Attorneys practicing in this area are very experienced representing clients in every aspect of construction, fidelity, and surety law. We have extensive knowledge of all types of contract surety bonds, financial institution bonds, probate bonds, motor vehicle dealers bonds and virtually all other types of bonds.
Baker Sterchi attorneys in this practice group have represented general contractors, subcontractors, owners and design professionals in connection with all phases of construction. Our attorneys have extensive experience advising clients on the drafting of nearly every form of document used in the fidelity and surety industry, including: financing documents; construction escrow agreements; construction contracts and subcontracts; general and special conditions; and joint venture and partnering agreements. In addition, our firm has considerable experience in the preparation, filing and defending of mechanic’s liens.
When a claim arises, we very efficiently begin an analysis and investigation, drawing on our skills analyzing records related to contract balances, pending claims, job site conditions, percentage of work completed or to be completed, in addition to the handling, rebidding or reletting of terminated contracts. We frequently conduct these investigations with outside consultants selected by our clients. We have helped prepare and defend simple and complex construction claims.
Our firm has extensive experience representing clients when disputes arise, including in the bankruptcy context, in actions to obtain non-dischargability, and in a number of adversary proceedings. In addition to representing clients at trials, and in arbitrations and mediations, our attorneys have negotiated numerous settlements of fidelity, surety and construction claims. Several of our attorneys have served as arbitrators or mediators in connection with fidelity, surety or construction claims.
For more information about our fidelity and surety practice contact Scott Kreamer or John Watt in Kansas City at 816.471.2121. In St. Louis, contact Rob Chandler or Martha Charepoo at 314.345.5000.
News & Events
01.04.22 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice elected five new Members, effective January 1.
05.06.19 | Baker Sterchi has added Laura K. Beasley to the firm's Belleville, Illinois office. Beasley, who joined the firm as a Member, practices in the areas of civil litigation defense, general liability, class action/mass torts, insurance coverage, personal injury, and product liability
10.04.18 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice is pleased to welcome Douglas Hill as an attorney with the firm's Kansas City office. Hill is an experienced litigator, managing a diverse civil defense practice that includes professional negligence, product liability, industrial and job site injuries, and general business litigation. He has extensive experience representing ...
08.21.18 | John Watt has been named the 2020 Program Co-Chair of the ALFA International Construction Practice Group's biennial seminar. As Program Co-Chair, Watt's duties and responsibilities will include...
01.11.18 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice is pleased to announce the promotion of John Patterson to Member effective January 1, 2018. Patterson practices in the areas of product liability, employment, construction/fidelity and surety, financial services litigation, premises liability...
Results
On October 26, 2021 Baker Sterchi secured summary judgment in favor of a manufacturing and industrial services client in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice obtained a verdict in favor of client Western Surety Company on a breach of contract action against T&L Zarda, LLC, Tim Zarda and Lisa Zarda. The case arose out of the Zardas' request that Western Surety Company issue a development bond guaranteeing...
Following a bench trial in St. Louis County, Missouri, BSCR received a judgment in favor of its clients, Allen Edmonds and Plaza Frontenac, a large upscale shopping mall...
Plaintiff, an employee of a second tier sub-contractor, appealed the granting of summary judgment in favor of our clients, the general contractor and first tier sub-contractor on a project at the University of Missouri Kansas City...
Summary Judgment was granted in favor of Baker Sterchi's client in a case involving a bricklayer contractor injuring himself when he slipped into a plumbing ditch dug by a different contractor on the project. Plaintiff sued the second contractor on the project for failing to barricade and/or flag the ditch. . .
Baker Sterchi has obtained dismissal of client Old Republic Surety in a case involving a claim on a public official bond pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Northern Division. . .
BSCR successfully defended Old Republic Surety, Inc. in a five-day jury trial involving the construction of running track at a local high school. At the close of plaintiff's evidence, the District Court granted Old Republic's motion for directed verdict and entered judgment in favor of Old Republic. . .
BSCR received a judgment in favor of our client, Western Surety, following a bench trial in Ray County, Missouri. The claim involved a contractual dispute over an indemnity agreement. The court issued a lengthy opinion and awarded our client the full amount requested. . .
BSCR's defense of a notary in a Clay County, Missouri action resulted in summary judgment in favor of our client, the fidelity and surety insurer of the notary. In this case, plaintiff sought to recover under a notarial bond issued by our client to insure faithful performance of its principal, a notary. . .
Blog Posts
03.07.22 | The Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that only "immediate employers" of injured employees are immune from suit under the Workers' Compensation Act's exclusive remedy provisions, despite any contractual duties to carry workers' compensation insurance.
02.07.22 | Madison County State's Attorney, Thomas Haine, is successful at stalling Illinois Judicial Circuit redistricting as political parties navigate for position in the forthcoming Judicial election.
