Stephen B. Sutton

Mr. Sutton is outside general counsel to the Kansas City-based firm of U.S. Engineering Company which provides mechanical, construction, engineering or construction management services on large industrial building developments. He represented General Motors Corporation on all legal aspects of its construction of the $1 billion Fairfax automotive assembly plant in Kansas City. He defended U.S. Engineering in a $500 million alleged construction defect lawsuit that resulted in summary judgment in his client’s favor. He successfully represented both Morrison-Knudsen Corporation and Harmon Industries in bid protest litigation challenging their engineering and construction capabilities in connection with the MetroLink light rail system in St. Louis, Missouri. He has represented Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company on multiple construction projects involving total surety bond claims exceeding $15 million in more than eight different states.

Mr. Sutton is also counsel for Ally Financial f/k/a General Motors Acceptance Corporation. He represented GMAC in Chapter 11 cases involving dealership floor plan balances in excess of $25 million. He successfully defended GMAC in a federal court lender liability lawsuit filed against GMAC; pursued replevin actions to recover motor vehicles subject to GMAC’s floor plan in state courts in both Missouri and Kansas; and successfully defended GMAC against post-bankruptcy recovery actions by bankruptcy trustees.

He is counsel to Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. nationally on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights cases, having appeared in over 100 cases in more than a dozen states. He also recovered in excess of $7 million for Dairy Farmers of America in the bankruptcy proceeding of one of its largest bottling plant customers in Illinois and defended it in multiple cases from Florida to Idaho.

Mr. Sutton’s representative clients include U.S. Engineering Company, Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., General Motors Corporation, Ally Financial, Woodley Building Maintenance, Beachner Brothers, Beachner Grain, Inc., and Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.

Court Memberships

• California Supreme Court
• Missouri
• Missouri Supreme Court
• U.S. Claims Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri
• U.S. Supreme Court

Honors

• Martindale-Hubbell® “AV” Rating

Professional Affiliations

• American Bar Association, Fidelity & Surety Law Committee
• American Bar Association - Forum on the Construction Industry
• The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Commercial Law Committee
• The Missouri Bar, Construction Law Committee

Presentations

• “Contractor’s Default-The Surety’s Right to Take the Materials,” The Construction Lawyer, ABA Forum on the Construction Industry
• “Liability of Architects and Engineers Under Missouri Law,” Cambridge Institute
• Rights of Secured Creditors in Bankruptcy in Missouri, National Business Institute, Inc., “Commercial Law for the Creditor and Debtor,” The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association