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Biography

The expertise of Walters, Bender, Strohbehn & Vaughan, P.C. is trial work. Our firm, located in the heart of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, enjoys a national reputation for professional integrity and for the efficient and responsible prosecution or defense of our clients' rights and claims. We have achieved the highest rating in Martindale Hubbell.

The attorneys in the Firm have conducted numerous jury trials, bench trials and arbitrations in jurisdictions all over the United States. Our lawyers possess outstanding credentials and have repeatedly been acknowledge for their achievements.

Areas of emphasis within the Firm include complex and class action litigation, commercial and business litigation, predatory lending and consumer protection litigation, insurance law, including life insurance litigation, securities litigation, products liability, personal injury, negligence, construction and design defect, employment, probate, and professional liability and medical malpractice. In handling litigation matters, the Firm's size and focus allow it to emphasize the development of responsible and cost effective trial strategies. We possess sophisticated legal skills and the abilities and resources necessary for the handling of large, complex cases.

Complex and Class Action Litigation

Our attorneys have been involved in a number of complex, multidistrict, and class action cases during their respective careers, with the Firm and other, representing, plaintiffs and defendants. We have served as lead and class counsel, as liaison counsel, as members of committee of plaintiffs' counsel, and in other capacities, such as local counsel and counsel for putative class members, in certified class actions, putative class actions, shareholder's derivative suits and in multidistrict proceedings and in matters involving large classes and with hundreds of million of dollars at stake. We have also served as lead or co-lead defense counsel in a number of nationwide or putative nationwide class actions involving life insurance and annuity cases.

We are committed to using our expertise and experience in complex and class action litigation to achieve justice for our clients, in pursuing and/or defending their interests by working as a team on such matters, our lawyers and staff are able to commit the resources necessary to the successful prosecution or defense of such actions, though initial evaluation, investigation, identification of claims and defenses, discovery, negotiation and settlement, and trial and at all levels of the appellate process in federal and state court.

Our attorneys have developed their expertise and experience in complex and class action litigation thorough their handling of, or participation in, the following selected matters.

Boyd, et al. v. Novastar,

United States District Court of the Western District of Missouri, Case No. 07-0139-CV-W-ODS

Securities Violations - representing putative plaintiff class

Cozad v. American Mutual Life Insurance, Co.,

District Court of Travis County, Texas

Life Insurance Vanishing Premium Litigation - representing the defendant

In re Community Bank of Northern Virginia Mortgage Practices Lending Litigation

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, MDL No. -1674

Predatory lending, racketeering - representing plaintiffs and objectors in multidistrict litigation

In re NovaStar Financial Securities Litigation,

United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri Consolidated Case No. 04-CV-0330-CV-W-ODS

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act - representing the class of plaintiffs

In re Sprint Corp. Securities Litigation,

United States District Court for the District of Kansas

Securities violations - representing Plaintiffs as liaison counsel

In re Vitamins Antitrust Litigation

United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Misc. No. 99-197 (TFH), MDL No. 1285; District for Wyandotte County, Kansas, Case No. 00 C 1890

Antitrust - representing plaintiffs and opt-out-plaintiffs

Kansas City Urology, P.A., et al. v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas City, Inc. et al.

Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, Case No. 0516-CV-04219

Antitrust, contract and other claims - representing plaintiffs

McLean v. First Horizontal Home Loan Corporation f/k/a McGuire Mortgage Company,

Case No. 00-CV-228530 Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri

Missouri Second Mortgage Loans Act - representing the class of plaintiffs

MDL Case No. 1712 In Re: American Inventors Life Ins., Co. Annuity Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation

United States District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Nationwide Putative Class Action Involving Deferred Annuities - representing the American Investors Defendants

MDL Case No. 1840 In re Motor Fuel Litigation

United States District Court for the District of Kansas,

Multi-state proceeding to remedy unfair motor fuel sales practices - representing Plaintiffs as liaison counsel and on Steering Committee

