Tyler W. Hudson

Partner

Phone Number: 816.701.1177

4740 Grand Avenue Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64112

In Brief

Head of Wagstaff & Cartmell’s commercial litigation and class action practice

Lead counsel in high-stakes, complex commercial litigation matters nationwide, including financial fraud and antitrust class actions

Served as Senior Counsel on the Financial Fraud Taskforce in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement

Ty Hudson is a partner in the firm with more than 20 years of complex litigation experience.

Since joining the firm, he has played prominent roles in some of the most complex cases in the country, and has tried cases in state and federal courts, as well as JAMS, AAA, and FINRA arbitration. He has also argued cases before various appellate courts.

Prior to joining Wagstaff & Cartmell, Ty was a Senior Counsel on the financial fraud taskforce in the enforcement division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington D.C., a litigator in the trial practice group at the Washington D.C office of Jones Day, and a law clerk to the Honorable John W. Lungstrum, then-Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

Ty has extensive experience prosecuting class actions.  He leads the firm’s class practice which according to Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, is “[k]nown for its expertise in complex commercial and antitrust class actions.” He has helped to recover hundreds of millions of dollars for victims of corporate wrongdoing and has been appointed by judges to leadership positions and played key roles in class actions and MDLs across the country.  He is particularly experienced in developing and handling antitrust and civil RICO cases.

Ty’s practice also involves representing businesses, individuals, and public entities in commercial litigation—often as plaintiffs on a contingency fee.  He is experienced in a wide range of complex business litigation and has handled a variety of cases, including antitrust, breach of contract, financial and investment fraud, qui tam/false claims act, professional malpractice, and other business torts.  He also has been retained by bankruptcy trustees to investigate potential wrongdoing and recoup financial losses and has successfully represented clients who have been pursued by bankruptcy trustees.

Ty’s successful representation of clients has earned him recognition as “Best of the Bar” by the Kansas City Business Journal. For more than a decade, he has been selected to Kansas and Missouri Super Lawyers, which is limited to no more than 5% of the attorneys in each state.

Ty is a graduate of Baker University, magna cum laude, with a degree in accounting.  He graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law, magna cum laude, where he was a member of the Law Review, the National Moot Court Team, and Order of the Coif.

 

Notable Litigation

Representing Class Plaintiffs:

  • Custom Hair Designs by Sandy v. Central Payment Co., LLC, No. 8:17-cv-00310 (D. Neb.):  Court-appointed lead counsel for a nationwide class of more than 185,000 small businesses asserting civil RICO and state law claims arising from an alleged overbilling fraud scheme for credit card processing services.  Led the case through a successful appeal affirming class certification, 984 F.3d 595, 2020 WL 7755459 (8th Cir.), and through summary judgment to the eve of a class trial in the District of Nebraska, achieving a common fund settlement of $84 million for the class two weeks before trial.
  • In re: JUUL Labs, Inc. Marketing, Sales Practices and Product Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2913 (N.D. Cal.):  Worked closely with class counsel to develop and prosecute a civil RICO theory for school district and class plaintiffs.  Led the strategy and briefing on the RICO theory, handled two successful oral arguments, and was part of the trial team for the San Francisco Unified School District. Class plaintiff settlements with all defendants totaled $300 million.
  • In re Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation, 27-CV-153785 (Hennepin County, Minnesota Fourth Judicial District): One of nine attorneys appointed by the court to prosecute a consolidation of more than 50,000 individual actions and a Minnesota state-wide class action.  In 2018, a federal court gave final approval to a nationwide global settlement of $1.51 billion for all plaintiffs.
  • Dahl v. Bain Capital Partners LLC, No. 1:07-cv-12388 (D. Mass.):  Counsel for shareholder plaintiffs and argued in opposition to summary judgment motions in this case challenging collusion by private equity firms in leveraged buyouts that settled for $590.5 million shortly after summary judgment was denied.
  • In re Surescripts Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:19-cv-06627 (N.D. Ill.):  Court-appointed interim co-lead counsel in this putative class action alleging illegal monopolization and restraint of trade by Surescripts and others to overcharge pharmacies nationwide for electronic-prescription services.

