Results

WGBC secured preliminary approval of a $10.8 million class action settlement fund that was the result of a nationwide class settlement agreement between a class of plaintiffs and Genuine Parts Company (NAPA) and Warren Oil Company.

The result of this case, filed and litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri as Jesse Yoakum v. Genuine Parts Company, will provide purchase price refund money and equipment damage and repair money to the class members who purchased and used the 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid (THF) made by Warren Oil and sold at NAPA and other retail stores. Those affected purchased the following products from July 26, 2014, to present: NAPA Quality Tractor Hydraulic & Transmission Fluid, Warren 303 Tractor Fluid, Carquest 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid, Coastal 303 Tractor Fluid, and/or Lubriguard Tractor Hydraulic and Transmission Oil.

The plaintiffs alleged that the Warren 303 THF product did not meet the equipment manufacturers’ specifications or provide the performance benefits listed on the product labels, that inappropriate ingredients were used in making the THF, and that the use of Warren 303 THF caused damages to equipment. Additionally, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants’ conduct in connection with the manufacture and sale of the Warren 303 THF violated state consumer laws and constituted breaches of warranty, negligent misrepresentations, negligence and unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs also alleged that the Warren 303 THF products were negligently and deceptively labeled, marketed and manufactured and that purchase and use of such products caused damage to Settlement Class Members’ tractors and other equipment. The defendants continue to deny the allegations but worked with the plaintiffs’ counsel to reach a settlement for the benefit of purchasers and to avoid further litigation.

In July 2022, Chief District Judge Beth Phillips of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri gave preliminary approval to the $10.8 million class action settlement.

Our firm secured preliminary approval of an $8.5 million class action settlement fund that was the result of a class settlement agreement between a nationwide class of plaintiffs, O’Reilly Auto Parts and two associated companies for the manufacturing and sale of so-called 303 tractor hydraulic fluid (THF).

The WGBC team initially filed class actions in several states against the defendants – O’Reilly, Omni Specialty Packaging LLC and Ozark Automotive Distributors Inc. – in 2019 and 2020 on behalf of thousands of consumers after investigations revealed that the defendants had misleadingly labeled the THF. The cases were filed on behalf of purchasers of “O’Reilly 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid.” The settlement agreement consolidated the various cases into a single case in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Allicks et al v. Omni Specialty Packaging, LLC et al.

The plaintiffs alleged the fluid was improperly labeled, manufactured improperly and exposed purchasers’ equipment to increased wear and damage when the product was purchased and used in tractors and other hydraulic equipment. O’Reilly and the other defendants denied and continue to deny the allegations but worked with plaintiffs’ counsel to reach a settlement for the benefit of purchasers and to avoid further litigation.

In May 2021, Judge David Gregory Kays of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri approved an $8.5 million class-action settlement against O’Reilly Auto Parts and two associated companies in a lawsuit alleging the manufacturers misleadingly labeled and deceptively marketed and sold 303 tractor hydraulic fluid (THF).

Our firm secured preliminary approval of a $7.2 million class action settlement fund that was the result of a class settlement agreement between a nationwide class of plaintiffs and four retailers who sold certain types of Smitty’s and CAM2 303 tractor hydraulic fluid (THF) that plaintiffs allege were mislabeled and caused equipment damage after using the products.

The plaintiffs alleged the fluid was improperly labeled and manufactured improperly and exposed purchasers’ equipment to increased wear and damage when the product was purchased and used in tractors and other hydraulic equipment. The four retailers, Tractor Supply Co., Orscheln Farm and Home, Rural King and Atwood, continue to deny the allegations but worked with plaintiffs’ counsel to reach a settlement for the benefit of purchasers and to avoid further litigation.

Our firm recently reached a settlement with the defendants in a class-action lawsuit against Tractor Supply Company and Smitty’s Supply Inc., arising from the defendants’ manufacturing and sale of Super S Supertrac “303” tractor hydraulic fluid.

WGBC initially filed suit on behalf of their clients and other purchasers in the state of Missouri after investigations revealed what the plaintiffs alleged was misleading product labeling for the tractor hydraulic fluid (THF), which allegedly exposed purchasers’ equipment to increased wear and damage when the product was purchased and used in tractors and other hydraulic equipment. The Super S SuperTrac 303 THF was manufactured by Smitty’s Supply, Inc. and was advertised to assist with anti-wear properties, brake chatter, extreme pressure properties, foam suppression, PTO clutch performance, rust protection and water sensitivity.

