Lindsay Todd Perkins

Lindsay Todd Perkins focuses her practice on legal writing and oral advocacy. Recognized as a 2020 “Rising Star” by Law360 and a 2022 “Super Lawyer,” she develops strategies and arguments for briefings to the court; interprets laws, rulings and regulations; and drafts complaints, memoranda, and appellate briefs, and argues case dispositive motions at hearings before the court.

In one recent matter, Lindsay served on the trial team in Vogt v. State Farm Life Insurance Co., a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri that alleged the insurance company overcharged its policyholders for 23 years. The case resulted in a $34 million verdict after just two hours of jury deliberations. Lindsay prepared the jury instructions and successful post-trial and appellate briefing, including prevailing on obtaining an additional nearly $5 million for the class in prejudgment interest.

In another matter, Spegele v. USAA Life Insurance Company, Lindsay drafted the class certification briefing in a case alleging the defendant life insurance company improperly charged its policyholders excessive fees for the cost of insurance. The federal district court for the Western District of Texas ultimately certified a nationwide class. The lawsuit settled soon thereafter for $90 million.

Lindsay also drafted the class certification briefing in another cost of insurance overcharge case, Larson v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company. The California state court ultimately certified a nationwide class, and the lawsuit settled soon thereafter for $59.75 million.

Lindsay also took primary drafting responsibility for the appeal in a class action matter, Bezich v. The Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. She successfully defended the certification of the class of plaintiffs who alleged inappropriate fees and charges on their life insurance policies. The lawsuit was resolved with a settlement valued at approximately $171.8 million.

Lindsay also focuses a significant portion of her practice on data and privacy litigation, taking a lead role in preparing the pleadings and briefing in cases against Capital One, Marriott and the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, among others. In the case against Capital One, Lindsay was the lead presenter at a multi-hour hearing on the parties’ summary judgment motions. The case ultimately settled for $190 million.

Lindsay honed her legal writing and analysis during two clerkships after law school; she served as a law clerk for Judge Duane Benton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and Judge Ortrie Smith of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. She credits this experience with building her understanding of the inner-workings of the court and the most persuasive arguments.

Prior to joining Stueve Siegel Hanson, she practiced commercial and employment litigation at Spencer Fane LLP.

News

Experience

Over the past 10 years, Lindsay has successfully represented a variety of clients in complex civil lawsuits at both the trial court and appellate levels in courts across the country. She has defended and/or prosecuted claims in the areas of business litigation, employment, and class actions.

Examples of Recent Cases

Lindsay served on the trial team in Karr v. Kansas City Life Insurance Co., 1916-CV26645, a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 8,000 current and former Missouri policy owners for overcharges to the cash values of universal life insurance products issued by Kansas City Life. In December 2022, after two hours of deliberations, a unanimous Jackson County, Missouri jury awarded $28.4 million to the class. The jury awarded full damages on all three counts of breach of contract, which alleged Kansas City Life systematically overcharged the class of policyholders over the past 30 years.

Lindsay represents numerous policyholders in federal and state courts across the country against a variety of life insurance companies. For example, in Vogt v. State Farm Life Insurance Company, Lindsay sued State Farm on behalf of a policy owner claiming State Farm was impermissibly draining his life insurance account with improper deductions.  The case went to trial and the jury returned a verdict in favor of Lindsay’s client and the class of Missouri State Farm policyholders in the amount of $34,333,495.81 which was affirmed on appeal.

Lindsay drafted the class certification briefing in Spegele v. USAA Life Insurance Company, a class action alleging that USAA overcharged policy owners by including unauthorized charges in its cost of insurance charge in violation of the contract. In 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas certified a nationwide class of over 70,000 policy owners, and the lawsuit settled soon thereafter for $90 million.

Additionally, in Larson v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), pending in the Superior Court for the State of California in Alameda County, Lindsay represented a policyholder who bought a policy from John Hancock Life Insurance Company.  In essence, the lawsuit alleged that John Hancock breached the life insurance policy by deducting funds from the policyholder’s account that were not authorized by the policy. In January 2018, the parties settled the lawsuit for $59,750,000. On May 8, 2018, the court approved the settlement after the final fairness hearing.

Lindsay also represents consumers whose personal information was compromised in corporate data breaches. For example, in Hutton v. National Board of Examiners in Optometry, filed in the District of Maryland, Lindsay worked on behalf of more than 61,000 optometrists who had their personal information compromised by the national optometry board. Following nearly three years of litigation that included a successful appeal to the Fourth Circuit, the Court approved an “outstanding” $3.25 million settlement which permits class members to receive, among other benefits, $1,000 for self-certified time spent dealing with the breach, believed to be the most in any data breach settlement in history.

She was part of the team litigating claims stemming from a data breach Capital One announced in July 2019 that compromised the confidential information of nearly 100 million credit applicants. In the case, In Re: Capital One Customer Data Security Litigation, Lindsay was the lead presenter at a multi-hour hearing on the parties’ summary judgment motions. The case ultimately settled for $190 million.

Additionally, Lindsay represents consumers in multi-district litigation against Marriott and Starwood Hotels following a four-year long data breach that resulted in the unauthorized access of 383 million guest records including nearly 24 million passport numbers. Lindsay is on the team taking a lead role in preparing the substantive briefing in the litigation.

Results

Honors & Recognitions

Law360 “Rising Star” in Cybersecurity and Privacy Law, 2020

Missouri Lawyers Media Up & Coming, 2020

Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer in Class Action/Mass Torts: Plaintiff and Business Litigation, 2022

Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers - Rising Star-Business Litigation, 2012-2021

Missouri Lawyers Media No. 4 Top Plaintiffs’ Verdict of 2022 for $28.36 million awarded in Karr v. Kansas City Life Insurance Company

Missouri Lawyers Media No. 4 Top Plaintiffs’ Verdict of 2018 for $34.3 million awarded in Vogt v. State Farm Life Insurance Co.

American Registry's Top Attorneys - Missouri & Kansas' Outstanding Young Lawyers, 2012

KC Magazine's Top Attorneys - Rising Star in Kansas, 2012

Community & Professional

Youth soccer coach

Lawyers Association of Kansas City – Board of Directors – President 2019-2020