McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan is pleased to announce that Rebecca Martin has been named the 2019 President of the Business Law Section of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.  Ms. Martin will also serve as a Member of the Board of Directors during 2019. 

McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan congratulates Ania Moncrief for completing the 2018 KCMBA Bar Leadership
Academy Program and becoming a graduate of the Academy’s most recent graduating class. The Bar Leadership Academy is a selective program designed to help emerging leaders of the legal profession in Kansas City develop the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to become leaders in both the profession and the community. During this seven-month program, Ms. Moncrief participated, along with a select group of new attorneys in Kansas City, in seven interactive leadership training sessions featuring prominent speakers, instructors, and  discussion facilitators. Participants also completed a CLE presentation and a group project.  We proudly congratulate Ms. Moncrief on this prestigious accomplishment.

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (January 23, 2019) – At its 2019 Annual Meeting, McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan, PC, announced the re-election of Kristie Remster Orme as President, and the re-election of R. Pete Smith as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Also re-elected were Thomas R. Buchanan and Greg T. Spies, and Jonathan A. Margolies was newly elected to serve on the Board of Directors. 

It was also announced at the Firm’s annual meeting that Thomas R. Buchanan will serve as the Firm’s General Counsel in 2019.  Charles W. Smiley will continue to serve as the Firm’s Secretary, and Ronald S. Bronstein will continue to serve as the Firm’s Vice President/Treasurer/Assistant Secretary.

Lender floor planned an auto dealer in New York. Dealer sold cars out of trust and diverted $1.2 million of vehicle proceeds to personal use. Floor Plan Lender, represented by Gorman, sued Dealer in New York Federal Court for Replevin and Breach of Contract, and sued Dealer’s Guarantors for Breach of Contract.

Dealer filed bankruptcy, and the Federal Court lawsuit continued against the Guarantors. Before taking any discovery, Floor Plan Lender filed a Summary Judgment Motion against the Guarantors, based only on Lender’s own records and affidavit. Guarantors resisted, challenging the accuracy of Lender’s evidence.

The Federal Court granted Floor Plan Lender’s Summary Judgment Motion, and entered a $1.2 million judgment against Guarantors. In so doing, the Court found that Guarantors’ challenge to the accuracy of Floor Plan Lender’s evidence failed to create a genuine issue of material fact so as to preclude Summary Judgment.

Congratulations to the following McDowell Rice Smith & Buchanan lawyers who have been selected to the 2018 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars® Lists in their primary practice area.  The announcement will appear in the 2018 Super Lawyers® Magazine for Missouri & Kansas, published November 14, 2018. 

Super Lawyers® List:
Thomas R. Buchanan – Business Litigation
Susan Saper Galamba – Family Law
Michael J. Gorman – Business Litigation
Robert D. Maher –  Creditor Debtor Rights
Jonathan A. Margolies – Bankruptcy Business
Tiffany A. McFarland – Family Law
Kristie Remster Orme – Business Litigation
R. Pete Smith – Business Litigation
Greg T. Spies – Business Litigation
Louis J. Wade – Civil Litigation Defense

Rising Stars® List:
Adam J. Gasper – Business Litigation
Patrick C. Guinness – Construction Litigation
David A. Jack – Business Litigation

After eighteen months of highly contested litigation, McDowell Rice successfully obtained a settlement in excess of one million dollars for its client in a non-compete and defamation case against former employees who started a competing business.  McDowell Rice immediately obtained injunctive relief for its client, barring the former employees from continuing to contact the clients' customers.  Despite the former employees claiming no involvement in creating the new business or soliciting customers, McDowell Rice relentlessly pursued electronic communications by the former employees to establish their liability.  Before the close of discovery, the former employees agreed to enter a 537.065 settlement  by which they agreed to sign new extended non-compete agreements, agreed to a more cost-effective arbitration, and allowed McDowell Rice's client to pursue collection of any damages awarded at arbitration from their insurer.  Prior to the arbitration, the insurer agreed to pay a settlement in excess of one million dollars.  Patrick C. Guinness was lead counsel, with Jason L. Buchanan and Thomas R. Buchanan assisting in obtaining this favorable result.

KCMBA CLE:  Beyond the Basics: Unique Issues in Family Law, October 10, 2018
- Presentation: How to Ethically and Effectively Approach Cases with Pro Se Litigants Hon. Janette Rodecap,16th Judicial Circuit Court of Missouri, Jackson County Tiffany A. McFarland, McDowell, Rice, Smith & Buchanan, P.C
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/kcmba/CLE/2018/10-10-18+Flyer+and+Registration+Form.pdf

JOCO Bar CLE: Family Law CLE, October 2, 2018
- Presentation:  Family Law and Tax Reform, Speakers: Matt Barberich, Marks Nelson; Tiffany McFarland, McDowell Rice
https://www.jocobar.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1142439&group=

Collection Advisor Magazine’s September/October 2018 publication named Lou Wade as one of the nations’ “Top Attorneys in Collections” for his work in collections, including defense of attorneys and collection agencies.  Mr. Wade’s quote from the article when asked to identify the biggest challenge for collection attorneys today:  “One word:  compliance.  Lawyers face multiple layers of statues, rules, and regulations.  Lawyers fall subject to enforcement by multiple, overlapping bodies.  Lawyers encounter vague and inconsistent court decisions addressing applicable laws.  In addition, stricter rules apply to lawyers in the area of debt collection than many other areas of practice.  To comply, lawyers must maintain knowledge of decisions from courts, rulings from regulatory bodies and statutory or regulatory changes.  In addition, the collection lawyer must constantly review their standards, practices, methods, and procedures with a critical eye.”

By R.Pete Smith:

https://ingrams.com/article/the-role-of-the-accountant-in-the-divorce-process/

McDowell Rice is proud to announce that Tiffany A. McFarland was named as a recipient of the 2018 Litigation Practitioner Award.  Litigators in this category have made their careers in the courtroom--criminal or civil, representing plaintiff or defense.  Missouri Lawyers Weekly will be publishing a 20th Anniversary Commemorative Issue for Women's Justice Awards to celebrate its annual recognition of extraordinary women lawyers, law students, rising stars, and public officials.  A feature story will examine how the legal landscape for women in Missouri has evolved and continues to evolve.