The plaintiffs alleged the tractor hydraulic fluid was mislabeled as to the benefits the fluid provided and mislabeled as “303” THF, an obsolete designation discontinued in the 1970s after the use of sperm whale oil – a main ingredient in the original 303 formulation – was outlawed. Despite the fact the 303 designation is obsolete and that there is no known 303 specification against which the defendants’ fluid could be measured, the defendants produced and sold their tractor hydraulic fluid as “Super S SuperTrac 303” in Tractor Supply Company retail stores and other locations in the State of Missouri.

In July 2019, the involved parties filed a joint motion for preliminary approval of proposed class-action settlement. The settlement agreement will provide substantial relief to almost 10,000 members of the proposed settlement class comprising persons who have purchased Super S SuperTrac 303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid in the state of Missouri between May 25, 2013, and the present. On August 19, 2019, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri entered its order for preliminary approval of the settlement.

Our firm recently tried a case in Jackson County, Missouri, that resulted in a $19.6 million judgment being entered for our client. We represented a local car dealer that claimed that his business reputation had been badly damaged by an ad campaign run by another dealer in town in 2007 and 2008. Our client was one of the top Suzuki new car dealers in the country before another dealer in town, who happened to be his brother, ran a series of deceptive ads that eventually led to an onslaught of lawsuits against the competing dealer. Our client sued the manufacturer, American Suzuki Motor Corporation, for approving and paying for the ad campaign that also led to significant negative publicity. After 10 days of trial, the jury awarded our client $4 million in damages to his business and also awarded $15 million in punitive damages. The Court also added over $600,000 in prejudgment for a total Judgment in excess of $19.6 million.

Attorneys from White, Graham, Buckley & Carr, LLC, along with attorneys from Humphrey, Farrington & McClain and The Klamann Law Firm, won a $60 million verdict in a breach of contract case in New York City in November 2017. This group of local attorneys represented Dennis Demetre and Lori Lewis, who created a tech company called Allied Management Group – Special Investigations Unit (“AMG”). A large, publicly-traded health care company, HMS Holdings Corp. (“HMS”), became interested in AMG and sought to acquire the family-owned company. The stock purchase agreement was finalized in June 2010, and under the terms of the agreement HMS was to pay AMG $13 million up front, and then two contingent “earn-out” payments that were based upon profits generated during the two years after the sale.

HMS never paid the Plaintiffs the earn-our payments. The Plaintiffs sued HMS for breach of contract and alleged HMS failed to use its best efforts to operate the business and make the earn-out payments to AMG. At trial, the evidence showed HMS not only failed to make any additional payments to the Plaintiffs, but also that HMS never produced any auditable record of its true profits during the two year earn-out period. After a two-week trial and only two hours of deliberations, the six-member jury returned a unanimous, $60 million verdict in favor of our clients. In addition to the verdict, the Plaintiffs will be entitled to millions of dollars in prejudgment interest.

William Carr and Steven White of the firm represented the Plaintiffs, alongside Ken McClain, Michael S. Kilgore, Nichelle L. Oxley and Scott Britton-Mehlisch of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain; John Klamann and Andy Schermerhorn of the Klamann Law Firm; and Joshua B. Katz, of Kent, Beatty & Gordon, LLP, of New York City.

Our firm represented a motorcyclist traveling on Interstate 70 in a construction zone. Uneven pavement in the construction zone caused our client to lose control and he was badly injured. He spent nearly a month in the hospital due to his injuries, which included lung contusions, fractured ribs, a ruptured spleen and a fractured shoulder. The case resulted in a $1.875 million verdict against the Missouri Department of Transportation and the private contractor doing the work. The verdict included a substantial award for punitive damages against the contractor because they had knowledge that several other wrecks had occurred at the same location.

Reported in Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of the top plaintiff’s verdicts in Missouri for 2010, White, Graham, Buckley & Carr represented a Colorado motorcycle rider nearly killed by a semi truck in a construction zone where unmarked, uneven pavement caused our client to lose control of his vehicle. Our plaintiff suffered a severed tendon, a tibial plateau fracture, fractured ribs, several broken teeth and a concussion. He lost income and was forced to retire early from his job. We filed suit against the MoDOT and the APAC, the contract company in charge of the construction job, for failure to correct dangerous road conditions they were aware of.

