Eric L. Dirks, Attorney

Eric began his career as an associate at Kansas City's largest law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon. At Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Eric represented well-known corporate clients in the areas of products liability, class actions and complex litigation. Eric joined Stueve Siegel Hanson in 2005 where he now spends his time representing consumers, workers, retirees and small-to-mid size businesses. Eric's litigation practice includes: class actions, products liability, wage and hour, commercial litigation, trademark and copyright infringement and antitrust.

Eric attended the University of Iowa for law school where he received his J.D., with high distinction and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Eric received his B.A. in English from the University of Kansas in 1999. Before college, Eric enlisted in the United States Army Reserves where he was a medic and went on to obtain the rank of Sergeant.

EXAMPLES OF ERIC'S RECENT CASES AT STUEVE SIEGEL HANSON

The following is a representative example of some of the cases Eric has recently prosecuted:
Overlap, Inc. v. A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. -- Eric tried this case before a Jackson County, Missouri jury who awarded approximately $7.1 million dollars (pre-merger) to a computer software developer for breach of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Plaintiff Overlap, Inc. claimed that A.G. Edwards violated its software license agreement by loading the software on more than fifty computers and then making the reports from the software available to all of its stock brokers. Plaintiff further alleged that the defendant had misrepresented the nature and extent of its use of the software. At trial, Overlap, Inc., argued that A.G. Edwards knew that it was prohibited from sharing the reports generated by the software with its brokers, but nevertheless continued to use it in such a manner without telling plaintiff. Defendant A.G. Edwards argued that the terms of the software license agreement permitted its use of the software. The trial lasted eight days and after two hours of deliberation, the jury found in favor of plaintiff Overlap. Among the jury's awards was a punitive damages award for $2.3 million.

Garcia, et. al. v. Tyson Foods, Inc. et. al. -- Eric represents a class of workers at Tyson's Emporia, Kansas and Holcomb, Kansas facilities. The plaintiffs allege they are not paid for the time they spend putting on and taking off protective clothing and gear and the time they spend walking throughout the huge meat processing facilities. The Garcia case comes on the heels of a recent decision -- Alvarez v. IBP, Inc, -- where the Supreme Court ruled that federal law requires employers to pay for the time their meat processing plant workers spend changing in and out of required protective clothing and for the time walking throughout the facility. The plaintiffs won a major victory in defeating Tyson's bid for summary judgment and the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed Tyson's appeal after extensive briefing on the issue. Most recently, the trial court granted class and collective action certification of a class of approximately 13,000 workers.

In re Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Overtime Pay Litigation -- Eric represents a nationwide class of loan originators who were classified as ineligible for overtime pay. The class seeks a declaration that the class members were legally entitled to overtime pay and seeks reimbursement for unpaid overtime wages. The United States District Court has certified the case as a nationwide class and collective action involving more than 20,000 class members.

In re Wells Fargo Loan Processor Overtime Litigation Eric represents a nationwide class of non-exempt team members who allege they were not fully compensated for the time they spent working for Wells Fargo. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Levy Premium Foodservice v. Ehlert Development Corp. -- Eric obtained a settlement in a case involving a breach of contract dispute between the Kansas City T-Bones and their former food service provider, Levy Restaurants. The case was pending in Kansas state court before it was successfully resolved in 2007.

Past Employment Positions
Shook, Hardy & Bacon