Johannes H. Moorlach

John represents financial institutions, financing lenders, trade creditors and purchasers of financially distressed businesses involved in disputes comprising commercial interests and bankruptcy matters. Creditor rights and bankruptcy litigation is a significant part of his regular work as he seeks to collect debts, recover collateral, arrange workout plans, restructurings, and other matters relating to financially distressed borrowers.

He also serves as general counsel, or Chancellor, to The Iowa Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and its Bishop.

John has served as the President of the C. Edwin Moore Inn of Court (Des Moines Chapter), on the executive committee for the Iowa Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Chair of the Iowa State Bar Association’s Federal Practice Committee, and on the Attorney Admission Fee Fund Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. John is a member of the state bars of Iowa and South Dakota. Prior to joining Whitfield & Eddy Law, he served as a law clerk to the Hon. Robert W. Pratt, Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Contact John today or call us at 515-288-6041 for more information. 

Honors & Recognitions

• Selected by Best Lawyers in America as the Des Moines area's "Lawyer of the Year" in the area of Litigation - Bankruptcy (2025)
• Selected for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Banking and Finance Law, Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law, and Litigation - Bankruptcy (2023—2025)
• Polk County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project: recognized for pro bono work hours in 2011—2012

Cases, Presentations & Publications

Published Cases:

• Mahaska Bottling Co., Inc., et al., v. Bottling Group, LLC, et al., 6 F.4th 828 (8th Cir. 2021)

• MidWestOne Bank v. Heartland Co-op, 941 N.W.2d 876 (Iowa 2020)

• Mahaska Bottling Co., Inc., et al., v. Pepsico, Inc., et al., 441 F.Supp.3d 745 (SD Iowa 2019)

• Wells Fargo Equip. Fin., v. Retterath, 928 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2019), reh'g denied (June 17, 2019)
• Ellingson v. Piercy, No. 2:14-CV-04316-NKL, 2016 WL 4033259 (W.D. Mo. July 27, 2016)
• In re Civic Partners Sioux City, LLC, 553 B.R. 355 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2016).
• Nw. Bank v. Sovereign Holdings, Inc., No. 4:15-CV-04066-KES, 2016 WL 727170 (D.S.D. Feb. 23, 2016)
• In re Civic Partners Sioux City, LLC, No. BR 11-00829, 2015 WL 4127160 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa July 8, 2015), rev'd and remanded, 553 B.R. 355 (B.A.P. 8th Cir. 2016)
• Ellingson v. Piercy, No. 2:14-CV-04316-NKL, 2015 WL 3713989 (W.D. Mo. June 15, 2015)
• In re Civic Partners Sioux City, LLC, 779 F.3d 572 (8th Cir. 2015)
• Buckeye State Mut. Ins. Co. v. Moens, 944 F. Supp. 2d 678 (N.D. Iowa 2013)
• Buckeye State Mut. Ins. Co. v. Moens, No. C12-4025-MWB, 2013 WL 1196622 (N.D. Iowa Mar. 25, 2013)
• United Suppliers, Inc. v. Millard Feed Mill, Inc., 09-CV-107-LRR, 2011 WL 219690 (N.D. Iowa Jan. 21, 2011)
• United Suppliers, Inc. v. Millard Feed Mill, Inc., 09-CV-107-LRR, 2010 WL 300673 (N.D. Iowa Jan. 19, 2010)
• F.D.I.C. v. Rubashkin, C09-1026, 2010 WL 3909858 (N.D. Iowa Oct. 1, 2010)
• FC Coop II v. Iowa Select Farms, L.P., 759 N.W.2d 812 (Iowa App. 2008)
• Zamora Ent., Inc. v. William Morris Endeavor Entertainments, L.L.C., 667 F. Supp. 2d 1032 (S.D. Iowa 2009)

Selected Publications, Presentations and Teaching Appointments:

• Panelist, "Commercial: Receiverships and Fiduciaries," Midwest Bankruptcy Institute, Kansas City, Missouri, October 25, 2024
• Presenter, “Federal Deposition Practice,” Environmental Litigation (Spring 2014), Drake University School of Law, Des Moines, Iowa, March 28, 2014
• Presenter, “Notice Pleading: Changes and Practice,” Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., Litigation Section, CLE Hour Granted, September 24, 2009
• Presenter, “Federal Practice in Iowa District Courts,” Whitfield & Eddy, P.L.C., Litigation Section, CLE Hour Granted, February 11, 2008
• Presenter, “Using Demonstrative Evidence,” NBI Seminar Series, Des Moines, Iowa, CLE Hour Granted, September 25, 2008
• Author (with Robert L. Fanter and Kevin M. Reynolds), “Witness Statements in Investigation, Deposition and Trial.” For the Defense, DRI, Voice of the Defense, September 2008
• Presenter, “The Law of Tort Liability,” Des Moines University College of Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa, March 8, 2007
• Presenter, “Subpoenas, Court Orders and Law Enforcement Issues,” Legal Issues in Behavioral Health Seminar, Medical Educational Services, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, March 6, 2007
• Author (with Kevin M. Reynolds), “Standards for the Admissibility of Expert Witness Testimony in Iowa,” Defense Update: The Iowa Defense Counsel Association Newsletter, Fall 2006