James Armstrong is widely acclaimed in the region, having many years of experience in commercial litigation. He is also exceptionally experience in the appellate and labor/employment practice areas. Notable litigator Wyatt Hoch is defending Total Installation Management Specialists in a case related to supplementation costs from a contracting project. The client was the flooring and ceramic tile subcontractor in a multimillion dollar project concerning the construction of a three building dormitory complex at Oklahoma State University. In order to complete the construction by the move-in date or student residents, the prime contractor sped up the flooring schedule and supplemented the client’s installation workforce, which Oklahoma State University almost completely reimbursed the prime contract for. The prime contractor then sued Total Installation to recover these reimbursement costs for the university. The discovery phase of the litigation matter is complete and the pretrial conference date is pending. Jeffery Jordan is still representing Montgomery County in a property tax dispute. The property in question is a nitrogen fertilizer plant. The dispute concerns the fair market value appraisal of the assets, as well as the correct classification of property used by the taxpayer as a nitrogen fertilizer plant, specifically whether it should be taxed as real property or personal property. The client argued that the property should be classified as real property, an argument that was confirmed by the Court of Tax Appeals in Montgomery County, resulting in a taxpayer appeal through the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Board of Tax Appeals. The Board of Tax Appeals reversed the initial decision, which was upheld by the Kansas Court of Appeals. The client filed a Petition for Review in the Kansas Supreme Court, but the case was resolved while this petition was pending. Todd Tedesco is well known and highly regarded in the antitrust, intellectual property and labor/employment practice areas. He maintains strong relationships with clients in the technology sector. Amy Lemley continued to support the Wichita Firemen’s Relief Association in an insurance matter concerning accidental death benefits purchased from Kansas City Life Insurance for the association’s firefighters following the injury and subsequent death of one of its firefighters from fighting a fire. Specifically, the Wichita Firemen’s Relief Association sued the insurance company for breach of the insurance agreement and failure to pay without just cause and excuse. Initial summary judgement on coverage in trial court ruled in favor of the insurance company. The Tenth Circuit Court reversed that decision, ruling in favor of the association. Following remand, a jury ruled in favor of the client, awarding policy limits of $100,000.

Gary Ayers primarily represents clients in the healthcare sector. He has a wide range of experience in numerous practice areas, including general commercial, intellectual property and white collar crime. Michael Norton also continued to represent Hidden Marsh in a real estate matter. Hidden Marsh bought 150 acres of recreational/agricultural land in Stafford County, on which contain a dammed lake, for the client to use exclusively. Following the closing of the property’s purchase, the client bought title insurance from First American Title Company. It was then discovered that the company miss an easement which allowed a third-party to use the lake. The client submitted a claim, which the insurance company refused to pay in full. The matter ended with First American Title Company paying to clear title for Hidden Marsh, additionally reimbursing most of the client’s attorney fees. David Rodgers defended ICM in a case against plaintiff Lincolnway. The plaintiff alleges that a thermal oxidizer was defective, resulting in its failure in an ethanol plant. The oxidizer needed to be fully replaced. This case is expected to move to arbitration.

The entity currently known as Rouse Frets White Goss Gentile Rhodes came into being in 2018, when the more Kansas-based Rouse Frets Gentile Rhodes merged with the more Missouri-centric boutique White Goss, providing each firm with a foothold in each other’s respective markets. The firm manages several diverse pieces of high-end commercial litigation, encompassing disputes involving construction, bankruptcy and trust and estates, as well as a significant personal injury practice.

Greg Musil led a team that defended five individual family members in a trust and estates case in which two cousins sued their grandmother, father, uncle, aunt and cousins, and two metro-area law firms, which, at various times, provided legal advice to certain defendants. The plaintiffs claimed various breaches of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting claims. The venue for the case was Kansas state court though Missouri law applied pursuant to the trust agreement. Substantive legal issues existed regarding the alleged causes of action for tortious interference with an inheritance, aiding and abetting, and third-party liability of law firms. A trial was scheduled in March 2019, but a mediation in February 2019 resulted in a settlement. Douglas Gentile, who pivoted his practice from defense work to a strictly plaintiff-oriented role, is a vital member of the firm’s catastrophic injury group. Gentile is representing a ventilator dependent tetraplegic minor client in New York who was seriously injured in a car wreck. She was restrained in an Evenflo booster seat, a particular model with a long history of allegations deeming them defective. A trial is set for later in 2019. Randy Rhodes, another member of the catastrophic injury group, represented a young girl who was paralyzed in a car wreck. After obtaining settlements with the driver of the other vehicle who had fault for the wreck and the manufacturer of the vehicle in which the client was a passenger, Rhodes led a bench trial against the estate of the driver of the vehicle in which the client was a passenger when the wreck occurred after said driver’s insurance carrier failed to make a timely attempt to settle. The client was awarded nearly $16 million in damages and 60% of the fault for the wreck was allocated to the defendant estate, resulting in a $9.5 million judgment.

Hite Fanning & Honeyman has more than 20 attorneys in its Wichita office. It has earned its reputation as one of the top insurance and medical malpractice defense firms in the state. Litigation lies at its core. Its professionals handle many subject areas including business torts, intellectual property, creditors’ rights, employment, healthcare, toxic torts, aviation, defamation, securities fraud, professional liability, construction litigation, personal injury, product liability, workers’ compensation, and insurance-coverage disputes. The majority of the firm’s attorneys are litigators. Founding member and senior partner Richard Hite’s practice primarily concerns business, commercial, and oil and gas litigation. He also appears as an arbitrator and mediator in business, contract, environmental, and professional-liability affairs. Closing in on a 50-years career, founding partner Richard “Dick” Honeyman primarily focuses on civil litigation with an emphasis on disputes. He frequently serves as an alternative dispute resolution mediator. F. James “Jim” Robinson, Jr. comes with nearly 30 years of experience behind him. He has successfully litigated many high-profile cases, currently concentrating in business, construction, professional liability, and product liability. He has additional experience with contracts and corporate law. The senior partner represents clients who reflect many industries, including banking, aerospace, construction, equipment manufacturers, health care, and oil and gas.