Consumer Financial Services Litigation | McGlinchey Stafford PLLC

McGlinchey's Consumer Financial Services Litigation Group is a recognized leader among the nation's most respected financial services institutions.

Our litigation practice brings together a skilled team of attorneys who have represented banks, finance companies, thrifts, mortgage banks, credit unions, and credit card issuers in hundreds of class actions in the past ten years in state, federal, and bankruptcy courts, and in arbitration proceedings. Accordingly, McGlinchey is at the forefront regarding all of the complex issues facing the financial services sector.

Our seamless, multi-disciplinary approach to consumer finance litigation is essential in developing litigation strategies and arguments at the earliest stages of a case. Every litigation matter we handle involves participation by not only the firm’s litigation and regulatory and compliance attorneys, but also by attorneys who continually interact with relevant government, regulatory, consumer advocacy, and trade constituencies. The firm’s ability to efficiently communicate across practice groups significantly lowers the amount of time we spend on research, ensuring that our client’s legal team focuses on the vital issue at hand – winning the case.

Represented Servicer and GSE in Servicing-Related Litigation
Represented national loan servicer and GSE/investor in wrongful servicing federal litigation, successfully defending claims of willful breach of contract, conversion, fraud, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, and violations of FDCPA, RESPA, and Mississippi S.A.F.E. Mortgage Act. Obtained summary judgment on all claims in favor of bothMore
Representation of National Bank in Putative Class Action Involving National Homeowner Forbearance Program
Represented national bank and subsidiaries in a putative nationwide class action involving a national homeowner forbearance program, alleging that the bank enrolled thousands of troubled homeowners in the program without the borrowers’ consent in order to receive incentive fees. The federal district court denied class certification.
Representation of National Bank in Mass Actions Involving Mortgage Fraud Claims
Represented national bank and subsidiaries in over a dozen mass actions involving hundreds of plaintiffs with mortgage fraud claims filed in multiple state and federal courts.
Obtained favorable jury verdict on breach of contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing claims related to the denial of SBA loan.
The plaintiff claimed that our client, a national bank, had breached the terms of a conditional loan commitment to finance the purchase and renovation of a building for a Subway restaurant by withdrawing the commitment after the plaintiff spent tens of thousands of dollars repairing the property. The case ultimately proceeded to a jury trialMore
Successfully obtained judgment for mortgage servicing client on falsification and fraud claims.
Represented a national bank in which a borrower filed counterclaims against the bank alleging that it fabricated her signature on a promissory note. After extensive discovery, we moved for summary judgment, and the court ultimately granted the bank’s motion, finding that the borrower’s purported handwriting expert did not qualify as one and that the signatureMore
Successfully overturned judgment denying client’s motion to compel arbitration.
Our client, an indirect automobile finance company, had moved to compel arbitration of a lawsuit filed against it. When the motion was denied, we appealed and were successful in not only getting the judgment reversed but also getting the appellate court to declare that the client’s arbitration clause was not substantively and procedurally unconscionable.
Representation of National Bank in Mortgage Foreclosure Dispute in Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal
Successfully represented a national bank on an issue of first impression before the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. The bank foreclosed on a mortgage through executory process. The property owner was served with the notice of seizure and sale. Several days before the scheduled sale, the property owner filed for bankruptcy protection. However, afterMore
Representation of National Financial Services Clients in Contested Foreclosure Actions
Represents national financial services institutions in contested foreclosure actions involving claims of violations of various state and federal consumer statutes, as well as common law claims.
Successfully obtained judgment in a foreclosure lawsuit by establishing mortgage servicer’s compliance with HUD/FHA regulations prior to foreclosure
Borrowers asserted numerous counterclaims and defenses in a contested foreclosure claiming that client failed to comply with HUD/FHA regulations prior to foreclosure and as a result, was stopped from foreclosing. After significant discovery, we moved for summary judgment, arguing that non-compliance with HUD/FHA regulations can only form a defense, not an affirmative cause of action,More
Representation of National Servicer in Cases Brought by Chapter 13 Debtors
Represented national servicer in approximately 35 separate cases brought by Chapter 13 debtors claiming violations of Bankruptcy Code related to computation and allocation of interest on monthly payments.

Introduction: A Deep Dive into the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) impacts every aspect of a U.S. consumer’s life. Consumer reports are obtained by lenders, employers, landlords, and even utility companies, impacting the cost of credit and everyday services, as well as the ability to obtain employment or access housing.
Default Mortgage Servicing of Litigated Matters in the COVID-19 Era
Shanna Boughton (Boston), Patrick Voke (Boston), and Dennis Amore (New York City) co-authored an article summarizing some of the regulatory developments affecting default mortgage servicers and further considerations for handling default litigation in the ABA Business Law Section’s The Business Lawyer, Volume 76, Issue 2, Spring 2021.
Supreme Court decision provides clarity on TCPA
Attorneys Joe Apatov (Ft. Lauderdale) and Aaron Kouhoupt (Cleveland) were quoted in an April 7 article in Auto Finance News detailing the specifics of the Supreme Court's decision in the Facebook v. Duguid case.
SCOTUS clarifies “autodialer” definition in Facebook TCPA decision
On April 1, 2021, the Supreme Court held in a 9-0 decision that an “automatic telephone dialing system” is a device that has the capacity either to store a telephone number using a random or sequential generator, or to produce a telephone number using a random or sequential number generator. As a quick refresher: the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts certain calls made by an “auto dialer,” which the TCPA defines as equipment which has the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator and to dial such numbers.”
Podcast: Is the TCPA Unconstitutional?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is always the subject of litigation. The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the government debt exception, which was added to the statute in 2015, was unconstitutional. Can the Court's recent ruling be interpreted to mean the entirety of the TCPA has been unconstitutional since 2015?