• U.S. News
  • Lawyers »
  • Legal Topics
  • Legal Advice
  • Find a Lawyer
  • For Lawyers
  • FAQ
  • Best Law Firms
  • Lawyers
  • Legal Topics
  • Find a Lawyer
  • Find Legal Advice
  • For Lawyers
  • FAQ
  • Login

  • More from U.S. News
  • News & Opinion
    • BACK
    • News & Opinion
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Photos
    • Best Countries
    • Best States
    • The Report
  • Education
    • BACK
    • Education
    • Higher Education
      • Rankings
      • Colleges
      • Grad Schools
      • Online Programs
      • Global
      • Advice
    • High Schools
      • Rankings
      • Advice
  • Health
    • BACK
    • Health
    • Wellness
      • Best Diets
      • Food
      • Fitness
      • Family
      • Mind
      • Aging
      • Health Living
    • Healthcare
      • Doctors
      • Hospitals
    • Senior Care
  • Money
    • BACK
    • Money
    • Careers
      • Best Jobs
      • Applying
      • Interviewing
      • Salaries & Benefits
      • Work Culture
    • Investing
      • Rankings
      • Stocks
      • Mutual Funds
      • ETFs
      • Financial Advisors
      • 529s
      • Advice
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate
      • Places
      • Agents
      • Advice
    • Retirement
  • Travel
    • BACK
    • Travel
      • Vacations
      • Hotels
      • Cruises
      • Rewards
      • Advice
  • Cars
    • BACK
    • Cars
      • Rankings
      • New
      • Used
      • Financing
      • Advice
  • Law Firms
    • BACK
    • Law Firms
      • Law Firms
      • Practice Areas
  • Real Estate
  • Contact
  • Employment
  • Advertising
  • Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Lawyers
James F. Bennett's Profile Image

James F. Bennett

Recognized by Best Lawyers® since 2007.
7733 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 1900 St. Louis, Missouri 63105
(314) 889-7300
 | 
Firm: Dowd Bennett LLP
 |  Website
 
Edit Profile
  • Overview
  • Services
  • Awards
  • Education
  • Contact
  • Client Reviews & Commendations
  • More ▾
  • Overview
  • Services
  • Awards
  • Education
  • Contact
  • Client Reviews & Commendations
Edit Your Profile
To edit your Lawyer Directory information, please login to your
Best Lawyers® Admin Account.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at info@bestlawyers.com or 803.648.0300.
Overview
Firm

Dowd Bennett LLP


Years In Practice


Phone Number (314) 889-7300

James F. Bennett has a national practice of cases that are not expected to settle before trial or appeal. He is lead trial and appellate counsel in high-profile cases, and has tried to verdict many cases involving eight- and nine-figure amounts in dispute.  He has also prevailed before trial in other, similar cases and has argued appeals in eight different appellate courts around the country.  Three times in recent years, he was awarded the “largest” defense or plaintiff verdict award by Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Mr. Bennett is a former law clerk to the Hon. Anthony M. Kennedy, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and to the Hon. J. L. Edmondson, United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit.  He is a fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers.  He is also on the Executive Committee of the American Inns of Court Chapter in St. Louis and is a fellow with the Litigation Counsel of America.  He has been recognized by various publications for his achievements. For instance, he was recently recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” for Bet-the-Company Litigation in the St. Louis area, and he has been selected by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as one of ten “Lawyers of the Year,”  and the “Law Firm Leader of the Year.”  He has been selected by the Riverfront Times as the Best Lawyer in St. Louis.  He is annually identified as among the top 50 lawyers in St. Louis, the top 100 lawyers in Missouri, and among The Best Lawyers in America©. Currently, he is ranked as a “Tier One” counsel by U.S. News and World Report.  Mr. Bennett is recognized in Chambers USA as a “Band 1” leading litigator.

