Overview

John represents financial institutions, financing lenders, trade creditors and purchasers of financially distressed businesses involved in disputes comprising commercial interests and bankruptcy matters. Creditor rights and bankruptcy litigation is a significant part of his regular work as he seeks to collect debts, recover collateral, arrange workout plans, restructurings, and other matters relating to financially distressed borrowers.

He also serves as general counsel, or Chancellor, to The Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and its Bishop.

John is the recent Past President of the C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court, located Des Moines, Iowa, and has recently served on the executive committees for the Iowa Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and Iowa State Bar Association’s Federal Practice Committee, serving as President to the latter. John is also a member of the Attorney Admission Fee Fund Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. John is a member of the state bars of Iowa and South Dakota. Prior to joining Whitfield & Eddy Law, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Robert W. Pratt, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Contact John today or call us at 515-288-6041 for more information. 

Experience

Experience

  • Member Attorney, Whitfield & Eddy Law
  • Member, Whitfield & Eddy Law Executive Committee, 2022—present
  • Chair, Whitfield & Eddy Law Business Development Committee, 2020—2021
  • Chair, Whitfield & Eddy Law Litigation Practice Group, 2010—2015
  • Chair, Whitfield & Eddy Law Library Committee
  • Judicial Clerk, Hon. Robert W. Pratt, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa

Activities and Affiliations

  • American Bar Association (Section on Litigation, Section on Business Law)
  • American Bankruptcy Institute
  • Former Member, Attorney Admission Fee Fund Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
  • Executive Committee, C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court, 2015-
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Iowa State Bar Association (Chair, Federal Practice Committee, 2017-2018)
  • Polk County Bar Association

Community

  • Association of United Methodist Church Conference Chancellors
  • WesleyLife Board of Directors, 2022—current

Seminars Recently Attended

  • American Bankruptcy Institute and University of Missouri Kansas City School of Law 2023 Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute, October 2023
  • Iowa State Bar Association Federal Practice Seminar, December 2019
  • All-Iowa Bankruptcy Conference, Iowa Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, October 2019
  • Iowa State Bar Association Federal Practice Seminar, December 2018
  • All-Iowa Bankruptcy Conference, Iowa Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, October 2018
  • Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference, August 2018
  • Iowa State Bar Association Annual Meeting, June 2018
  • Iowa State Bar Association Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Seminar, April 2018
  • All-Iowa Bankruptcy Conference, Iowa Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, November 2017
  • Iowa State Bar Association Annual Meeting, June 2017
  • American Bankruptcy Institute 34th Annual Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2016.
  • Iowa State Bar Association Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Seminar, May 2015
  • American Bankruptcy Institute/UMKC Midwestern Bankruptcy Institute, October 2014.
  • Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference, July 2014.
  • American Bankruptcy Institute Spring Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2014.
  • Iowa State Bar Federal Practice Seminar, December 2013.

News & Events

Honors & Recognitions

Honors & Recognitions

  • Selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law and Litigation - Bankruptcy (2023—2024)
  • Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project: recognized for pro bono work hours in 2011—2012

Cases, Presentations & Publications

Cases, Presentations & Publications

Published Cases:

  • Mahaska Bottling Co., Inc., et al., v. Bottling Group, LLC, et al., 6 F.4th 828 (8th Cir. 2021)

  • MidWestOne Bank v. Heartland Co-op, 941 N.W.2d 876 (Iowa 2020)

  • Mahaska Bottling Co., Inc., et al., v. Pepsico, Inc., et al., 441 F.Supp.3d 745 (SD Iowa 2019)

  • Wells Fargo Equip. Fin., v. Retterath, 928 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2019), reh'g denied (June 17, 2019)
  • Ellingson v. Piercy, No. 2:14-CV-04316-NKL, 2016 WL 4033259 (W.D. Mo. July 27, 2016)
  • In re Civic Partners Sioux City, LLC, 553 B.R. 355 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2016).
  • Nw. Bank v. Sovereign Holdings, Inc., No. 4:15-CV-04066-KES, 2016 WL 727170 (D.S.D. Feb. 23, 2016)
  • In re Civic Partners Sioux City, LLC, No. BR 11-00829, 2015 WL 4127160 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa July 8, 2015), rev'd and remanded, 553 B.R. 355 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2016)
  • Ellingson v. Piercy, No. 2:14-CV-04316-NKL, 2015 WL 3713989 (W.D. Mo. June 15, 2015)
  • In re Civic Partners Sioux City, LLC, 779 F.3d 572 (8th Cir. 2015)
  • Buckeye State Mut. Ins. Co. v. Moens, 944 F. Supp. 2d 678 (N.D. Iowa 2013)
  • Buckeye State Mut. Ins. Co. v. Moens, No. C12-4025-MWB, 2013 WL 1196622 (N.D. Iowa Mar. 25, 2013)
  • United Suppliers, Inc. v. Millard Feed Mill, Inc., 09-CV-107-LRR, 2011 WL 219690 (N.D. Iowa Jan. 21, 2011)
  • United Suppliers, Inc. v. Millard Feed Mill, Inc., 09-CV-107-LRR, 2010 WL 300673 (N.D. Iowa Jan. 19, 2010)
  • F.D.I.C. v. Rubashkin, C09-1026, 2010 WL 3909858 (N.D. Iowa Oct. 1, 2010)
  • FC Coop II v. Iowa Select Farms, L.P., 759 N.W.2d 812 (Iowa App. 2008)
  • Zamora Ent., Inc. v. William Morris Endeavor Entertainments, L.L.C., 667 F. Supp. 2d 1032 (S.D. Iowa 2009)

Selected Publications, Presentations and Teaching Appointments:

  • Presenter, “Federal Deposition Practice,” Environmental Litigation (Spring 2014), Drake University School of Law, Des Moines, Iowa, March 28, 2014
  • Presenter, “Notice Pleading: Changes and Practice,” Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., Litigation Section, CLE Hour Granted, September 24, 2009
  • Presenter, “Federal Practice in Iowa District Courts,” Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., Litigation Section, CLE Hour Granted, February 11, 2008
  • Presenter, “Using Demonstrative Evidence,” NBI Seminar Series, Des Moines, Iowa, CLE Hour Granted, September 25, 2008
  • Author (with Robert L. Fanter and Kevin M. Reynolds), “Witness Statements in Investigation, Deposition and Trial.” For the Defense, DRI, Voice of the Defense, September 2008
  • Presenter, “The Law of Tort Liability,” Des Moines University College of Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa, March 8, 2007
  • Presenter, “Subpoenas, Court Orders and Law Enforcement Issues,” Legal Issues in Behavioral Health Seminar, Medical Educational Services, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, March 6, 2007
  • Author (with Kevin M. Reynolds), “Standards for the Admissibility of Expert Witness Testimony in Iowa,” Defense Update: The Iowa Defense Counsel Association Newsletter, Fall 2006

Education

Drake University Law School, J.D. with honors

  • Note Editor: Drake Law Review

Asbury Theological Seminary, M.Div. with honors

Oklahoma Wesleyan University, B.A. cum laude

Admissions

  • Iowa
    South Dakota
    U.S. District Court - Southern District of Iowa
    U.S. District Court - Northern District of Iowa
    U.S. District Court - District of South Dakota
    U.S. District Court - Eastern District of Arkansas
    U.S. District Court - Western District of Arkansas
    U.S. District Court - Northern District of Illinois
    U.S. District Court - Central District of Illinois
    U.S. District Court - District of Nebraska
    U.S. Court of Appeals - Eighth Circuit
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