Kendra D. Simmons

About

Kendra D. Simmons

PRIMARY SERVICES

Employment & Labor

Employment & Labor Litigation

Litigation

Trade Secrets

Overview

Kendra represents employers and businesses in many different industries at all stages of litigation and advises them outside of formal legal proceedings. Her practice focuses on employment law and litigation, but her general business litigation background allows her to serve the wide-ranging legal needs of businesses and employers. In addition to advising employers on policies and employment decisions, she represents clients in state and federal court and in arbitration and other administrative proceedings. She regularly speaks and writes on employment law topics and is involved in the greater Des Moines community.

Experience

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

Employment

• Obtained dismissal of multiple civil rights complaints brought against employers by former employees.
• Drafts employment policies and handbooks.
• Advises clients on employment policies and various individual employment issues outside of litigation.

Appellate

• Successfully affirmed district court’s grant of motion to dismiss case for failure to state a claim. Garrett & Vandewalle v. Branson Commerce Park Community Improvement District (10th Cir. 2016).
• Represented motor carrier in appealing agency’s unfavorable decision under federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act. TransAm Trucking, Inc. v. Admin. Review Board (10th Cir. 2016).
• Represented motor carrier in petitioning for review of FMCSA action regarding a settlement agreement. TransAm Trucking, Inc. v. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Admin. (10th Cir. 2015).

Litigation

• Part of a trial team that obtained a more than $1.6 million verdict in a business dispute involving breach of restrictive covenants (Pierce Street Same Day Surgery, L.C. v. Dr. Adam Smith et al., Case No. LACV178878 (Iowa District Court for Woodbury County Feb. 20, 2020).
• Defended employer against claim by former employee alleging violation of Iowa’s drug-and-alcohol testing statute (Iowa Code section 730.5).
• Obtained summary judgment for employer in race discrimination and retaliation case under ICRA and Title VII. Goodman v. Performance Contractors, et al. (N.D. Iowa 2019).
• Helped obtain temporary injunction against physicians prohibiting them from further violating their restrictive covenants. Pierce Street Same Day Surgery, L.C. v. Dr. Adam Smith et al., Case No. LACV178878 (Iowa District Court for Woodbury County Feb. 5, 2018).
• Helped obtain temporary injunction against pediatrician and her new clinic prohibiting her from further violating her noncompetition agreement. Prairie Pediatrics & Adolescent Clinic, P.C. vs. Dr. Tina Smith & Tri-State Specialists, LLP, Case No.: LACV177912 (Iowa District Court for Woodbury County Dec. 22, 2017).
• Obtained summary judgment for employer in FMLA entitlement and discrimination case initiated by a former administrator. Roys v. Upper Iowa University (N.D. Iowa 2017).
• Successfully represented businesses in bench and jury trials.
• Represented defendant national retail chain in complex, multi-million dollar arbitration.
• Defended motor carrier and multiple health care entities against discrimination and other employment claims.
• Represented defendants, including a motor carrier and professional sports franchise, in class actions in federal court.

Other

• Assisted company in developing uniform procedure for collecting from non-paying customers.
• Revised contract documents for a service company to improve efficiency in the event matters resulted in litigation.