After months of inactivity, a class-action lawsuit by farmers against Express Grain Terminals’ largest creditor looks to be moving toward its next step.
A case management order for the lawsuit — a tentative schedule for pretrial activities — was filed Thursday. It is the first activity on the lawsuit’s docket since August.
No trial date has been set. The court is still considering a motion to dismiss, also filed months ago.
The lawsuit, filed in November 2021, organized several farmers against UMB Bank of Kansas City, Missouri, in the fallout of Express Grain’s bankruptcy two months earlier.
Last year, Express Grain’s bankruptcy seemingly came out of nowhere. A number of farmers who delivered grain to the company ended up not being paid. More than 200 farmers filed claims following Express Grain’s bankruptcy.
Express Grain’s president, John Coleman, has been charged by state and federal authorities with multiple counts of fraud — five on the state level and six on the federal level — including an accusation that he enticed farmers to deliver grain to the company despite the company’s perilous financial condition. Coleman has pleaded not guilty.
The farmers’ lawsuit goes further and has accused UMB Bank of also committing fraud. According to the farmers, the bank knew of Express Grain’s declining financial condition but propped it up until enough grain was delivered that the bank could seize as collateral.
An unlisted number of farmers has signed on to the lawsuit. They are represented by Lexington attorney Don Barrett.
The bank has denied the charges. It has also filed complaints alleging that it too was deceived by John Coleman and Express Grain.
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
