Mr. Peters advises clients in connection with real estate transactions and financing issues, prepares real estate documents such as sales agreements, deeds, leases, and easements, drafts loan documents such as notes and collateral documents, and handles title matters and other due diligence tasks relating to the conveyance of real estate interests.
Mr. Peters also represents clients with respect to the formation, operation, and management of business entities, the negotiation and management of contractual relationships, and the completion of asset and stock transfers, mergers, dissolutions, and other fundamental business transactions.
In addition, Mr. Peters counsels various public and quasi-public entities in areas relating to local government and administrative law, including a number of municipalities, public school districts, state agencies, non-profit foundations, and homeowners’ associations.
Mr. Peters’ representative experience in these areas includes the following:
- Assisted the owner of a major office park and its property manager in negotiating and preparing numerous office leases.
- Represented borrowers in securing and closing an FHA-insured loan in order to restructure the financing on a multifamily housing project valued at more than $3 million.
- Assisted in the sale of approximately 1,440 acres of farm ground for $2.7 million, including drafting a series of sales agreements, advising on negotiations with the buyer, and assisting in the navigation of disputes concerning related litigation.
- Negotiated the purchase of agricultural property for use as a rock quarry, including drafting the purchase contract, resolving title and survey issues, and negotiating the reservation of a life estate for a beneficiary of the trusts holding title to the property.
- Assisted in closing the purchase of commercial property and the assumption of an underlying loan in the principal amount of $10.4 million, including the review and analysis of supporting documentation, the preparation of an opinion letter regarding enforceability, and the resolution of title objections concerning the property.
- Represented public school districts in a variety of matters, including the negotiation of real estate agreements, easements, licenses, and similar grants for utility lines and related purposes, as well as the procurement, negotiation, and preparation of numerous cell tower leases on behalf of a public school district, as lessor.
- Provided counsel for the board of directors and executive officers of a high-profile quasi-public entity with regard to various inquiries concerning the Kansas Open Meetings Act and the Kansas Open Records Act.
- Assisted as local counsel for an energy company’s multi-million dollar purchase of a Kansas wind farm, including resolving various due diligence issues concerning public utility requirements, property taxes and exemptions, and oil and gas leases and related rights.
- Prepared a comprehensive operating lease for the proposed management of a community hospital by a regional health system, and assisted with the negotiation of a formal affiliation between the two health-care entities.
- Overhauled the corporate books and records of a major holding company and its five subsidiary corporations, including amending corporate bylaws and restructuring stock ownership records. Subsequently completed a merger of four of the subsidiaries into the parent corporation.
Mr. Peters also has experience in a variety of other matters, including the following:
- Served as second chair on a trial team that successfully defended a city in Kansas from a lawsuit filed by a nationally recognized real estate developer seeking more than $4.5 million in damages in connection with failed plans for a major mixed-use development.
- Prepared an appellate brief in defense of a corporate executive against a $21 million lawsuit alleging breach of contract, fraud, and negligence following the firm’s successful efforts to obtain summary judgment in favor of the defendant on all counts alleged by the plaintiff.
- Assisted in defending several real estate brokers and agents in Kansas and Missouri in connection with adverse claims of up to $1 million, based on allegations including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, negligence, fraud, and violation of the consumer protection act. This experience includes handling a variety of discovery matters, defending and taking depositions, drafting and arguing various pretrial motions, including a motion for summary judgment, participating in settlement negotiations, and preparing settlement documents upon reaching favorable settlement agreements.
- Filed a lawsuit on behalf of an individual plaintiff for the conversion of personal property, and obtained a favorable judgment for the plaintiff in excess of nine thousand dollars.
