Class Actions
They have a very strong team, and have the capacity to handle large engagements.Chambers USA
Practice Overview
Buckley is among the preeminent class action defense firms in the United States for the financial services industry. Our firm vigorously defends leading banks, insurers, mortgage lenders and servicers, credit card issuers, auto lenders, and retailers in putative class actions and other complex litigation across the nation. We are involved in class action claims alleging violations of federal and state consumer protection and consumer credit statutes, wrongful underwriting and servicing practices, credit discrimination, and inflated or otherwise wrongful insurance claims, to name a few.
Buckley has achieved groundbreaking success for our clients involving a wide variety of disputes. We represent clients in federal and state court class and mass actions throughout the country. We consistently deliver efficient and effective representation in class action matters by leveraging our firmwide knowledge and abilities in financial services litigation and the relevant regulations to devise the best possible and most comprehensive defense strategies imaginable.
Given the high stakes of class action claims, we recognize the importance of the early identification of an optimal exit strategy — whether such a strategy is through the dismissal of pleadings, defeat of class certification, prevailing on summary judgment, or obtaining a favorable negotiated resolution for our client. In addition, we frequently handle the complex parallel proceedings involving concurrent government enforcement and civil litigation, congressional investigations, and regulatory counseling matters that often present themselves alongside class action litigation.
Our Class Actions team is comprised of a selection of the most experienced financial services class action trial and appellate attorneys in the country. Our firm is ranked nationally in Band 1 by Chambers for consumer finance litigation, with three Buckley lawyers included among the top 18 consumer finance litigators in the U.S.
Noteworthy matters include:
- Represented numerous insurance companies in multiple putative nationwide and state specific class actions concerning lender-placed insurance
- Represented a mortgage originator and affiliated entities in a putative class action alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and common law unjust enrichment related to a captive mortgage reinsurance arrangement
- Settlement reached on a nationwide class action brought on behalf of credit card customers regarding a reduction in a credit line and the assessment of overlimit fees; a nationwide class settlement was reached
- Represented a mortgage originator and servicer in a mass action involving hundreds of mortgage borrowers alleging various fraudulent acts in connection with the origination and servicing of their loans, allegedly in violation of New York General Business Law § 349 and common law; the client prevailed on a motion to sever and dismiss claims
They have a very strong team, and have the capacity to handle large engagements.Chambers USA
Articles
"NY credit card securitization class action misuses Madden" by Walter E. Zalenski (Law360)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit's decision in Madden v. Midland Funding LLC is deservedly notorious. The Madden court erroneously held that state usury laws may prohibit a national bank’s assignee from enforcing the interest rate on a credit agreement that was valid under the law...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: D.C. Circuit significantly narrows FCC’s order defining autodialer
On March 16, the D.C. Circuit issued its much anticipated ruling in ACA International v. FCC . The D.C. Circuit’s ruling significantly narrows a Federal Communication Commission order from 2015, which, among other things, had broadly defined an “autodialer” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer...
Special Alerts"The great data breach standing circuit split" by Amanda R. Lawrence and Michael A. Rome (Law360)
Data breaches are back in the news in a big way. Over the past several weeks alone, prominent hotel chains, online platforms and retailers announced significant data breaches. Unsurprisingly, in the aftermath of these disclosures, consumers filed class actions alleging that the data breaches...
Articles"The rise and fall of statistical sampling in RMBS cases" by Amanda Lawrence and Michael A. Rome (Law360)
The 2008 mortgage crisis prompted a wave of residential mortgage-backed securities and repurchase litigation as trustees, certificate holders (i.e. investors), monoline insurers, securitizers and other stakeholders pursued claims related to loans securitized in RMBS trusts. One of the hallmarks of...
ArticlesFredrick S. Levin Authored a Law360 Article, "2 Litigation Trends Offer Guidance On TCPA Compliance"
$76 million, $14.8 million, $12 million and $3.7 million. These numbers represent some of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act settlement agreements negotiated in 2017. As shown by these numbers, TCPA litigation continues to be a leading litigation risk for corporate America. Recently, several...
ArticlesAmanda Lawrence and Michael A. Rome Authored a Law360 Article, "The Great Class Action Ascertainability Debate"
In recent years, courts have divided sharply over whether or not Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure creates an implicit requirement that a class must be ascertainable in order to be certified. This article addresses the meaning of ascertainability, the circuit split over whether and to...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: California Supreme Court Invalidates Widely Used Arbitration Provisions and Curtails the Scope of Proposition 64
On April 6, the California Supreme Court published its opinion in McGill v. Citibank, N.A., finding unenforceable arbitration agreements that purport to waive claims for public injunctive relief brought under California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA), Civ. Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq., its...
