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Howard Becker is admitted to the Missouri and Illinois Bars. Mr. Becker attended the University of Missouri at Columbia (B.S.W., 1977); Washington University (M.S.W., 1979); and St. Louis University (J.D., 1985), where he was the recipient of the Everett Hullverson Award for Trial Advocacy and elected to the School's Law Review. He is a member of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; Illinois State Bar Association; The Missouri Bar; and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. Mr. Becker concentrates his practice in complex litigation.

Howard B. Becker has over twenty years experience in the courtroom. He has tried cases for both plaintiffs and defendants before juries throughout Missouri and Illinois. As a result, he has developed a reputation for aggressive advocacy which has resulted in success for his clients.  Mr. Becker has recently been appointed as lead or co-lead class counsel in Metro Kirby v. Farmers Insurance Co., Wilgus v. Cybersource and Sullivan v. DeBeers. His experience in litigation includes the following cases:

Sullivan v. DeBeers: This is a national class action brought against the manufacturer of gemstone diamonds for violations of Federal and State anti-trust and consumer protection laws. After years of litigation, a historic settlement was reached for over 295 million dollars along with injunctive relief. The final fairness hearing was held in April of 2008 and the District Court approved the settlement in all respects.

John Doe v. Gateway Regional Medical Center (confidential). In this case, a middle aged man with a wife and two children presented to the emergency room complaining of chest pains. The emergency room doctors released him and advised to follow up with his internist and urologist. The patient complied with these instructions, however seven days later he died from a massive heart attack. Suit was brought against the hospital and the internist for failing to intervene properly thereby causing the patient's death. The suit was defended aggressively but shortly before trial it was settled for seven figures.

Baby Doe (confidential) v. Cardinal Glennon et al. Baby Doe was in fetal distress, but was not delivered promptly. As a result, he was born with cerebral palsy.  Becker brought the action for malpractice, taking the lead on liability issues. The case was settled shortly before trial for seven figures.

Peaker v. Stokes. This was a rear-end accident case defended by Mr. Becker. Plaintiff was suffering from partial paralysis and claimed total disability. After ten days of trial, the jury returned a verdict which was one fifth of the pretrial offer made.

Payton v. City of Matton. Doug Payton suffered catastrophic injuries after diving into a pond on City property. In his first plaintiff's case, Mr. Becker brought an action for damages claiming the City should have warned that the pond was too shallow for diving. The case was filed in Federal Court and shortly before trial the parties reached a confidential structured settlement. After the settlement, his client, a quadriplegic, was able to finish school, work and live independently for fifteen years prior to his death from unrelated causes.

Washington v. Illinois Power Company. While climbing a tree, Jacob Washington, age 14, reached out for a limb but grabbed a utility wire. He was electrocuted in front of his mother and father. In the late 1980's, Becker filed suit for wrongful death in Madison County, Illinois. The case was settled for six figures after defendant's forum motion was briefed, argued, appealed and lost.

Baby Doe v. xxx Hospital (confidential) et al. In this case, Mr.  Becker was able to prove that a hospital and attending OB/GYN were negligent and responsible for failing to timely deliver a baby experiencing hypoxia in the forty minutes before birth. This child was ultimately diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The hospital claimed to have lost the fetal monitoring strip and the doctor denied any wrongdoing. The case was settled on the eve of trial for seven figures.

Mims v. Pointer et al. Julie Mims, a single parent who made a living witnessing tables, suffered severe injuries to her head effecting her balance when a piece of furniture tipped over crashing on top of her in a St. Louis restaurant. Becker brought suit seeking medical bills and lost wages. Defendants offered nothing and the case was tried. After three days of trial the jury returned a verdict  awarding plaintiff her medical bills, lost wages, future medical bills, future lost wages and amounts for past, present and future pain and suffering.

Thorpe v. Wal-Mart. Rose Thorpe was preparing Sunday supper for her children and grandchildren. This was quite a production and to calm her nerves, she helped herself to an orange juice and vodka. Realizing that she needed a few more things for dinner, she went to Wal-Mart for groceriews. It was raining that day but the people at Wal-Mart did not dry the floor of the store and when Rose walked into the store she slipped, fell and broke her knee. After removing the case to Federal Court, Wal-Mart refused to settle claiming the accident was entirely due to her inability to see an open and obvious danger.  Becker took the case to trial and, after four days, the jury returned a six figure verdict which was three times the amount demanded before trial.

Buttram v. (confidential) Motor Company. In a matter of seconds, a young healthy teenager suffered catastrophic injuries when the front axle of his car broke, causing him to roll over several times.  The original lawyer hired by the family failed to retain the car making proof of liability extremely difficult. Becker was brought into the case with another trial lawyer, suit was filed and both worked the case up for three years. The case was settled before trial for a seven figure amount.

Tyson v. (confidential) Trucking Company. A twelve year old girl took great risks by crossing an interstate. She was struck by a truck and suffered fractures to her face, arms, back and legs. Mr. Becker took the case after three attorneys before him had given up. Through investigation, Mr. Becker located an eyewitness who testified that the truck driver was driving erratically, as if he were falling asleep. The case was settled for a confidential six figure amount without filing suit.

Williams v. American Family. American Family refused to pay their policyholders after a tornado all but destroyed their home. Becker brought this action and after a week long trial, a rural jury awarded damages, attorneys' fees and an additional amount for vexatious refusal to pay.

Keys v. Rothman Furniture and Ashley Industries. Mr. Becker represented two defendants in this product liability action. Plaintiff alleged injuries to her shoulder and neck, including past surgery and future surgery. After three days of trial, the jury returned a defense verdict on behalf of both of Mr. Becker's clients.
Niemyer v. Imo's et al. Mr. Becker represented Imo's Franchising, Inc. in this catastrophic injury case involving a husband and wife who were injured when an Imo's Franchisees lost control of a delivery car, crossed over the center line and crashed head on with the Plaintiffs' vehicle. There were significant issues of franchise law involved and the case settled for several million dollars with Imo's paying a small proportion of the total settlement.

Freese v. Kamer. This was a fire case defended by Mr. Becker. Plaintiffs alleged that Defendant allowed a fire on his property get out of hand, destroying 220 acres of Plaintiffs' property along with items of personal property. The Plaintiffs also alleged lost income and future profits. After four days of trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Plaintiffs, but the amount of the verdict was less than 20% of Mr. Becker's clients' final offer before trial.

Walker v. Curion. This was a product liability action defended by Mr. Becker. Plaintiff sustained catastrophic injuries when an elevator failed. Plaintiff's special damages approached $800,000.00, but Mr. Becker was able to settle the case for $150,000.00 two days before trial.

Lesage v. Dirt Cheap Cigarettes & Beer. An employee of retail shop was shot and killed during a hold-up involving one of its former employees. The woman who was killed was 8 months pregnant at the time and her fetus was also killed. Robert Lesage brought suit claiming that he was the father of the unborn fetus. Becker was retained to represent the defendant retail store and was successful in having the case dismissed in front of the Circuit Court for the City of St. Louis claiming that Lesage had failed to establish paternity.

Merrell v. Kline Iron & Steel Co., Inc., et al. Plaintiffs' decedent fell 940 feet to his death while working on the construction of a television transmission tower. Mr. Becker, on behalf of his client, Kline Iron & Steel Co., Inc., was successful in having the case dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals agreed and affirmed the dismissal of the case and the State Supreme Court refused transfer.