Our client was a security guard traveling in a school bus on I-35 when a driver crossed the center line and collided headfirst into the bus. Our client suffered multiple leg and hip fractures and exhausted all funds available through the other driver’s liability insurance and her own automobile insurance company. Our firm filed suit and successfully recovered $850,000 on her behalf.

After slamming on his brakes to prevent a collision with a phantom vehicle swerving into his lane, our client was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer in heavy traffic. He suffered a back injury and our firm filed suit on his behalf against both the tractor-trailer driver and client’s uninsured motorist carrier as the phantom motorist was never identified. We negotiated a settlement with the tractor-trailer driver and went to trial against the uninsured motorist carrier. The jury awarded a $130,000 verdict.

Our firm represented a 37-year-old woman rear-ended after slowing down on a highway to avoid fallen truck cargo. The plaintiff suffered a serious back injury, and the defendant claimed the plaintiff stopped suddenly but that the accident did not cause her injury. Our client was awarded damages after the case went to court.

A nicked bile duct during routine gallbladder surgery — and the surgeon’s failure to repair it — caused bile to leak into our client’s abdomen, resulting in a serious infection. Our client needed extensive surgery to clean his abdomen and suffered permanent liver damage due to the surgeon’s actions. We reached a confidential settlement the morning the trial was set to begin.

Outpatient facial surgery resulted in tragedy when the surgical drapes trapped supplemental oxygen administered to the patient as part of the anesthesia. When the surgeon attempted to stop bleeding from the surgery using a cautery pencil, the instrument sparked a fire that ignited and caused first-, second-, and third- degree burns to the clients face. We reached a confidential settlement on behalf of the victim.

A radiologist failed to correctly read a CT scan on two occasions nine months apart and our client suffered a stroke rendering her a quadriplegic. On both CT scans, there was an infarct that was overlooked by the radiologist. When our client presented to the emergency room with dizziness and other stroke-like symptoms, the emergency room doctor relied on the erroneous report of the radiologist. We reached a confidential settlement on behalf of our client.

Our client was hospitalized for surgery and developed a deep tissue pressure wound that occurred as a result of failure to reposition our client. Our client developed a stage 4 pressure wound, requiring surgery and extensive treatment. We reached a confidential settlement on behalf of our client.

Client was undergoing hip replacement surgery and the surgeon cut the femur in the wrong location, requiring multiple corrective surgeries. The case was settled for a confidential amount.

This wrongful death suit involved the untimely death of a pipefitter contractor who fell 50 feet and died from his injuries. Representing the worker’s widow and children, White, Graham, Buckley & Carr proved a power plant employee had covered the boiler room floor hole with a simple piece of plywood without securing it or posting a proper warning.

Delayed diagnosis of breast cancer resulted when our client’s primary physician did not order a biopsy even though she had a pronounced lump in her breast. When a biopsy was eventually taken, test results revealed the cancer had rapidly spread. Our client died and a jury in Jackson County awarded damages to the woman’s survivors.

Our firm represented a widow whose husband suffered a fatal heart attack after reporting symptoms consistent with a heart attack to his family physician. Our client’s husband sought medical assistance after having chest pain and several days of weakness, but his physician believed the man’s symptoms were consistent with having an ulcer. The physician sent him home and scheduled an ultrasound of the abdomen several days later, but the man died of a ruptured ventricle, caused by a heart attack, before his appointment. The coroner determined the decedent had suffered the heart attack at or near the time he visited the physician’s office. We filed suit on behalf of the widow and case settled for a confidential amount.

Three individuals died in a fire that resulted from a nine-vehicle crash on 1-70 in Lafayette County, Missouri. White, Graham, Buckley & Carr represented the family of one of the victims, ultimately achieving a confidential settlement for the loss of their loved one.

A male patient with a bladder infection caused by an indwelling catheter died due to the nurses’ negligence in his care. Although the patient had a high fever and complained of severe pains, the nurses did not reach out to the on-call doctor — they instead administered high doses of narcotics, causing the patient to pass away from dehydration and complications from the bladder infection. Our firm helped the patient’s survivors receive compensation shortly before their claim was set to go to trial.