Representative Matters

  • In 2018, Mr. Bennett was lead trial counsel in four cases.  The first was a four-day hearing successfully representing an attorney before the Missouri Supreme Court’s hearing officers for lawyer discipline.  The second was a multi-week trial of a toxic tort lawsuit that was a retrial of a case that previously resulted in a $30 million verdict.  After a mistrial declared on the second day of deliberations, the matter was resolved.  Mr. Bennett was retained after the first verdict.  The third matter consisted of four days of jury selection in the defense of the governor of the state of Missouri.  The case was dismissed by the prosecution during jury selection.  The final matter was a multi-week trial against a national bank where a prior trial resulted in a $355 million verdict.  Mr. Bennett was retained after the first trial.
  • After a bench trial, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled for Anheuser-Busch in a long-running insurance coverage dispute, holding that Anheuser-Busch could tender long-tail asbestos claims under a single policy year and thereby avoid being responsible for equitable allocations of damages for other years.
  • Obtained a unanimous jury verdict in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts for medical device manufacturer.  The case was tried over four weeks and involved a medical device that has been the subject of thousands of cases filed in Massachusetts and elsewhere.
  • Conducted a two week jury trial that achieved the largest plaintiff’s verdict in the history of St. Louis County Circuit Court. The jury assessed Wells Fargo as 98% responsible for damages and awarded the Barbara Burton Morriss Trust $45,766,033.81 in actual damages and $32,100,000.00 in punitive damages.
  • Represented Valero Texas Refining in a two week jury trial in Galveston County, Texas. A unanimous verdict was returned for Valero on claims of a harmful exposure to benzene and other toxins related to the overfill of a crude-oil spill at a refinery site.
  • Tried to jury verdict the highly publicized Katz v. Anheuser Busch, Inc. A former high-ranking female executive brought the case against Anheuser Busch Inc. claiming gender discrimination, seeking more than $15 million in lost wages and interest, plus punitive damages.   The case was televised and the verdict was reported in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
  • Represented Emerson Electric and its subsidiaries in a two-week jury trial, trade secret and contract dispute against a re-manufacturer of Fisher Control valves and actuators.  In Automation Service v. Emerson Process Management and Fisher Controls, the jury ruled for Emerson on all counts and then awarded $5.4 million in damages on the counterclaim. The jury ruled for Emerson on all counts and awarded $5.4 million in damages on the counterclaim.
  • Conducted a multi-week jury trial in the District of Massachusetts (Boston), Fresenius Medical Care v. United States of America, against the Department of Justice where the twelve-person jury awarded Fresenius Medical Care a $95 million tax benefit. The judgment was affirmed by the first circuit.
  • Tried to judgment an arbitration involving a claim that his client committed professional malpractice and caused the bankruptcy of a publicly-traded accounting firm. After lengthy testimony and argument, the three-arbitrator panel unanimously ruled for Mr. Bennett’s client. The award was confirmed by the Denver, Colorado Circuit Court.
  • Represented a Valero Energy subsidiary in The Premcor Refining Group v. KLLM Transport Services, Inc., in Cook County, Illinois. The jury determined that KLLM was responsible for the damage to Premcor’s underground Chicago-area pipeline.
  • Tried an arbitration to judgment in favor of an online catalog company against a company that had acquired it. The case was tried in Chicago under the terms of the public sale agreement.
  • Represented Monsanto Company in a jury trial against Conoco Phillips where a unanimous jury awarded Mr. Bennett’s client $7.6 million. The case revolved around a multi-year supply contract for petroleum coke used by Monsanto to manufacture Round-Up®.
  • Represented Walmart against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a jury trial that alleged age discrimination.  A unanimous jury rejected the EEOC’s claim after only 30 minutes of deliberation.
  • Represented the defendant in a False Claims Act case tried in El Paso, Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. This case was tried over 45 days and is reported to have been the longest civil trial in the El Paso division.  The jury ruled for Mr. Bennett’s client.
  • Tried a $280 million multi-week case in Delaware Chancery Court, affirmed by the Delaware Supreme Court.  The case, Olson v. Viking Global Investors, was a dispute between the founders of a hedge fund managing more than $10 billion in assets.
  • After more than four months of trial, a St. Louis County jury ruled in favor of Mr. Bennett’s client, Cross County Collaborative on all nine counts.  The $130 million case involved responsibility for cost overruns for St. Louis’ light-rail system.  In the longest jury trial in St. Louis County history, Bi-State v. Cross County Collaborative, the jury returned a full defense verdict.
  • Represented a Swiss public company in a case involving a supply contract for carbon fiber used in large European-manufactured wind turbine blades.  The jury awarded Mr. Bennett’s client more than $36 million which was the exact amount requested by Mr. Bennett in closing arguments.
What legal services does this lawyer offer?
Bet-the-Company Litigation
Commercial Litigation
Health Care Law
Qui Tam Law
Awards
Lawyer of the Year recognition for James F. Bennett
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
Bet-the-Company Litigation, St. Louis (2021)
Bet-the-Company Litigation, St. Louis (2019)
Education
Vanderbilt University, J.D.
Graduated 1995
Contact Details and Office Locations
Other: (314) 889-7300
7733 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 1900
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
See Location
Address for James F. Bennett
Client Reviews & Commendations

Get Advice

What Legal Advice Does a Startup Need?

Helping an Elder Make a Power of Attorney

How Much Does a Divorce Lawyer Cost?

How Much Does It Cost to File for Bankruptcy?

How to Find the Right Lawyer for Your Needs

Do You Need a Lawyer if You Get a DUI?

Write a Client Review
{{ error.Text }}
Your client review was submitted successfully!
We've encountered an error while submitting your client review. Please try again later.
This comment will be sent to the attorney for review prior to publishing.
Disclaimer and a note about Find a Lawyer and Legal Advice »

SEARCH BY STATE

▼
  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
U.S. News
  • About U.S. NewsAbout
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Advertise
  • Jobs
  • Copyright 2021 © U.S. News & World Report L.P.
  • Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Login
Forgot your password?
*If you are having any difficulty accessing your account, please contact us at info@lawyerregister.com.
Premium Profiles
Expand Your Presence
Access Exclusive Tools
And Much More...
Learn More
*If you are having any difficulty accessing your account, please contact us at info@lawyerregister.com.
https://www.bestlawyers.com Best Lawyers Best Lawyers +1-803-648-0300
801 Broad Street, Suite 950 Augusta, GA 30901
  • https://twitter.com/bestlawyers
  • https://www.linkedin.com/company/137775
  • https://www.facebook.com/bestlawyersllc