Popham Injury Law Firm

09/26/2026

“It was my commitment to the community more than anything else.”

Watch FOX4’s Malik Jackson interview with Popham client Michelle Sumstad, former deputy chief of the Independence Police Department.

Michelle served the City of Independence for 30 years, becoming the department’s first female deputy chief. She is now suing the city for gender discrimination and retaliation after she was forced to retire by the city.

FOX4 News Kansas City.

The first woman to rise above the rank of sergeant in the Independe...

09/25/2026

This piece by The Kansas City Star addresses Popham client Michelle Sumstad's recent lawsuit that was filed against the City of Independence. We look forward to representing Michelle and telling her story in the coming months.

Former Independence deputy chief sues city over alleged forced retirement and bias
Deputy Chief Michelle Sumstad retired in June, but her lawyer said at the time that the retirement was “not voluntary.”
Read more in the full story: bit.ly/4yVdWiG

09/16/2026

"La Strada is not some liberal with a partisan axe to grind...he is a Republican who spent nearly 15 years as Pettis County clerk. Hoskins recruited him in January 2025 to fill a new position, director of election integrity, saying La Strada’s expertise would be ‘instrumental’ in protecting the legitimacy of Missouri elections."

Read more below. Baldwin & Vernon Trial Attorneys, LLC

Five takeaways from a bombshell lawsuit against Denny Hoskins’ office | Hudnall
Missouri’s secretary of state hired an election integrity watchdog. Now that watchdog is suing him. From David Hudnall:
Read more in the full story: bit.ly/4iNCXYv

09/16/2026

On Monday, Nick La Strada, Missouri’s former Director of Election Integrity sued Secretary of State Denny Hoskins for firing him after reporting a plan to fabricate court evidence—and for objecting to the Secretary of State’s office illegally directing a change to a certified election result.

“If you’ve done it once, what’s to stop them from doing it on bigger elections in November and coming right in and changing it to who they want, their preferred candidate,” Erin Vernon, the lead attorney on the lawsuit, said.

La Strada is represented by co-counselors Erin Vernon and Kevin Baldwin, Baldwin & Vernon Trial Attorneys, LLC and Dennis Egan, Popham Injury Law Firm.

Read the story below.

Missouri's former election integrity director has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins.

09/14/2026

The lawsuit alleges officials planned to fabricate evidence for a federal hearing and overturn a certified municipal election result.

09/04/2026

Cooper Mach tells part of a client story featured in his recent interview with the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys! If you haven’t had a chance to check out the story yet, read it via the link below.

08/27/2026

We are pleased to announce an important victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Corporate defendants often seek to move class actions to federal court, even when the dispute is purely local, because they perceive a strategic advantage in having the case decided in a forum further removed from the consumers and communities actually affected by their wrongful conduct.

In this case, the dispute concerns Missouri ma*****na dispensaries who collected a tax from consumers that was later declared unconstitutional. In recent months, the Missouri Department of Revenue has since refunded that money to the dispensaries. But instead of returning the refunds to the consumers who actually paid the tax, the dispensaries seek to keep the money for themselves, turning their customers' payments into an unjustified windfall. Missouri consumers bore the entire cost, yet the dispensaries now claim the entire benefit.

This class action seeks to hold the dispensaries accountable and return the money to the Missouri consumers who paid it.

In a victory for Missouri ma*****na consumers, the Eighth Circuit confirmed that the case belongs in Missouri state court. The court held that since this is a Missouri-centered dispute—brought on behalf of Missouri citizens against Missouri dispensaries—the case, as amended by the Plaintiffs, falls within the Class Action Fairness Act's "local-controversy" exception.

Congratulations to our co-counsel, Andy Schermerhorn, who served as lead appellate counsel and principal brief writer.

08/26/2026

As of last month, possessing kratom or its opioid-like derivative, 7-OH, is a felony in Kansas.

Across the state line, Missouri has not enacted a statewide ban—despite deaths linked to these products and multiple lawsuits involving kratom sold at local gas stations, smoke shops and other retailers. Some Missouri cities, including Kansas City, have adopted their own restrictions, but the laws remain inconsistent across the metro.

One of these lawsuits was filed by Popham partner Mark Schloegel on behalf of the family of David Thacker, who died from kratom intoxication in May 2025. The lawsuit alleges that local sellers marketed kratom as safe while selling some products in unmarked bags without warnings or ingredient labels.

This article by Abby Higgenbotham at Axios Kansas City examines the dangers of kratom and 7-OH—and the stark legal divide that continues to persist across the Kansas City metro.

Read the article below.

Kratom and 7-OH became felonies to possess in Kansas on July 1. Across the state line, they're still legal, even as cities pass their own bans.

08/21/2026

“In this business, your name is all you have.”

For more than 40 years, Scott Mach built his legal career by treating people with fairness, kindness and respect—clients, colleagues and opposing counsel alike.

Scott’s son, Cooper Mach, spent the first decade of his own career practicing alongside his father. In a profile piece for The Missouri Trial Attorney, Cooper reflects on the lessons Scott taught him, the first-chair verdict that brought a longtime Kansas City employee vindication after years in limbo, and what it means to carry forward a legacy while building your own at the same time.

Read the full article at the link in our bio.

08/19/2026

Some miles mean more than others.

Former Popham partner (now Of Counsel) Bert Braud recently took part in the Alzheimer's Association's Ride to End ALZ Classic, riding in honor of his mom and his sister, Teri, both of whom suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Bert rode 30 miles along the Mississippi River levee for a cause that hits especially close to home.

We're proud of Bert for putting in the miles for two people he loved and in support of the many families whose lives have been touched by Alzheimer's disease.