(l-r) Todd Ruskamp, Patrick Kenney, and Russell Shankland of Shook, Hardy & Bacon. Courtesy photosLitigators of the Week: After a 74-Day Trial, Shook Fends Off Claims From Artist’s Heirs Against UMB Bank
Lawyers for Thomas Hart Benton’s heirs were seeking hundreds of millions of dollars based on claims UMB Bank mismanaged the family trust for the artist at the forefront of the Regionalist movement and lost more than 100 of his works. A judge in Kansas City awarded just $35,000 for five works unaccounted for by the bank, represented at trial by Todd Ruskamp, Patrick Kenney and Russell Shankland of Shook, Hardy & Bacon.
December 20, 2024 at 08:30 AM
10 minute read
Lawyers for the heirs of Thomas Hart Benton—an artist at the forefront of the Regionalist movement—were seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from UMB Bank at trial last year. They claimed the bank mismanaged the family trust Benton and his wife set up to benefit his children and grandchildren and lost more than 100 of his works.
But after a bench trial conducted over 74 days last year, Circuit Judge Mark Styles Jr. in Kansas City, Missouri, awarded just $35,000 for five works unaccounted for by the bank.
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