Home > Practice Areas > Banking and Financial Services Litigation

Practice Contact

  • Mark A. Olthoff
    Practice Area Chair
    T. 816.395.0620

Related Practice Areas

Banking and Financial Services Litigation

Today, more than ever, the business environment evolves almost daily with new regulations and legislation. These new laws and regulations are complex and affect financial institutions, which need to have a heightened sensitivity to reputational risks that impact how companies run their business.

At Polsinelli Shughart PC, our Banking and Financial Services Litigation group helps companies understand and overcome these unsettling challenges.

The firm handles a wide variety of arbitration and trial matters for financial institutions of all sizes, from interstate bank holding companies to community banks. We also represent companies and individuals in securities litigation and provide professional services to those who provide or receive financial services.

Specific engagements have involved:

  • Contests for control of bank holding companies
  • Defense of claims against bank trust departments
  • Litigation involving financial institution fidelity bonds
  • Defense and prosecution of claims involving forged and altered negotiable instruments
  • Defense of financial institutions, officers and directors in litigation brought by regulatory agencies, including the OTS, Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC
  • Defense of officers and directors against shareholders' derivative actions and other fiduciary litigation
  • Defense of claims brought under federal and state securities laws
  • Litigation including The Uniform Commercial Code and other statutes
  • Litigation, including the rights and obligations of lenders and borrowers under various state and federal credit, banking and consumer laws
  • Defense of class action claims filed against small and large financial institutions, securitized trusts, loan servicers and other claims alleging violations of state and federal lending laws

Notable Experience

Representative experience includes:
  • Killion v. Bank Midwest 987 S.W. 2d 801 (Mo. App. W.D. 1999) - Successfully represented Bank Midwest in obtaining reversal of actual and punitive damages which had been awarded against the bank in trial court
  • Avila v. Community Bank 143 S.W. 3d 1 (Mo. App. W.D. 2003) - Successfully represented a national banking association, and various trusts of which it is trustee, in claims brought under Missouri lending laws
  • Adkison v. FirstPlus Bank 143 S.W. 3d 29 (Mo. App. W.D. 2004) - Successfully represented a national banking association and various trusts of which it is trustee in claims brought under Missouri lending laws
  • Emerson v. Dominion 248 F. 3d 720 (8th Cir. 2004) - Defended investor in partnership interests and low housing credit case settled when compelled to arbitration
  • Pioneer Military Lending v. Manning 2 F.3d 280 (8th Cir. 1993) - Represented Pioneer Military Lending in a suit brought under the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Plaintiff obtained a judgment that the attempted regulation of plaintiff’s business was in violation of the Commerce Clause. The Eighth Circuit affirmed the violation of the Commerce Clause, but reversed the District Court, and ruled that Pioneer’s civil rights were violated, and directed the District Court to award plaintiff reasonable attorneys’ fees to Pioneer, which it did
  • Brown v. United Missouri Bank 78 F.3d 382 (8th Cir. 1996) - Represented bank trust department against beneficiaries of approximately $60 million trust against claims that the Bank breached its fiduciary duties to them by, among other actions, failing to properly manage trust property, including real estate, failing to adequately invest trust assets and favoring certain groups. At trial, the federal district judge dismissed the beneficiaries’ claims against the Bank because the record, including statements of counsel, showed that the beneficiaries were unable to meet their burden of proof. The beneficiaries appealed the District Court judgment for the Bank to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Eighth Circuit ruled that issues of fact were in dispute and remanded the case back to the District Court for trial. Because the record showed that the beneficiaries were unlikely to prove their claims at trial, the case settled
  • Assumed representation for a bank on three related claimed “lender liability” breach of fiduciary duty and fraud cases pending in Kentucky. The first case had already been tried and a verdict of over $3 million had been rendered against the client. The second case was tried before the same bankruptcy court, before the same judge and resulted in a verdict in favor of the bank. The third related case was tried in Kentucky state court. Plaintiff had asked for award in excess of $5 million. The result was a net verdict to the Plaintiff of $85,000. The case was subsequently settled for less than the net verdict. The third case was handled on appeal before the Sixth Circuit, argued and the Judgment was reversed in significant part. The case was subsequently settled for less than half of the original judgment amount
  • Defended bank in class action case on issue of claim for restitution and recovery for criminal “illegal” interest arising from unique loan program. Class was denied
  • Represented minority shareholders of locally owned community bank in dispute regarding corporate governance and potential sale of bank. Matter resolved after minority shareholders obtained preliminary injunction
  • Defended bank on issue of attempted “wrongful foreclosure” of family farm. The state court jury verdict was reversed on appeal and judgment entered in favor of client
  • Represented bank against fidelity bond company seeking coverage for fraudulent scheme directed against bank involving falsified invoices on construction draw note
  • Represented financial institution in derivative action brought by minority shareholders following ouster of bank president. Matter resolved after mediation
  • Gateway Financial Group, Inc. v. Mission Bank (United States District Court for the District of Kansas). Represented a bank against claims by borrower for fraud and other claims arising out of a multi-million dollar commercial real estate loan secured by property pledged by third-party guarantors. The case was tried for several weeks in federal district court for the District of Kansas. The Court found in favor of the bank on all claims. The borrower did not appeal
  • Represented financial institutions and investment companies in antitrust litigation. Suits dismissed and affirmed on appeal
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