Representing Public Entities:   

  • Commercial Arbitration re: 2003 NPM Adjustment Proceedings. (JAMS Arbitration). When Wagstaff & Cartmell was hired by the Kansas Attorney General to act as private counsel for Kansas in a $1.1 billion arbitration involving 35 states and the largest U.S. tobacco companies, served as lead trial counsel for Kansas at the individual state hearing before a panel of three former federal judges in Chicago. Kansas settled the dispute after the arbitration hearing but before a final decision by the panel, preserving hundreds of millions of dollars of contract payments for the state.
  • In re JUUL Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2913 (N.D. Cal.):  Represented school districts in litigation arising from the nationwide youth e-cigarette epidemic.  Worked alongside co-lead counsel on the prosecution of the RICO claims and selected to handle oral arguments for plaintiffs on dispositive motions challenging the RICO and government entity claims.  According to media reports, settlements for all plaintiffs total nearly $2 billion.
  • In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804 (N.D. Ohio):  Represented counties, cities and other government entity plaintiffs in the massive litigation arising from the nationwide prescription opioid epidemic.  Worked alongside plaintiffs’ leadership team in the MDL on bellwether cases, including assisting with financial experts and prosecution of the case against opiate distributors.

Representing Businesses and Individuals in Commercial Disputes:

  • Co-lead counsel for hotel franchisee against global hotel franchisor, obtaining confidential eight-figure settlement for client after five years of litigation.
  • Lead counsel in a legal malpractice action against an Am Law 20 international law firm, obtaining confidential seven-figure settlement for client.
  • Lead counsel for regional banks in breach of fiduciary duty and contract dispute arising from financial loans and participation agreements relating to a failed real estate venture.  Confidential seven-figure settlement for clients.
  • Lead counsel for defendant in a contract dispute over whether warrant agreements should adjust for stock splits. Obtained a preliminary injunction against the plaintiff. Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case after the ruling on the preliminary injunction.
  • Successfully represented numerous business owners in business disputes with partners or co-owners.
  • Lead counsel in a $13 million action brought by a bankruptcy trustee. Obtained summary judgment on all claims, and successfully argued an appeal at the Tenth Circuit.

Representing SEC Whistleblowers:

  • As a former enforcement attorney at the SEC, represented multiple individuals reporting securities laws violations to the SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower.

Notable Litigation

  • In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL 2804 (N.D. Ohio)

    The Wagstaff & Cartmell team is involved in this prescription opiate litigation MDL. Ty Hudson worked with a team of lawyers to help prosecute the case against prescription drug distributors in the initial MDL bellwether cases, which resulted in settlements totaling more than $260 million. The next phase of the litigation is on-going. Eric D. Barton is representing dozens of county and c

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  • In Re: Surescripts Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.)

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, served as the court-appointed interim co-lead counsel in a putative class action against the dominant provider of electronic prescription routing services to pharmacies alleging illegal monopolization and other antitrust violations by the company and alleged co-conspirators.

  • In Re: Syngenta Litigation Case No. 27-cv-15-3785 (Hennepin County, Minnesota District Court)

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, was appointed to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee of nine attorneys selected to prosecute a consolidation of more than 50,000 individual actions and a Minnesota state-wide class action brought by corn farmers and other entities against Syngenta alleging that the company prematurely released genetically modified corn seed that led to a de facto embargo

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  • Skip’s Precision Welding, et al. v. Central Payment Co. (D. Neb.)

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, served as the court-appointed lead counsel for a certified class of more than 200,000 merchants suing an independent sales organization for breach of contract, fraud, and RICO violations alleging the company engaged in a scheme to overbill small businesses on credit card processing fees.