MDL No. 1967 In re Bisphenol-A (BPA) Polycarbonate Plastic Products Liability Litigation

United States District Court for the District of Missouri,

Multi-state processing regarding BPA baby bottles - representing Plaintiffs as Co-Lead Counsel

MDL Case No. 1983In re: Indianapolis Life Insurance Company I.R.S. § 412 (i) Plans Life Insurance Marketing Litigation

United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas

Nationwide Putative Class Action Involving the Sales of Life Insurance to Fund § 412 (i) Plans - representing Defendants, Indianapolis Life

Mitchell v. Residential Funding Corp., et all.

Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, Case No. 03-CV-220489

Missouri Second Mortgage Loans Act - representing the class of plaintiffs

New England Care Employees Pension Fund v. Sprint Corporation, et al/In re Sprint Corporation Securities Litigation

United States District Court for the District of Kansas, Master File No. 01-CV-04080, Case No. 01-4080-DES

Securities Suit - representing the class of plaintiffs .

Prime Care of Northeast Kansas, LLC et al. v. Blue Shield City, Inc. et al.,

District County of Wyandotte County, Kansas, Case No. 05-CV-02227

Antitrust, contract and other claims - representing the plaintiffs

Schwartz et al. v. Bann-Cor Mortgage (and Wachovia Equity Servicing, LLC, as successor to HomEq Servicing Corporation, and The Monet Store, LLC),

Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, Case No. 03-CV-220489

Missouri Second Mortgage Loans Act - representing the class of plaintiffs

For more information about Walters, Bender, Strohbehn & Vaughan, P.C., please visit:

www.wbsvlaw.com

Statement of Practice

General Civil Trial and Appellate Practice. Personal Injury, Negligence, Products Liability, Class Actions, Toxic Torts, Professional Liability, Transportation, Design and Construction, Commercial, Environmental and Insurance Bad Faith, Medical Malpractice.

Reference:

Missouri Bank & Trust Co.

Rate Information

Fixed Hourly Rates
Fixed Fees Available
Free Initial Consultation

Address

2500 City Center Square
1100 Main Street P.O. Box 26188
Kansas City, MO 64196, (Cass, Clay, Jackson & Platte Cos.)

Phone

Phone: 816-421-6620
Fax: 816-421-4747

Website

http://www.wbsvlaw.com

Office Hours

Monday: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Tuesday: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Wednesday: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Thursday: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
Friday: 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM

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Garrett M. Hodes (Associate) born Kansas City, Kansas, April 1, 1973; admitted to bar, 1998, Missouri; 1999, Kansas. Education: University of Kansas (B.A., 1995; J.D., 1998). Associate Editor, University of Kansas Law Review. Author: Comment, "Terrorist Threats: The Friendly Skies Aren't Too Friendly About Notification," 46 University of Kansas Law Review 385 (1998); "Ex Parte Contracts With Organizational Employees in Missouri," 54 Journal of The Missouri Bar 83 (1998). Member: Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association; The Missouri Bar; Kansas and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Litigation; Complex Litigation; Class Action Litigation; Business Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury; Consumer Litigation.Email: Garrett M. Hodes

Matthew R. Crimmins (Associate) born Chicago, Illinois, April 10, 1976; admitted to bar, 2001, Missouri and U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri; 2002, Kansas, Illinois and U.S. District Court, District of Kansas. Education: University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign (B.A., 1998); Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude, 2001). Member, Barristers' Council Moot Court. Best Oralist, Weschler First Amendment Competition, 1999. Recipient, Robert C. Welch Volunteer Attorney Project Award. Author: "Trial-Practice Don'ts," 96 Illinois Bar Journal 360, July 2008. Member: Kansas City Metropolitan, Kansas State, Illinois State and American Bar Associations; The Missouri Bar. Practice Areas: General Litigation; Business Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Class Action Litigation; Products Liability; Personal Injury.Email: Matthew R. Crimmins

