Consumer & Banking Litigation

Drawing on Davis Wright Tremaine's deep understanding of the consumer banking industry, we employ litigation strategies as advanced as our clients' financial products and services.

What We Offer

Industry experience. We represent clients in litigation in federal and state courts nationwide, often defending consumer class actions, single-plaintiff claims, third-party subpoena matters, and large portfolios of complex mortgage litigation. To these disputes, we bring a comprehensive understanding of the work of our clients, which include banks, credit unions, consumer financial providers, payments processors, mortgage lenders, fintechs, and other financial institutions.
Statutory knowledge. We have extensive experience defending clients against claims under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). We also defend a wide range of class and individual claims under other federal securities laws, unfair and deceptive business practices statutes, and state statutes focused on consumer protection, privacy, anti-discrimination, and sales practices.
Complementary strength. Davis Wright Tremaine's strength in regulatory and transactional matters for consumer financial services providers complements the work of our litigators, giving us a valuable depth of understanding of the matters we litigate. Similarly, our litigators benefit from the insights of closely related practices, including data privacy and security.

Creditor's Rights

We regularly advise financial services companies in connection with creditor's rights and bankruptcy issues involving retailers, drawing on a deep understanding of the processing side of the business. We have advised major issuers on the bankruptcies of Sears, H.H. Gregg, Toys R Us, and other major retailers.

Defense of a credit union in a putative consumer class action asserting claims of breach of contract and conversion, as well as violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act for the credit union's allegedly charging overdraft fees in a misleading and unlawful way. After our motion to dismiss, the case settled on an individual basis.
Defense of a major credit union in a similar action asserting violations of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, in which we obtained dismissal on a motion to dismiss.
Representation of a large financial institution in defending a putative class action based on out-of-network ATM fees. Using novel early-case assessment and factual development, we convinced the plaintiffs to drop our client from the action without even having to file a motion.
Defense of a credit union in a putative consumer class action alleging breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, violations of California consumer protection statutes, unjust enrichment, and money had and received.
Defense of a major, established fintech lender in a putative class action based on claims it violated the FCRA.
Successful defense of the payment processor subsidiary of a national bank in the Northern District of Georgia against claims alleging trade secret misappropriation and copyright infringement in connection with encryption software used in payment processing systems.
Defense of a digital payment processor in consumer class action arising from a three-day period during which some customers could not access their accounts.
Representation of a payment processor in a CFPB investigation related to alleged Reg. E and UDAAP violations.
Representation of a large financial institution in a putative California state class action alleging that our client required mortgage loan borrowers to enter into unsecured loan agreements as a condition of allowing a short sale.