  • Dahl et al. v. Bain Capital Partners, LLC et al., No. 07-cv-12388 (D. Mass.)

    In late 2007, several shareholders who sold shares of stock to some of the largest U.S. private equity firms in leveraged-buyout transactions brought an antitrust action. They alleged that collusion had suppressed the price that they were paid for their shares of stock in these transactions that involved buying multi-billion-dollar U.S. public companies. In 2015, after almost seven years of conten

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  • In Re: Asacol Litigation (D. Mass)

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, as court appointed co-lead counsel, prosecuted an illegal monopolization case arising from an alleged hard switch product hop. Judgments for the three named plaintiffs were entered by the court against defendants totaling more than $2.7 million.

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  • NPM Adjustment Arbitration (State of Kansas), Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement

    In 1998, the major tobacco companies reached a $206 billion global settlement with 48 states memorialized in the landmark Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). In 2008, the tobacco companies initiated an arbitration proceeding against 35 states under a provision in the MSA contending that they were entitled to a $1.1 billion adjustment to their contract payments for the year 2003. The Kansas Attorney

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  • Hotel Case

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, acted as lead counsel for a Kansas City-based hotel franchisee in a complex commercial fraud and contract action against an international hotel franchisor. He helped obtain a confidential settlement for the client after more than five years of litigation.

  • Banking Case

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, acted as lead counsel for 15 community banks in a dispute arising from a commercial loan and related participation agreement on a failed real estate venture. He helped obtain seven-figure settlement for clients.

  • Confidential Settlement – TV Station Acquisition

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, obtained a confidential settlement for the buyer of a TV station in an action arising from alleged fraud in a multi-million-dollar acquisition.

  • Confidential Seven-Figure Settlement

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, served as lead counsel for investors and limited partners who obtained a confidential, seven-figure settlement in a dispute arising from allegations of fraud by general partner in connection with multi-million-dollar investment and partnership transactions.

  • Watco Companies Lead Counsel

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, serves as lead counsel for a billion-dollar short-line railroad and transportation company, Watco Companies, or its related entities, in various complex litigation matters.

  • Multimillion-Dollar Contract Dispute – St. Luke’s Health System

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, obtained summary judgment for St. Luke’s Health System in a multimillion-dollar contract dispute and successfully argued the appeal.

  • Am Law 20 Firm Legal Malpractice

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, served as lead counsel in a legal malpractice action against an Am Law 20 law firm that resulted in a confidential, seven-figure settlement after two years of litigation.

  • $13 Million Action By Bankruptcy Trustee

    Wagstaff & Cartmell attorney, Ty Hudson, served as lead counsel for an international consulting company in a $13 million action brought by a bankruptcy trustee. Obtained summary judgment on all claims against clients, and successfully argued an appeal at the Tenth Circuit.

  • JUUL Labs, Inc., MDL No. 2913

    Wagstaff & Cartmell is involved in this MDL against JUUL Labs, Inc. Tom Cartmell has been appointed the Plaintiff’s Government Entity Liaison Counsel of the JUUL Labs Inc. MDL in the Northern District of California in front of the Honorable William H. Orrick.

Practice Areas

Other Practice Areas

  • Antitrust Litigation
  • Arbitration
  • Bankruptcy-Related Litigation
  • Business Disputes
  • Consumer Fraud
  • Securities and Investments Litigation
  • Whistleblowers and False Claims Act

Prior Work

Senior Counsel, Financial Fraud Task Force, Enforcement Division, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2007−2008
Associate, Trial Practice Group, Jones Day, 2003−2007
Law Clerk to the Hon. John W. Lungstrum, U.S. District Court, District of Kansas, 2001−2003

Education

  • J.D., University of Kansas School of Law, 2001
  • B.S., Baker University, 1998

Honors + Awards

Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters – 2013 to present

Best of the Bar, Kansas City Business Journal

Rising Star, Kansas City Magazine – 2011, 2012

AV Rating by Martindale-Hubbell