K.C. Connealy (Associate) born Kansas City, Missouri, October 1, 1978; admitted to bar, 2004, Kansas; 2005, Missouri. Education: University of Kansas (B.A., 2000; M.B.A., 2004; J.D., 2004). Intern, Paul E. Wilson Defender Project. Member: Kansas and American Bar Associations; The Missouri Bar. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Business Litigation; Personal Injury.Email: K.C. Connealy

Bruce V. Nguyen (Associate) born Springfield, Missouri, June 1, 1978; admitted to bar, 2003, Missouri; 2005, Kansas. Education: University of Missouri, Columbia (B.A., summa cum laude, 2000; J.D., 2003). Member, University of Missouri-Columbia Law Review. Law Clerk, Hon. Harold L. Lowenstein, Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, 2003-2005. Member: Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association; Kansas Bar Association; The Missouri Bar. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Business Litigation; Personal Injury.Email: Bruce V. Nguyen

Vanessa Scorcia Herman (Associate) born Queens, New York, August 25, 1977; admitted to bar, 2005, Missouri. Education: Tufts University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1999); Tulane University (J.D., cum laude, 2005). Member: Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association; The Missouri Bar; American Bar Association. Languages: German. Practice Areas: Business Litigation; Insurance; Class Action Litigation; Civil Litigation.Email: Vanessa Scorcia Herman

Rachel B. Mahn (Associate) born St. Louis, Missouri, February 8, 1983; admitted to bar, 2007, Missouri; 2008, Kansas. Education: Truman State University (B.A., cum laude, 2004); University of Missouri at Kansas City (J.D., 2007). Order of the Barristers. Member, Moot Court National Team, 2006-2007. Law Clerk, Prisoner Pro se Office, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, 2006-2007. Member: Kansas City Metropolitan and Kansas Bar Associations; The Missouri Bar; The Association of Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Business Litigation; Class Actions.Email: Rachel B. Mahn

Kevin J. Melgaard (Associate) born Kansas City, Missouri, April 28, 1981; admitted to bar, 2007, Kansas; 2008, Missouri. Education: St. Louis University (B.A., magna cum laude, 2003); University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law (J.D., 2007). Member: Kansas and American Bar Associations; The Missouri Bar. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Class Action Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Business Litigation; Products Liability; Personal Injury.Email: Kevin J. Melgaard

Eric M. Shimamoto (Associate) born St. Louis, Missouri, August 31, 1969; admitted to bar, 2006, Missouri; 2007, Kansas. Education: University of Missouri at Kansas City (B.A., 2003; J.D., summa cum laude, 2006). Order of Barrister. Member, Moot Court Board. Team Member, American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition. Assistant Editor and Articles and Symposia Editor, Law Review, 2005-2006. Law Clerk to Hon. Ronald R. Hollinger, Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, 2006-2008. Author: note, "Rethinking Hate Crime in the Age of Terror," 72 UMKC L. Rev. 829, 2004. Author: comment, "To Take Arms Against a See of Trouble: Legal Citation and the Reassertion of Hierarchy," 73 UMKC L. Rev. 443, 2002. Member: Kansas City Metropolitan and Kansa Bar Associations; The Missouri Bar. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Class Action Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Construction Litigation; Business Litigation; Products Liability.Email: Eric M. Shimamoto

OF COUNSEL

E. Wayne Farmer (Of Counsel) born Fulton, Missouri, March 1951; admitted to bar, 1978, Missouri. Education: Westminster College (B.A., 1972); University of Missouri, Kansas City (J.D., cum laude, 1978). Managing Editor, Law Review. Member: The Missouri Bar; American Bar Association. Practice Areas: Corporate; Mergers and Acquisitions; Media Law; Transportation; Insurance Law; Telecommunications Law.Email: E. Wayne Farmer