Kevin M. Carnie, Jr.

Bar / Professional Activity

• Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
• State of Illinois
• State of Missouri
• Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys  
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
• American Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
• Missouri Bar Association
• U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois
• Illinois Bar Association
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois

Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)

• $32 Million verdict - Class Action
• $450,000 Settlement in Capped Damages Case for Personal Injury   Simon Law has reached a settlement this week with the City of St. Louis for $450,000 on behalf of an aspiring volleyball player who lost both of her legs after a car driven by a man with multiple illicit drugs in his system sped through a yield sign at an intersection and struck her. Janae Edmondson was 17 years old at the time of the accident at a downtown intersection in February 2023. She was crossing the street with her parents, who were in town from Tennessee with her for a volleyball tournament. Just weeks after the accident, the city replaced a yield sign at that intersection— that the driver ignored— with a stop sign. Simon Law attorneys argued in a lawsuit that the city was negligent by installing a yield sign at a low visibility intersection in which drivers’ views are obstructed on both sides by high-rise buildings. Edmondson’s medical costs are in the millions, with her prosthetics each costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. They will need replacement and constant maintenance for the rest of her life. Missouri laws capping damages limited the amount Edmondson could get in a civil case to $517,316 – regardless of what a jury might award. “This case – and many others like it – demonstrates why cap laws in this state need to change,” said Simon Law Attorney Kevin Carnie Jr. “Janae deserves to be compensated appropriately for her injuries—a one size fits all damages cap doesn’t come anywhere close to fairly compensating her. “It’s sad that lawmakers in our state’s capital decided to shield government agencies from accountability when preventable tragedies like this happen because of their negligence.”Carnie said the Edmondsons decided to settle the case for $67,000 less than the capped amount in part because of the cost of taking it to the trial, which was scheduled to kick off March 3. “Janae and her family are better off settling for this amount rather than paying the expenses of a trial and then waiting to be paid while the case would work its way through years of appeals,” Carnie added. “Janae needs this money now to cover medical expenses—waiting isn’t a good option—especially when you consider all the interest they would lose out on by waiting years to be paid. “It’s disappointing that the City would not agree to settle for the maximum amount. But damages cap laws give the City no incentive to do so. If they know their worst day—no matter what the jury awards—is $517,000, why would they ever pay that amount voluntarily? They also know it’s going to cost Janae a lot of money to try the case—so she’s forced to settle. Caps really hurt the most vulnerable, like Janae. It puts victims in a terrible spot—forcing them to settle their cases for way less than is fair.” The Edmondsons are upset that the city did not settle this case years ago – forcing them to carry the weight of another trial with them. “They were worried that they would be forced to relive the most terrible moments of their lives on the stand yet again,” Carnie said.Janae and her parents testified during the criminal trial in which the driver was convicted of causing the crash that severed Janae’s legs. At the time of the crash, he was out on bond, had multiple illicit drugs in his system, and had violated the terms of his house arrest more than 90 times without any efforts by prosecutors to revoke his bond. Then Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigned not long after the high-profile accident shined arguably the most glaring spotlight on years of mismanagement by her administration. “But under Missouri law, the prosecutors and the City are absolutely immune from lawsuits involving these kind of failures—you can’t sue them for any of that,” Carnie said. “The only claim allowed under the law is the one we brought—failing to design the intersection appropriately.”, 2025
• $109 Million Verdict Business Litigation A St. Louis County Jury awarded Gleeson Asphalt Inc. a $109 million verdict on May 15, 2025 after Simon Law attorneys proved one of its suppliers misrepresented the quality and gradation of its base rock that led to failures at two surface parking lots. The jury deliberated after a four-day trial before St. Louis County Judge David Vincent for two hours before delivering its verdict against LaFarge North America. The jury awarded $942, 935.95 in compensatory damages and $108,300,000 in punitive damages. “We gave the jury the exact amount our client lost in profits and the cost of redoing the parking lots, and they awarded what we were asking for to the penny,” said Simon Law lead attorney Kevin Carnie Jr. “I think the jury sent a loud and clear message about what they thought of the defendant’s conduct” Simon Law attorneys filed the lawsuit in 2019 – not long after Gleeson discovered that two parking lots developed ruts and had to be completely redone. Gleeson discovered the base rock – which is laid before asphalt to anchor it – it bought from LaFarge was a lower quality than what Gleeson ordered for the projects. “The quarry didn’t have the kind base rock our client ordered, and just gave them this inferior product instead trying to pass it off as something else,” Carnie said. “LaFarge represented that it met the specs Gleeson had ordered.” The parking lots were in St. Charles County and St. Louis County. The defense told jurors the whole issue was nothing more than a miscommunication. This is the fourth nine-figure verdict Simon Law has won for its clients in less than two years, totaling nearly $2 billion. The St. Louis-based personal injury and business litigation firm has secured billions for clients in verdicts and settlements since its founding in 2001, and has been named one of the “winningest firms” in the U.S. by The National Law Journal., 2025
• $24 Million Settlement Negligent Design, 2025
• $2 Million Settlement - Business Litigation
• $1 Million Settlement - §1983 excessive force case
• $5 Million Settlement - Medical Malpractice
• $10 Million Settlement - Wrongful Death
• $3.5 million settlement - breach of contract
• $500,000 settlement - auto accident
• $3.75 million jury verdict - after two-week trial of defective product claim
• $1.1 million settlement - one vehicle auto accident
• $3.9 million verdict - international arbitration involving claims of assault, battery, kidnapping, breach of contract, and misuse of intellectual property
• $1.3 million settlement - during jury trial of uninsured motorist claim
• $400,000 settlement - insurance coverage dispute

Educational Background

• Saint Louis University, B.A., summa cum laude, 2005

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Anatomy of a Product Liability Case – Seminar to Benefit the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, 6/17/2014 at the Missouri Athletic Club
• Saint Louis University Public Law Review, Editor
• Legislative & Mass Tort Changes in Missouri, 06/20/2017, The Simon Law Firm, P.C. Hon. Richard B. Teitelman Memorial Seminar to Benefit the Legal Services of Missouri, Speaker, Legislative & Mass Tort Changes in Missouri, 2017
• Basics of Preparing for a Civil Trial: The Checklist, Co-Author, 60 St. Louis Bar Journal, Trial, No. 4, Spring, 2014

Honors

• Up & Coming Lawyers, Missouri Lawyers Weekly 2015, Up & Coming Lawyers, Missouri Lawyers Weekly 2015, Missouri Lawyers Weekly, 2015
• Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers, 2024
• Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in America®, 2023
•  National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40, The National Trial Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40, Missouri Lawyers Weekly
• Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® Rising Stars℠ 2014-2018, Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers® Rising Stars℠ 2014-2018, Super Lawyers

“Great attorney. Very smart.”