The firm represented 36 former faculty members of the Metropolitan Community College. The plaintiffs alleged the college’s early retirement program discriminated against faculty members on the basis of their age by decreasing the payment available to the employees as they grew older. In addition, the program allowed early retirees to continue working on a limited basis while receiving “premium pay,” which was a percentage of their previous salary. However, in 2011, after faculty members accepted the early retirement program and premium pay option, the school eliminated premium pay, which was a decision that only affected workers older than age 55. The college paid the 36 plaintiffs a total of $6 million to settle the case.

Former Liberty Public Schools Superintendent Phil Wright will receive a $950,000 settlement stemming from his 2009 wrongful termination suit against the district as approved by the Board of Education during a special session Dec. 24. According to the settlement, Wright was to receive $700,000 from former district insurer Liberty Mutual, who represented the district in the case, by Dec. 31, 2013, and an additional $250,000 from the school district by Thursday, Jan. 2. A total of $408,333.34 of the insurer’s payment will be directed to Wright’s attorney fees. The board unanimously approved the settlement agreement. For more information see. http://www.fox4kc.com/2014/01/17/fmr-liberty-school-district-superintendent-to-receive-historical-sum-from-lawsuit/

Between 2001 and 2003, thousands of employees were terminated from Sprint. At least 1,700 employees pursued a collective action against Sprint for age discrimination. In May 2007 a settlement was reached for $57 million.

Plaintiff, a 49-year-old woman, filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC when her employer decided that it would contribute $225 per month toward employee health insurance. This decision meant that older employees would be required to pay more for their health insurance than employees under age 40. The employer terminated Plaintiff within 30 days of learning that she had filed a charge of discrimination. The jury awarded Plaintiff $1,012.40 on her claim for age discrimination, $5,000 in actual damages on her claim for retaliation, and $25,000 as punitive damages on her claim for retaliation.

Plaintiff was a young female working at Whiskey Tango as a waitress while attending college. During her six months of employment Plaintiff was subjected to offensive and sexually explicit language that was directed toward her and/or about females in general. Toward the end of her term of employment the owner of Whiskey Tango confronted Plaintiff, alleging that she had spread rumors about him. He backed Plaintiff into a corner, yelling at her and cursing at her, causing Plaintiff to be in fear of bodily harm. Plaintiff quit her job immediately thereafter.

Our client was an elderly grandmother attacked in the mall parking lot one evening while on her way to finish Christmas shopping. She was hospitalized for several weeks, suffering from blurred vision and permanent memory loss. We filed a premises liability suit against the shopping mall for negligent security, and the plaintiff received a substantial verdict for tangible and intangible losses.

Our firm represented a 32-year-old firefighter who became seriously ill from food poisoning after dining at a Japanese steakhouse in Independence, Missouri. He eventually had to be hospitalized due to serious chest infections that developed after bacteria entered his chest cavity because of a microtear in his esophagus, which was caused by the vomiting from the food poisoning. The case was tried to a jury and the jury returned a verdict in favor of our client in the amount of $605,000.

Our firm represented a Raytown, Missouri, apartment complex owner after the complex suffered multiple sewer backups over a five-year period. These backups damaged several units, requiring extensive cleanup, resident relocation and loss of income. Our plaintiff complained to the city, whose representatives disavowed responsibility. Extensive discovery revealed the city’s sewer system had multiple problems. We took the case to trial and the jury awarded all damages requested by the client.

Our plaintiff suffered a T-9 burst fracture after being thrown by his horse at a trail riding facility near Lake of the Ozarks. He and his wife had previously reported riderless horses to the facility’s owners and were assured they would be “taken care of.” The next day, the same riderless horse bit and spooked the plaintiff’s horse, causing him to jump sideways. The plaintiff was unable to work for six months. We filed suit against the facility and helped our client receive damages for medical costs and lost wages.

While unloading industrial material from a pallet on a flatbed trailer, our client was forced off the back of the truck by the actions of a warehouse employee using an overhead crane. Our client landed on the building’s concrete floor, shattering both elbows and permanently losing the ability to use his arms and hands. We reached a confidential settlement with the defendant.

Verdict for misled into believing she was enrolling in Vatterott’s medical assistant program, only to later find out Vatterott enrolled her in the shorter, medical office assistant program, and required her to pay another $10,000 if she wanted to continue into the medical assistant program. After a week of trial, the jury awarded her $27,000 for her tuition, plus $13,000,000 in punitive damages