John F. Wilcox

Bio Between his time as a prosecutor and his subsequent civil practice, John is an experienced litigator who has tried hundreds of cases to verdict. Since joining Dysart Taylor in 2000, he has helped clients in the areas of transportation and logistics, products liability, retail/premise liability, insurance defense, and mediation/arbitration. In his transportation practice, John represents clients in the trucking industry, advising and defending motor carriers, drivers, 3PLs, shippers, manufacturers and governmental entities in wrongful death, serious personal injury and property claims. John is a past president of the Transportation Lawyers Association and served as co-chair of the Missouri Bar Tort & Transportation Law Committee. John became a director at the firm in 2004 and led the firm as its managing director from 2012 through 2014. In 2023, he was elected as Dysart Taylors president, where he focuses on the long-term direction of the firm. Prior to joining Dysart Taylor, John served as a prosecutor in Kansas. During that time, he prosecuted a wide array of cases, including state-level felony violent crimes, sex crimes and drug offenses. In addition, he argued multiple cases before the Kansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and taught criminal procedure at the Police Academy in Lawrence, Kansas. Bar and Court Admissions Kansas Missouri United States District Court - Kansas United States District Court - Western District of Missouri United States District Court - Eastern District of Missouri United States District Court - Northern District of Illinois United States Court of Appeals - Eighth Circuit United States Court of Appeals - Tenth Circuit Experience As lead counsel, obtained summary judgment for a trucking company and its driver in a negligence case in which the catastrophically injured plaintiff was claiming damages of $20M. Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a state transportation department in a personal injury case involving a motorcycle crash. As lead counsel, secured a defense verdict in what is believed to be the first federal jury trial held in Dodge City, Kansas. The plaintiff brought a premise liability case against the client, a large food processor, and claimed damages in excess of $430,000. Successfully defended clients against $8.5 million claim alleging theyd breached their duty of loyalty to a plaintiff trucking company and tortiously interfered with the plaintiffs business expectancy. The plaintiff also claimed that the defendants should be enjoined from competing with it. The Circuit Court granted motions for summary judgment and to dismiss after discovery. Achieved a significant arbitration victory for a state transportation agency involving an accident between a pickup truck and a motorcycle. The three member arbitration panel found unanimously for the client on all counts. Co-counsel in case in which the Kansas Court of Appeals upheld the District Courts grant of summary judgment in favor of the client, a major truck box manufacturer. Retained prosecutor in a case in which the defendant was convicted of aggravated arson. Co-counsel and author of prevailing appellate brief in which the Tenth Circuit reversed the District Courts grant of summary judgment, holding that opposing ERISA plan administrator acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying benefits. Served as second chair trial counsel for a major interstate trucking company and the family of its driver, in a landmark wrongful death case. A runaway negligent commercial driver and his employer were identified and successfully prosecuted in a civil case through the use of satellite communication records. Lead trial prosecutor for a case in which the defendant was convicted of two counts of attempted second-degree murder. Served as appellate counsel in a case in which the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed the defendants convictions of first-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery. Co-trial prosecutor in a case in which the defendant was convicted of depraved-heart second degree murder. Trial prosecutor in a case in which the defendant was convicted of rape.