Williams, Dustin Robert

Brad received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri - Columbia. He began his professional legal employment as a law clerk for the Honorable John R. Gibson of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Brad had the rare opportunity to work on cases in five of the eleven federal circuit courts of appeals, including the First, Second, Sixth, Eighth, and Ninth.

Following his clerkship, Brad was an associate with the law firm Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, Illinois. At Sidley, he practiced intellectual property litigation, where he defended one of the world's largest computer companies against multiple accusations of patent infringement. His cases included both software and hardware patent claims.

Brad joined Stueve Siegel Hanson as an associate in 2009 where he practices in patent, copyright, trademark, wage and hour, antitrust as well as personal injury litigation.

RECENT RESULTS

Joannou v. Lincoln Hockey LLC, et al. Brad represented a Washington D.C. area artist in a lawsuit against the owners of the Washington Capitals, a National Hockey League team, for copyright infringement. The lawsuit alleged that defendants copied and misappropriated the plaintiff's copyrighted logo designs throughout all forms of media and merchandising. This matter has been settled to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.

Leiszler v. Align Technology, Inc. Brad represented a putative nationwide class of more than 22,000 dentists and orthodontists against Align Technology, Inc., the makers of Invisalign, for unfair and fraudulent business practices in the State of California. Plaintiffs alleged that Align unfairly and fraudulently suspended or decertified doctors who paid $2,000 to become trained to prescribe Invisalign for failing to prescribe enough yearly cases. The case was settled in favor of the plaintiffs for more than $44 million in injunctive relief, along with nearly $7.8 million cash settlement fund.

Marshall v. R.J. Reynolds. Brad assisted lead counsel in several wage and hour class and collective actions brought against R.J. Reynolds on behalf of a class of retail representatives currently and formerly employed by R.J. Reynolds nationwide. Brad deposed more than a dozen corporate witnesses.

Norman, et al. v. Dell Inc. Brad assisted lead counsel in a wage and hour collective action against Dell Computers on behalf of call center workers for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

CURRENT CASES
Hank Young v. Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, Inc. et al. Brad represents Hank Young, a respected and nationally recognized artist specializing in sports photography, against the Kansas City Chiefs for unauthorized use of artwork in Arrowhead Stadium.  Additional defendants include Time Warner, Inc., Populous, Inc., Workshop Design, L.L.C., Hy-Vee, Inc. and Sprint, Inc.  Mr. Young seeks damages, including punitive damages, for copyright infringement, fraud, negligent misrepresentations, and breach of contract. 

Seaboard Corp. v. Marsh Inc. Brad represents Seaboard, one of Kansas's largest businesses, against insurance companies Marsh Inc. and AIG. Seaboard seeks $66 million in premiums paid and several million dollars in consulting fees from its insurance broker Marsh and insurance giant AIG for illegally conspiring to rig Seaboard's bids. Seaboard's complaint arises out of allegations made by the New York Attorney General and an ongoing federal class action. The case is currently on appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court.

Nobles v. State Farm Mutual Ins. Co. Brad represents a putative class of claims adjusters and other non-exempt employees who work in State Farm operations centers across the country. Plaintiffs allege that State Farm routinely and systematically fail to pay these employees for all time worked, including time spent getting ready to take or receive customer calls. The case is currently in active litigation in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.