ArticlesSpecial Alert: Madden Class Action Moves Forward
On February 27, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling in Madden v. Midland Funding, LLC , [1] holding that New York’s fundamental public policy against usury overrides a Delaware choice-of-law clause in the plaintiff’s credit card agreement. The court allowed...
ArticlesWhat Companies Can Expect After Campbell-Ewald
May defendants moot a putative class action by merely offering complete relief to the putative class representative? The U.S. Supreme Court says no, and the decision may have profound implications on class actions for years to come. Some options may remain, however, if more than a mere offer can be...
ArticlesClass Action Settlement Considerations: Ten Tips for a Successful Settlement (The Case Law)
The following article discusses recent, significant decisions on federal class action settlements. While not all inclusive, these cases may help practitioners avoid common (and some not-so-common) pitfalls when trying to reach a successful, lasting class action settlement. This article assumes that...
Articles
News & Blogs
District Court rejects stop-payment fee class action against bank
On August 13, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the majority of an EFTA class action against a national bank, allowing only one claim by the lead plaintiff to proceed. In this case, two customers filed a class action against the bank alleging that it violated...
InfoBytes3rd Circuit: QR code on debt collection letter violates FDCPA
On August 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that an envelope containing an unencrypted “quick response” (QR) code that revealed a consumer’s account number when scanned violated the FDCPA. The plaintiff in this case received an envelope containing a...
InfoBytesDistrict Court strikes class certification from robocall suit
On July 18, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted a rental car company’s (defendant) motion to strike class allegations in a TCPA suit over alleged robocalls. The plaintiff, whose telephone number was listed on a rental contract between his mother and the defendant...
InfoBytes4th Circuit holds lenders sufficiently proved tribal immunity
On July 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of two tribal lenders’ motion to dismiss a putative class action lawsuit brought by Virginia residents, concluding the lenders properly claimed tribal sovereign immunity. The complaint alleged that the...
InfoBytes7th Circuit: Detailed creditor information does not violate FDCPA
On June 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in a consolidated appeal, affirmed summary judgment in favor of a debt collector in actions alleging that the debt collector violated the FDCPA by naming the “original creditor” and the “client” in its collection letters, but declining to...
InfoBytes9th Circuit: Class decertification appropriate when representative lacks standing
On June 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to decertify a class of callers claiming their cellphone calls were unlawfully recorded, holding that the class representative lacked standing as to its individual claim. According to the opinion, customers...
InfoBytes9th Circuit upholds rejection of consumer’s class action against auto finance company
On May 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of an auto finance corporation and various dealerships (collectively, “defendants”) in a putative class action alleging the defendants failed to provide add-ons the plaintiff purchased with the vehicle. The...
InfoBytesClass action alleges national bank’s grace period practices breach terms of cardholder agreement
On June 3, a consumer filed a class action complaint against a national bank alleging that the bank charges interest on credit card accounts even when consumers’ balances are paid in full by the billing cycle due date, in breach of the bank’s cardholder agreement. The complaint alleges that the...
InfoBytes9th Circuit holds shipping company’s online arbitration agreement is valid
On May 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit denied a plaintiff’s writ of mandamus challenging the district court’s order compelling arbitration of the plaintiff’s claims against a national shipping company. According to the opinion, a customer filed a putative class action complaint...
InfoBytesDistrict court rules customers bound by arbitration agreement in credit inquiry dispute
On May 28, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled that customers who financed a vehicle through a Florida car dealership were bound by the arbitration provision contained within a signed purchase order and retail installment sale contact. The customer plaintiffs...
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Our Class Actions Team
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FYI
"The great data breach standing circuit split" by Amanda R. Lawrence and Michael A. Rome (Law360)
Recent Blog Posts
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August 15, 2019
District Court rejects stop-payment fee class action against bank
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August 15, 2019
3rd Circuit: QR code on debt collection letter violates FDCPA
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July 24, 2019
District Court strikes class certification from robocall suit
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July 12, 2019
4th Circuit holds lenders sufficiently proved tribal immunity
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June 13, 2019
7th Circuit: Detailed creditor information does not violate FDCPA