John is Co-Chair of the Firm's Commercial Litigation Practice Group and represents banks, finance companies, insurance companies, leasing companies and real estate developers in courts and arbitration proceedings across the country. Over the course of his career, Mr. Houlihan has developed particular expertise in credit card and mortgage product litigation. Within the past four years, John has defended financial institutions in consumer class actions involving alleged violations of consumer protection and unfair business practices statues in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California, Maryland, New Hampshire and New York. John is the editor of Massachusetts Discovery Practice, a comprehensive two-volume treatise on discovery under the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. Notable Experience · John currently leads a team of attorneys representing a financial institution in a putative class action pending in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland in which the plaintiffs allege violation of Maryland's Credit Grantor Closed End Credit Act and Consumer Debt Collection Act as well as related common law claims arising in connection with an alleged policy requiring the inclusion of additional products in connection with a finance company's agreement to take assignments of consumer installment sales contracts. · John currently leads a team of attorneys representing a financial institution in a Massachusetts State Court action in which the plaintiff alleges violations of the Massachusetts Securities Act in connection with the alleged sale of residential mortgage backed securities. · Last year a team of attorneys lead by John obtained a favorable non-class based settlement of a putative class action pending in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island in which the plaintiffs asserted violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. · A team of attorneys lead by John recently achieved a favorable non-class settlement of a putative Massachusetts class action in which the plaintiffs alleged violations of Massachusetts' Retail Installment Sales Act and the Uniform Commercial Code, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 106 §9-614 and 9-616 in connection with the calculation of debtor balances following the post-repossession sale of collateral. · Last year, John obtained the dismissal of an action in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in which the plaintiff alleged that a financial institution violated certain federal regulations governing notice obligations after a check is dishonored as fraudulent. · John lead a team of attorneys that obtained a summary judgment order dismissing claims asserted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio for breach of contract, fraud and violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in connection with floor plan financing provided to an Ohio automobile dealership. · John was part of a team of attorneys that negotiated and obtained a favorable settlement of a putative New York class action in which the plaintiff alleged violation of New York's consumer protection statute and breach of common law obligations in connection with the alleged failure to estimate fairly the anticipated fees and expenses associated with residential real estate transactions. The case settled after the defendant successfully moved to strike the plaintiffs' class claims. · John negotiated the favorable settlement of claims asserted against a national financial institution relating to a dispute concerning the proper allocation of losses arising as a result of a data uploading error in a supplier early payment program. The case settled after a motion to strike portions of an expert's report put the plaintiff's ability to establish the bulk of its damage claim in jeopardy. · John lead a team of attorneys that obtained the dismissal of both a Massachusetts and a California federal court class action challenge to the manner in which credit card companies adjust the applicable rate of interest charged on credit card accounts and successfully defended the Massachusetts judgment in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. · John successfully represented an insurance company in its effort to withdraw from the New Hampshire and Massachusetts small group health insurance markets and the simultaneous termination of a contract with the company's managing general underwriter. · John obtained a favorable settlement of claims for breach of a purchase and sale agreement and a servicing agreement that arose in connection with the sale of $109 million portfolio of credit card receivables. · John led a team of attorneys in the representation of a bank holding company and its affiliates in related Delaware Chancery Court and Rhode Island Superior Court actions concerning alleged breaches of contract and business torts arising in connection with the transfer of a $12 billion credit card portfolio. Our client prevailed on three separate motions for partial summary judgment and at the three week trial of the remaining claims, all of which resulted in a judgment that, after deducting conceded offsets, exceeded $63 million. · After obtaining a partial summary judgment for the leasing subsidiary of a financial institution in a Massachusetts state court action, which resulted in the dismissal of the Lessee's claims concerning the end-of-lease purchase of liquefied natural gas storage facilities, John successfully mediated his client's claims by achieving the execution of a lease extension agreement with a present value that exceeded the Lessee's original settlement offer by more than 770%. · John successfully defended a financial institution in a Rhode Island federal court jury trial in which the plaintiff alleged violations of the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act and the Bulk Transfer Act as well as common law fraud. The Court's directed verdict in favor of John's client was upheld on appeal to the First Circuit. · John has successfully negotiated favorable settlements of multiple New Hampshire and Maryland consumer class action claims asserting violations of state statutes governing the installment sale of automobiles. Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications · John recently chaired a Massachusetts CLE panel discussion on Massachusetts Discovery Practice in which he presented on the topic of taking and defending depositions. · John edited Massachusetts Discovery Practice (MCLE 2010), a comprehensive two volume treatise on discovery under the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. · "Preemption in the Wake of Watters v. Wachovia and Other Key Recent Developments," speaker, 7th National Advanced Forum on Consumer Finance Class Actions & Litigation, New York, New York, January 29 - 30, 2008. News & Publications September 18, 2009, 'Guide to the World's Leading Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyers' Lists 13 EAPD Attorneys (US, UK and Hong Kong) December 2007, THE SUBPRIME LENDING CRISIS: The Legal Fallout
Risk Management WPLI "WATCHBOX" Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Volume 2: State Privacy Initiatives
Edwards & Angell, LLP Besides Edwards Wildman John enjoys spending time with his wife, Jennifer, and their five children. He is an avid fly fisherman, upland bird hunter and downhill skier. Events January 29, 2008 - January 30, 2008, New York, NY, 7th National Advanced Forum on Consumer Finance Class Actions & Litigation
Incorporating New Legal Developments into Practical Strategies for Preventing and Prevailing in - Litigation Industries · Automotive · Banking & Financial Institutions Memberships · American Bar Association · Boston Bar Association · Massachusetts Bar Association · New Hampshire Bar Association · Rhode Island Bar Association |