About Kari Schulte
Kari A. Schulte is a partner at Clement, Van Ronzelen & Schulte LLC. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration summa cum laude from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2001, an MBA with honors from the same institution in 2004, and a J.D. in 2005, graduating with Order of the Coif honors and serving as a member of the Missouri Law Review from 2003 to 2005. She has been admitted to the Missouri Bar and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri since 2005. Kari's case history includes representing more than 5,300 servers and bartenders of Applebee's in a federal labor law class action.
A cable television class action involving millions of consumers, and appearances in Lucas Subway MidMo, Inc. v. Mandatory Poster Agency, Inc. (2017), Janson v. LegalZoom.com, Inc. (2011), and Fast v. Applebee's International, Inc. (2007-2010). She has been named a Rising Star by Missouri Super Lawyers and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. She is a member of the Missouri Bar, the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys, the Cole County Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
Proven verdicts and settlements
A Cole County jury awarded Ronette Schulte $500,000 after the driver of a charter bus carrying her church's youth group fell asleep at the wheel and crashed in 2022. Schulte, an adult chaperone, suffered a nasal injury that left her unable to breathe through her nose for about eight months, reinjured a shoulder that had recently been through rotator cuff surgery, and came away with acute stress disorder from watching the children in her care thrown around the bus. The verdict was returned on April 23, 2025, before Judge Cotton Walker. Cavalier Coaches, Inc. did not dispute that its driver fell asleep, but argued at trial that Schulte's injuries beyond the nasal injury were not caused by the crash.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.
