Mary M. Bonacorsi

Partner

Direct (314) 552-6014

Fax (314) 552-7014

Overview
Affiliations
Civic Involvement
Clients
Honors
Noteworthy
Publications
Speeches

Mary has been a partner in Thompson Coburn's Business Litigation Group for 30 years. She has tried as lead counsel more than 75 jury and non-jury cases to conclusion and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Her trial experience includes disputes of all types, including general commercial litigation defense and real estate and construction claims. Mary serves as trustee of the Federal Practice Memorial Trust for the Eastern District of Missouri, acting as a liaison with the judges of the Eastern District of Missouri on local rules, seminars and other federal practice issues. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

American Bar Association: Litigation, Labor & Employment, and Probate and Real Property Sections
Missouri Bar Association
The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis
Illinois Bar Association
The American Bar Foundation: Fellow
American Board of Trial Advocates
Federal Practice Memorial Trust: Trustee (2001-Present)
Federal Practice Committee of Eastern District of Missouri: Member and Chairperson (1988-Present)
Committee for Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference: Member, Attorney; Admission Fee Fund Committee
Federal Magistrate Selection Panel: Chair (1991-1992)
Theodore McMillian American Inn of Court: Master of the Bench

The Salvation Army: Chairperson (2000-2002); Vice Chair (1998-2000); Executive Committee (1996-Present); Treasurer (1996-1998); Chair, Property Committee (1998-Present); Chair, Finance Committee (1996-1998)
Lutheran Family & Children’s Services: Public Relations Committee to Advisory Board
United Way of Greater St. Louis: Consultant, Court Appointed Special Advocates
Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club of St. Louis: Board Member
Mentor St. Louis: Board Member, Vice Chair

American Cyanamid

Barnes Jewish Hospital

Convergys

HSBC Bank

Peabody Energy

Sansone Group

Shell Oil

St. Louis Zoo

Union Pacific

University of Missouri

US Bank

Washington University in St. Louis

WMATA

Listed in Best Lawyers in America® 2012 (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.) Eminent Domain: (2006 to Present)
Listed in Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers®: (2005-2011); Top 100 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2010, 2011; Top 50 Women Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers 2005, 2008-2011; Top 50 in St. Louis 2010, 2011
Listed in Super Lawyers® Corporate Counsel: (2008-2010)

Coronado Leasing, L.P. v. U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation: Mary obtained a judgment in favor of firm clients U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation and St. Louis Equity Fund 2002 in a case involving a dispute between the limited partners and general partner of a large apartment development financed through federal historic tax credits. The general partner sued to compel the Thompson Coburn clients to make multimillion-dollar capital contributions and provide similar guaranties of partnership operating deficits and loans to the project. Our clients countersued the general partner to require the purchase of their limited partnership interests pursuant to a limited partner put option. The Court found that the Thompson Coburn clients were entitled to exercise their put options, allowing their exit from the partnership, without liability for the additional contributions or guaranties. (2011)
Washington Area Metropolitan Mass Transit Authority v. WMATA 2002 Trust KBC-A, et al: In a case of national importance, Mary succeeded in getting a temporary restraining order for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in an action to stop collection of a $43 million termination payment occasioned by the downgrade of the investment rating of AIG, which had provided credit support for WMATA. WMATA’s action was the lead case in the nation and watched by municipalities in the U.S. and by banks around the world who were equity investors in AIG-backed transactions. The aggregate potential termination liabilities were over $360 million for WMATA and in the billions of dollars for transit authorities throughout the U.S. Prior to a formal ruling, negotiations between both parties resulted in a private settlement, saving WMATA from the termination payment liability. (2008)
State of Missouri ex rel. Nixon v. Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Union Pacific Railroad Company: Mary prevailed on summary judgment in Cole County and held the judgment on appeal to the Western District Court of Appeals in this case brought by former Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon against firm client Union Pacific. The railroad desired to dismantle the abandoned bridge and use the steel for construction of a new bridge over the Osage River. Mary also represented the railroad before the Clean Water Commission, which upheld issuance of the DNR permit to the railroad. (2007)

“Legal Pitfalls of Value Engineering” Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly (August 16, 1999)

“Mullenix v. City of St. Charles: A Significant Case for Operations of Municipal Water and Sewer Systems” Missouri Municipal Review (July 1999)

“Franchise Acquisitions: Who Wins? Who Loses?” ABA Franchise Law Journal (Fall, 1998)

“Environmental Issues in Condemnation: Assuring the Condemnor the Same Environmental Information as the Ordinary Real Estate Buyer” Illinois Municipal Review (September 1998)

“Environmental Issues in Condemnation: Assuring the Same Environmental information as the Ordinary Real Estate Buyer” Right of Way (August 1998)

“ESOP Valuation Methodologies Case Study” presented at a meeting of the Valuation Roundtable (July 8, 1998)

"15 Hour Review of the Law, Business Litigation" sponsored by University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (June, 1996)

"Legal Issues in Delivery of Social Services" Salvation Army National Social Services Conference, St. Louis, MO (March, 1996)

"Impact of Conopco on Private Label Trade Dress" Special Legal Strategy Session, Private Label Manufacturers' Association Annual Washington Conference (September, 1995)

"Effective Use of Protective Orders in State and Federal Courts" Civil Practice and Procedure, 1995 sponsored by MoBarCLE and the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee (February, 1995)

"How to Deal with the Difficult Lawyer" sponsored by the National Practice Institute (November, 1994)

"Patient vs. Health Insurer: Who Pays the Cost of New Medical Technologies for Catastrophic Illnesses?" St. Louis Bar Journal (Fall 1993)

"Common Issues in Civil RICO" Federal Practice Seminar sponsored by University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law (June, 1992)

"Business Torts" Seminar sponsored by University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law (April, 1991 and April, 1992)

"Federal Court Practice: The Do's and Don'ts" sponsored by the Federal Practice Committee, E.D. Mo. (March, 1988)

Moderator, "The Changing Face of Federal Court Practice" Federal Practice Seminar sponsored by the Federal Practice Committee, E.D. Mo. (February, 1996)