PRACTICE AREAS

Business Litigation

Todd H. Bartels is an experienced trial attorney in the Firm's Business and Tort Litigation Departments and a former law clerk to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Mr. Bartels has successfully handled a variety of complex civil litigation matters in federal and state courts and has tried numerous jury and bench tried cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants.

Mr. Bartels' experience focuses on business litigation, including breach of contract, commercial fraud and shareholder disputes; prosecution and defense of mass and class actions; antitrust; employee benefit and ERISA disputes, including benefit claims and claims for breaches of fiduciary duties and prudent plan administration; bankruptcy adversary proceedings; non-compete and trade secret litigation; and prosecution and defense of personal injury, products liability and wrongful death cases.

DISTINCTIONS

2008 Up and Coming Lawyers recognition by Missouri Lawyers Weekly

2009 Future Litigation Star recognition by Benchmark Litigation

COMMUNITY AND BAR INVOLVEMENT

Federal Practice Committee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Mr. Bartels is one of thirteen attorneys in the western half of Missouri to serve as liaison to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Missouri Bar Association

Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association

St. Joseph Bar Association

NOTABLE EXPERIENCE

Represented beneficiaries under an employee benefit welfare plan wrongfully denied $1.8 million in life insurance proceeds, plus interest and attorneys' fees, arising out of participant's death in an airliner crash outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. As lead counsel, Mr. Bartels successfully obtained reversal of the carrier's denial of part of the claim and recovered $900,000 of the $1.8 million plus owed. Subsequently, the remaining claims against the carrier and the plan were successfully settled prior to trial and are subject to confidentiality. See Hogan v. Aetna Life Insurance Company & ManTech International, Case No. 06-06065-CV-CV-SJ-FJG in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Obtained a defense verdict for municipality as lead counsel in a wrongful death action arising from decapitation of a 16-year-old girl following a 1-1/2 week jury trial involving allegations of improper highway design and maintenance Barbara Groce v. Worth County, Missouri, Case No. CV700-125CC in the Circuit Court of Nodaway County, Missouri.

Successfully represented a plaintiff class consisting of more than 1,800 members of the International Association of Machinists Union against Trans World Airlines, Chase Manhattan Bank, and individual members of a 401K pension plan trustee committee, alleging losses arising from imprudent administration of trust assets. The $1.75 million court-approved settlement recovered 100% of the class' loss, exclusive of attorneys' fees and costs. See Bowling, et al. v. Trans World Airlines, et al., Case No. 99-0250-CV-W-1 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

Represented Community Health Plan, a St. Joseph-based HMO and a subsidiary of Heartland Health. Mr. Bartels, as part of a three attorney trial team, secured a $14.5 million jury verdict against Missouri Consolidated Healthcare Plan, a quasi-state agency responsible for the healthcare coverage of state employees following a 2-1/2 week jury trial in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Successfully represented a number of lessees of General Motors vehicles, Mr. Bartels brought a class action against General Motors Acceptance Corporation in Jackson County Circuit Court in Kansas City, Missouri.

Represented 36 grocery retailers located throughout Missouri, Kansas and Arizona as part of a mass action litigation and trial team. Mr. Bartels pursued three cases in federal court prosecuting claims in excess of $250 million for product overcharges and racketeering against the grocery wholesaler, a Fortune 500 company. The cases became part of a federal multi-district litigation assigned to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, In Re Fleming Companies, Inc., Contract Litigation in MDL No. 00-1351. The claims were settled the day of trial subject to confidentiality.

Successfully defended principal of defunct truck stops located throughout Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma who was target of fraud and breach of contract claims brought by various fuel suppliers. Vigorous investigation and discovery indicated that former employee of one of the fuel suppliers forged alleged personal guaranty. Claims were settled favorably subject to confidentiality. See Pawnee Petroleum Products, LLC v. Stephen Crawford, et al., Case No. 01-1314-WEB in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas--Wichita Division; and Davidson Oil Company v. U.S. 54 of Missouri, LLC, et al., Case No. CJ-2001-26 in the District Court in and for Texas County, Oklahoma.

Currently representing several prominent distributors engaged or formerly engaged in Amway/Quixtar-related independently produced business support materials industry, seeking to recover millions of dollars in four large commercial litigation cases pending in Missouri and Washington, D.C.

Successfully represented minority shareholder of lumber company and forced favorable buy-out of minority interest as part of settlement in case brought for breach of fiduciary duties against majority shareholder. See Hamilton v. Simpson, Case No. 05BU-CV00237 in the Circuit Court of Buchanan County, Missouri.

Mr. Bartels also represents various corporations in employment matters, including suits against a national animal pharmaceutical company.

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Missouri Damages

Chapter 19 - Punitive Damages (MoBar 2001 and Supp. 2005), co-author

EDUCATION

J.D., University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, 1996

B.S., Accountancy, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1992

BAR ADMISSIONS

Missouri, 1996

Kansas, 1996

COURT ADMISSIONS

Mr. Bartels is licensed to practice before the state and federal courts in Missouri and Kansas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.