Over the course of his career, Tom has acted as Lead Trial counsel in complex cases covering virtually every area of commercial law, including environmental contamination, pharmaceutical and consumer class actions, real estate, insurance coverage, securities, tobacco, and employment discrimination.
As Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs, Tom has obtained significant verdicts or settlements, including:
- $7.6 million and $8.1 million jury verdicts of on behalf of property owners in successive trials against one of the nation's largest financial institutions, for PCB contamination in connection with an EPA clean-up.
- $3.8 million settlement, following appeal, on behalf of the Chairman and CEO of a failed lending institution in a suit against the FDIC and one of the nation’s largest D&O insurers.
- $1.8 million settlement on behalf of a national real estate developer against the nation’s largest day-care company in a suit for property damage and waste to child care facilities in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma.
As Lead Counsel for Defendants, Tom has obtained numerous judgments and trial verdicts, including:
- Dismissal of consumer class action claims brought against Missouri's largest gasoline retailer alleging violations of the Federal Petroleum Marketers Practices Act.
- Dismissal of commercial class action claims brought against a national bank alleging overcharging of interest on commercial loans.
- Dismissal of consumer class action claims brought against ATM operators alleging violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.
- Dismissal of consumer class action claims brought against real estate developers alleging violations of the Illinois Security Deposit Return and Interest Acts.
- Defendant’s verdict in favor of a Missouri real estate developer regarding a $3.6 million real estate sale contract.
- Defendant’s verdict in favor of a major St. Louis hotelier on federal employment discrimination claims.
In addition, from 1998 through 2001, Tom was appointed by Missouri Attorney General to act as a Special Assistant Attorney General in Missouri’s suit against the Tobacco industry seeking recovery of over $5 billion in Medicaid payments. In this prosecution, Tom led Missouri’s discovery, development and presentation of evidence of Tobacco's disparate targeting of African-Americans youths in Missouri and, in particular, the City of St. Louis, Missouri.
Previously, in 1991, Tom founded the litigation department at Stone Leyton & Gershman, P.C, in Clayton, Missouri, where he practiced commercial litigation for 17 years.
