Credentials
Education
- Washington University, St. Louis – J.D. 1986
- University of Missouri, St. Louis – B.S.B.A. 1982
Legal Services
- Commercial & Civil Litigation
- Personal Injury
- Construction
- Business Disputes
- Trust – Will Disputes
- Class Actions
- Appellate Practice
- Medical Malpractice
Bar Admissions
- Illinois
- Missouri
Court Admissions
- Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
- United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- United States Tax Court
William J. Niehoff
Bio
William J. (Bill) Niehoff is Vice President and Shareholder at Mathis, Marifian & Richter, Ltd. who focuses his practice in commercial and civil litigation, personal injury litigation, and construction and contract disputes.
Bill has practiced for more than 30 years representing a wide range of local and international clients in significant matters involving class actions, product liability, personal injury, employment agreements, contract disputes and construction litigation. Since joining MM&R in June 2000, Bill has worked cases that have returned commercial settlements, civil settlements and judgments for his clients in excess of $50 million. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts in a wide range of jurisdictions, including Illinois, Missouri, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and West Virginia. He has also represented clients before the Missouri Public Service Commission, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Tax Court. Bill has represented automobile manufacturers, national and international manufacturers, hospitals, physicians, railroads, utilities, large and small business owners, and individuals.
Over the course of his career, he has also assisted in the reorganization and formation of holding companies for several of the largest Midwestern energy companies as well as developing and implementing regulatory compliance programs for energy companies. Bill has acted as outside general counsel for growing companies assisting in all facets of legal services. Bill is also the author of Chapter 7 on product defect in Illinois Products Liability published by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing.
Professional Affiliations
Bill is licensed in Illinois and Missouri and is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Southern District of Illinois, the Eastern District of Missouri and the Central District of Illinois, Appellate Courts of Illinois and Missouri, the Illinois and Missouri Supreme Courts and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Bill is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois Bar Association, The Missouri Bar, the St. Clair County Bar Association, and the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. He is an accomplished author and speaker, and has testified before the Missouri General Assembly on electric deregulation issues.
Bill is recognized as a Leading Lawyer, a distinction held by less than 5% of attorneys, in his practice areas of personal injury, commercial law and litigation.
Practice Highlights
Litigation
Veath Fish Farm, LLC v. Purina Animal Nutrition, LLC. Case No. 17-CV-0303-MJR (2019). Represented plaintiffs in product liability and consumer fraud claim regarding allegedly defective animal feed.
Ambrosia Land Investments v. Heritage Coal Company, 521 F.2d 778 (Seventh Cir. 2008). We represented a land owner who suffered extensive mine subsidence damage. In the first decision of its kind, the Seventh Circuit held that as a matter of law, the mine company owed an absolute duty to provide subsurface support and was therefore liable to our client. This resulted in a significant recovery for our client.
Wrongful death litigation on behalf of parents of a University of Missouri student who died when a tractor trailer driver crossed over the median of Highway 44 near St. James, Mo. We obtained a settlement nearing eight figures for the family. (2006 WL 1004882).
Patent declaratory judgment action suit on behalf of small business man accused of patent infringement.
Represented a bank customer who claimed that the defendant lost or stole a rare coin and precious metal collateral. We obtained for our client a settlement valued in excess of $20,000,000.00.
Represented a shop owner, who was the victim of an armed robbery. The defendant was the heir to a personal injury settlement. We sued the defendant and obtained a $3.1 million dollar verdict. We later were able to successfully obtain payment for much of the claim from the defendants assets.
Represented a consumer products manufacturer in litigated matters, including consumer warranty cases and other product defect claims nationwide. We represented the client in Missouri, Illinois, California, Mississippi, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other locations.
Represented a wrongful death litigation case on behalf of a widow and two minor children arising from the death of husband and father in a traffic accident. The case was filed in June 2001, set for trial and settled in March 2002 for a seven figure dollar amount.
Represented a defendant in four class action lawsuits asserting various consumer claims arising from the sale of extended warranties and credit life.
Represented a defendant in class action litigation arising out of acquisition of rights of-way.
Castellano v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.: United States District Court, Southern District of Illinois. This was a commercial litigation case involving claims for RICO, fraud and breach of lease. The last demand was $2.2 million at pre-trial settlement conference, and the verdict was in favor of Wal-Mart. Affirmed on appeal 373 F.3d 817 (7th Cir. 2004).
Circuit Court, St. Louis County, Missouri: Representation in real estate litigation involving partition and sale of certain property.
United States District Court, New Jersey: Commercial litigation concerning termination of a distributor.
Administrative Law, Transactional and Energy
Kansas City Power and Light Company. We assisted our client in the formation of a holding company and helped with corporate restructuring issues and new unregulated investment opportunities, including telecommunications businesses.
Laclede Gas Company. We assisted our client in the formation of a holding company, and we helped with corporate restructuring issues and new non-utility investment opportunities. We also assisted the company with the formation and operation of new ventures subsidiaries and regulatory issues.
Exelon Corporation. We provided counsel to Exelon Corporation to assist with the $37 billion dollar merger between Unicom Corporation (parent of Commonwealth Edison Company) and PECO Energy Company. This merger created one of the largest electric utilities in the United States. We assisted the client with merger-related regulatory issues, corporate transactional issues, corporate restructuring and new investment opportunities.
Reported Decisions
Ambrosia Land Investments, LLC v. Peabody Coal Co., F.3d, 2008 WL 942617, C.A. (Ill.), April 09, 2008 (No. 07-1945)
Maverick Technologies v. Shelton, Slip Copy, 2008 WL 631194, S.D.Ill. March 5, 2008 (No. 07-297)
Maschhoff West, L.L.C. v. Berry Nursery,, Slip Copy 2008 WL 111297, S.D.Ill. January 10, 2008 (No. 08-CV-20)
Wilke Window & Door Co. v. Peabody Coal Co., Slip Copy, 2007 WL 924463, S.D.Ill. March 27, 2007 (No. 05-CV-371)
Rauckman Utility Products, L.L.C. v. Tyco Electronic Logistics AG, Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2006 WL 2349945, S.D.Ill., August 11, 2006 (No. 06-133)
Trotter v. B&W Cartage Co., Inc., Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2006 WL 1388754, S.D.Ill., May 15, 2006 (No. 05-CV-205)
Trotter v. B&W Cartage Co., Inc., Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2006 WL 1004882, S.D.Ill., April 13, 2006 (No. 05-CV-205)
Clifton v. Casino Queen, Inc., Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2006 WL 644769, S.D.Ill. March 9, 2006 (No. 05-CV-129)
Allianz Ins. Co. v. Lexington Ins. Co., 179 S.W.3d 478, Mo.App. E.D., December 20, 2005 (No. ED86039)
Midkiff v. Gingrich, 355 Ill.App.3d 857, 824 N.E.2d 1144, 291 Ill.Dec. 894, Ill.App. 5 Dist., February 17, 2005 (No. 5-03-0059)
Castellano v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 373 F.3d 817, C.A.7 (Ill.), June 4, 2004 (No. 03- 2953)
Illinois Power Co. v. Illinois Commerce Com’n, 316 Ill.App.3d 254, 736 N.E.2d 196, 249 Ill.Dec. 354, Util. L. Rep. P 26,752, Illinois.App. 5 Dist., September 6, 2000 (No. 5-98-0808)
Publications
Illinois Products Liability, Chapter 7, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing
Awards
Top Commercial Litigation Lawyer – Chicago Law Bulletin – December 2018