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Class Action Defense - Banking

Overview

"They perform miracles for us."

– Fifth Third Bank

Having successfully defended financial institutions in high-stakes class action lawsuits challenging a variety of operating procedures and lending practices under federal and state banking laws, BakerHostetler’s Banking Class Action team has the experience to protect clients’ interests in class action matters involving complex financial products and transactions worth billions of dollars.

With a thorough understanding of the banking and financial services industries and in-depth knowledge of the laws that govern them, we are the go-to law firm for class action matters for several Fortune 500 financial services organizations and regional and national banks.

Select Experience

  • Defeated class certification in a putative nationwide class action brought by an individual borrower alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The plaintiff alleged that the client and its subsidiary, an affiliated real estate settlement service provider, engaged in kickbacks and fee splitting.
  • Represented banks and other publicly held companies and their officers in securities class actions and derivative cases, including one series of ERISA "stock drop" cases involving a large financial institution’s stock fund that lost considerable value during a two-year period. Obtained a dismissal based on standing grounds in the district court, a judgment that was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequently, obtained a dismissal of the remaining cases on the merits.
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Professionals

Name Title Office Email
Guenther Karl Fanter
Cleveland
+1.216.861.7918
Partner
Guenther Karl Fanter
Partner Cleveland
Lisa M. Ghannoum
Cleveland
+1.216.861.7872
Partner
Lisa M. Ghannoum
Partner Cleveland
Scott C. Holbrook
Cleveland
+1.216.861.7325
Partner
Scott C. Holbrook
Partner Cleveland
Mark A. Johnson
Columbus
+1.614.462.2698
Partner
Mark A. Johnson
Partner Columbus
Michael E. Mumford
Cleveland
+1.216.861.7578
Partner
Michael E. Mumford
Partner Cleveland
James A. Slater
Cleveland
+1.216.861.7885
Partner
James A. Slater
Partner Cleveland
Daniel R. Warren
Cleveland / Chicago
+1.216.861.7145 / +1.312.416.8179
Partner
Daniel R. Warren
Partner Cleveland

Experience

  • Defeated class certification in a putative nationwide class action brought by an individual borrower alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The plaintiff alleged that the client and its subsidiary, an affiliated real estate settlement service provider, engaged in kickbacks and fee splitting.
  • Represented banks and other publicly held companies and their officers in securities class actions and derivative cases, including one series of ERISA "stock drop" cases involving a large financial institution’s stock fund that lost considerable value during a two-year period. Obtained a dismissal based on standing grounds in the district court, a judgment that was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Subsequently, obtained a dismissal of the remaining cases on the merits.
  • Successfully moved to dismiss a state-wide class action seeking to hold the client, a large regional bank, liable under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and Ohio common law in connection with a Ponzi scheme involving unregistered securities orchestrated by a third party.
  • Successfully moved to dismiss a multistate class-action lawsuit challenging the client’s policy of electronically sequencing debits and credits from the largest to the smallest amount. Plaintiffs’ claims, brought under Ohio common law and the Expedited Funds Availability Act of 1987, were dismissed with prejudice.
  • Successfully moved to dismiss a state-wide class action in which the plaintiffs alleged that the client charged and collected improper fees in connection with the automobile purchase and lease transactions it financed in Ohio and that it paid improper referral fees to Ohio automobile dealers on these transactions. This matter involved claims under federal antitrust law, the federal Truth in Lending Act, the Ohio Retail Sales Installment Act and aiding and abetting the automobile dealer’s alleged breach of fiduciary duty.
  • Achieved victory on behalf of a large regional bank with a Sixth Circuit decision providing greater assurance to Ohio banks that they cannot be held liable for alleged fraudulent activities of account holders years after those activities occur and that there is finality to commercial transactions involving negotiable instruments.

Recognition

  • Chambers USA: Litigation
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Ohio) – Band 2 (2020)
    • Litigation: General Commercial (Colorado) – Recognized (2019)
    • Retail: National – Band 3 (2020)
  • Law360: Class Action "Practice Group of the Year" (2014)
  • LA Daily Journal: Top Appellate Reversals of 2014
  • Corporate Counsel® magazine guide to in-house law departments: "Go-to Law Firm" for litigation.
  • Recognized as one of the top law firms for client service, BakerHostetler was named to the 2020 BTI Client Service 30 for the sixth consecutive year.

News

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Blog

In The Blogs

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Class Action Lawsuit Defense
Eleventh Circuit Stands Firm – No Incentive Awards for Class Representatives
By Kamran B. Ahmadian
August 12, 2022
Nearly two years after it issued its initial decision in Johnson v. NPAS Sols., LLC, in which it held incentive awards for class representatives to be per se unlawful, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied a...
Read More ->
Class Action Lawsuit Defense
Florida Requires Concrete Injury For Standing - Class Action Defense
By Joel Griswold
July 14, 2022
On July 13, 2022, the Florida District Court of Appeal for the Fourth District affirmed an order dismissing a putative class action filed under the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) for lack of standing. Southam v...
Read More ->
Class Action Lawsuit Defense
The Demand Curve Problem for UCL Class Actions
By Brian A. Troyer
June 1, 2022
A recent opinion from a California federal court, Mier v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc. et al., No. 8:20-cv-01979-DOC-ADS, slip op. (C.D. Cal. May 9, 2022),touches on an aspect of econometric modeling that class action defense counsel should...
Read More ->
Class Action Lawsuit Defense
BakerHostetler Releases Insurance Class Action Update
By Mark A. Johnson
May 19, 2022
The Class Action Defense team released its Insurance Quarterly Report covering the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Included in the report are updates and analyses about property and casualty class action lawsuits...
Read More ->
Class Action Lawsuit Defense
The U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Case Regarding Whether State Business Registration Requirements Can Create General Personal Jurisdiction
By Ali I. Haque
May 3, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a state from requiring a corporation to consent to personal jurisdiction as a condition to doing business in the state...
Read More ->

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