02.01.22 | Data released by the Greater Kansas City Jury Verdict Service about jury trials in 2021 show that defendants continue to win a majority of cases, though verdict amounts for prevailing plaintiffs have increased. Defendants prevailed on almost 60% of the claims decided by KC-area juries last year, but the number of claims decided by juries has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
10.05.21 | More than eight years after the Country Club Plaza district in Kansas City, Missouri was rocked by a gas line explosion that destroyed JJ's Restaurant, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that utility-locating company USIC has no duty to indemnify natural gas company Spire.
01.15.21 | Evidence regarding the design, manufacture, and first sale of a drilling-rig to the Army Corp of Engineers is relevant to the knowledge element of Plaintiff's punitive damages claim arising from a second sale.
07.27.20 | The Supreme Courts of Missouri and Illinois have addressed Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California to further define the instances in which specific personal jurisdiction can be constitutionally exercised over out-of-state defendants.
07.27.20 | The Supreme Courts of Missouri and Illinois have addressed Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court of California to further define the instances in which specific personal jurisdiction can be constitutionally exercised over out-of-state defendants.
02.12.20 | City of St. Louis has seen a steady decline on the judicial hellhole rankings with modest reforms but the Illinois counties of Madison and St. Clair remain hotspots for asbestos litigation and "no-injury" BIPA lawsuits according to the 2019/2020 American Tort Reform Foundation Judicial Hellholes Report.
07.16.19 | SECOND UPDATE: Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs Senate Bill 7, which amends venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.
05.20.19 | UPDATE: House Passes Senate Bill 7, in which the Missouri legislature seeks to amend venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.
04.12.19 | The Illinois Appellate Court, First District, held that a party may timely withdraw a previously disclosed testifying expert and redesignate said expert as a Rule 201(b)(3) consultant entitled to the consultant's privilege against disclosure absent exceptional circumstances.
03.18.19 | In Senate Bill 7, the Missouri legislature seeks to amend venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.
02.12.19 | The Illinois Supreme Court recently held that a subcontractor hired by a general contractor cannot be liable to a purchaser of a newly constructed home for breach of an implied warranty of habitability absent a direct contractual relationship with the homeowner.
01.23.19 | Applying Missouri Law, the Eighth Circuit confirms that when a company guarantees customer satisfaction, only to leave the customer unsatisfied, it risks not only its business reputation, but also its legal right to collect payment.
12.26.18 | Defense attorneys beware. The 2018-2019 American Tort Reform Foundation's (ATRF) Judicial Hellholes Report is out, and the City of St. Louis landed fourth on this list because of its massive verdicts, forum shopping, and legislative failures.
04.21.17 | In the case of Wilson v. Dura-Seal and Stripe, the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District held that the "acceptance doctrine" is still valid law in Missouri, and bars liability against a construction contractor for the injury of a third party after the owner of the premises has accepted the work.
03.31.17 | Earlier this week, Governor Eric Greitens signed Missouri HB 153 into law. HB 153, which supplants Missouri's existing expert witness standard with that set forth in Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 703, 704 and 705, effectively submits expert testimony in most civil and criminal case to the analysis set forth in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993).
03.27.17 | Within a two-week period, two federal judges issued strongly worded orders denouncing the common practice of asserting boilerplate objections to written discovery.
11.02.16 | A Missouri plaintiff did not irrevocably waive the protections of the work product doctrine simply by designating an expert witness and then withdrawing the designation without disclosing the expert's analysis or conclusions.
11.30.15 | In Woodall v. Christian Hospital N.E., the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District affirmed that a landowner does not owe a duty to prevent injury to invitees when the landowner relinquishes possession and control of the premises to an independent contractor during a period of construction.
11.30.15 | Where a Plaintiff who built a new home brought claims including breach of contract and unlawful merchandising practices against the builder, based on purported overcharges, the Plaintiff was equitably estopped from his breach of contract claim arising out of construction in certain areas of the home, because he had accepted the deed, which was construed as satisfaction
10.24.14 | In a recent construction design case this law firm, along with co-defendants, successfully moved the Court to exclude certain of plaintiff's expert witnesses. As reported in a prior post, the State of Kansas amended the relevant statutes regarding the submissibility of expert witness opinions on July 1, 2014.
04.22.14 | A man who sued his former employer, alleging he was discharged in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claim, appealed on the basis that the trial court used a jury instruction with the wrong standard. In a 5-2 decision written by Judge George W. Draper III, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected the 'exclusive causation' standard and replaced it with the "contributing factor" standard. On remand and in future cases, the jury must determine whether the plaintiff's filing of a workers' compensation claim was a "contributing factor" to his or her discharge.
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