Diane Hastings
Lewis
Diane’s practice includes surety and construction law, insurance coverage, professional liability defense including real estate agents and health care professionals, employment and general civil litigation. She has tried numerous jury trials in both state and federal courts, most recently winning a complete defense verdict in a nursing home negligence case in Missouri state court. Diane has also argued before the Missouri Supreme Court, the Kansas Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She is a frequent author and presenter on insurance coverage and surety and construction topics.
Prior to joining Brown & Ruprecht in 2010, Diane served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable John F. Wright of the Nebraska Supreme Court. Outside of the office, Diane is a member of the Kansas City Rowing Club and previously served on its Board of Directors. She previously served on the Board of Trustees for Rho Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Education
B.S., Business Administration, University of Nebraska, cum laude
J.D., University of Nebraska College of Law, cum laude
Honors & Awards
Selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© in the area Litigation – Real Estate (2021-2023)
Selected for inclusion in Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Edition (2013-2021)
IADC Trial Academy
Judicial Law Clerk – The Honorable John F. Wright, Nebraska Supreme Court University of Nebraska College of Law
Bar Admissions & Professional Associations
Kansas
Missouri
U.S. Court of Appeals – Tenth Circuit
U.S. District Court – Kansas
U.S. District Court – Western District of Missouri
American Bar Association – Fidelity and Surety Law Committee
Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, Board of Directors
Defense Research Institute
Kansas Bar Association
Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
Surety Claims Institute
The Missouri Bar
Seminars & Publications
The Contractor’s Expanding Risk of Liability for Subcontractors’ Wages, American Bar Association, Tort Trial & Insurance Practice, Winter 2018, at 9. Click Here
DRI Fidelity and Surety Roundtable Presenter in Chicago, Illinois, “Security Indemnification from the Principal and Indemnitors,” May 18, 2018.
Security Indemnification from the Principal and Indemnitors, For the Defense, September 2017, at 94. Click Here
Johnson County Contractor’s Licensing Seminar, Presenter in Overland Park, Kansas, “Prevailing Wages, Labor & Employment Issues,” and “Ethical Issues in the Construction Industry.” October 27, 2016.
Miller Act One-Year Statute of Limitations: Jurisdictional or Claim Processing Rule?, IADC Fidelity and Surety Committee Newsletter, December 2014. Click Here
DRI Fidelity and Surety Roundtable Presenter in Chicago, Illinois, “Surety Takeover: Options in the Face of Default,” May 16, 2014.
Enforcing Forum Selection Clauses after Atlantic Marine, IADC Fidelity and Surety Committee Newsletter, April 2014. Click Here
Navigating Surety Claims on a Federal Project, For the Defense, March 2014, at 48.
Federal Service Disabled Veterans Set-Aside Program, IADC Fidelity and Surety Committee Newsletter, August 2011. Click Here
Representative Cases
Developers Surety and Indemnity Company v. Carothers Construction, Inc., Case No. 17-cv-02292-JWL, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135949, 2017 WL 3674975 (D. Kan. Aug. 24, 2017). Diane obtained an Order that the surety was not required to arbitrate the contractor’s bond claims based on the bond’s incorporation of the subcontract between the contractor and the surety’s principal.
Bob DeGeorge Associates, Inc., et al. v. Hawthorn Bank, 377 S.W. 3d 592 (Mo. banc. 2012). Diane successfully argued before the Missouri Supreme Court to change Missouri construction law so that mechanic’s liens take priority over an unrecorded purchase money deed of trust.
