Mark G. Arnold

Mark leads clients through all phases of complex litigation as a member of the firm’s Food & Agribusiness industry team. His practice primarily consists of antitrust, securities pension and welfare; toxic tort; and product liability matters. He also handles appeals of major cases, interpreting complex federal statutes such as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). A recent search of Westlaw.com found 118 cases in the Missouri courts and more than 125 published opinions from federal courts in which Mark briefed or argued the case.

Examples of Mark’s industry experience include:

• Patent and patent licensing for Monsanto’s seed products.
• General litigation representation for Farm Credit entities, including AgriBank, its predecessors and various production-credit associations.
• Counseling lenders and buyers of farm products on the enforceability of liens on agricultural products.

In addition, Mark has extensive experience defending class actions. In a case in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota, Mark successfully defeated class certification in borrowers’ claims against a lender and mortgage loan broker alleging that the yield spread premium the lender paid the broker constituted illegal kickbacks and fee splitting under the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act (RESPA). In response to the defendants’ motion for reconsideration, the district court reversed its earlier decision granting class certification and also granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment on the liability issues, dismissing the claims with prejudice.