Michael D. Ferachi is a member and the managing director in our Baton Rouge office. His primary emphasis is on commercial litigation, with a focus on consumer finance litigation, class action litigation, general business litigation, and insurance defense litigation at both the trial level and the appellate level. Michael also practices in the areas of aviation representation, outdoor advertising representation, trademarks, appellate practice, commercial finance litigation and construction litigation. He has lectured on a number of CLE topics related to litigation issues.
Litigation
Michael is an experienced trial attorney at both the district court and the appellate level. He has litigated cases in all three federal districts in Louisiana and has argued before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on two occasions where, in both instances, he received a positive decision.
Michael has also litigated matters throughout Louisiana at the trial court level and he has argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Louisiana First, Second, and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Consumer Financial Services
Michael has represented a number of clients in local class actions and nationwide class actions. Recently, he represented a large issuer of credit cards in a nationwide class action regarding payment due date and posting practices. He has also represented a major airline and a major credit card company in a nationwide class action regarding the airline's frequent flyer program.
A large part of Michael's practice concerns consumer finance litigation. He has dealt with a number of federal statutes and regulations pertaining to consumer finance litigation, such as FCRA, HOEPA, ECOA, Regulation Z, TILA, FDCPA, and FACT.
Published Opinions
· Mary Ann Tigert v. American Airlines, Inc.; DAL Global Services, L.L.C., 2009 WL 521597 (W.D. La. Dec. 28, 2009), aff'd No. 10-30069, ____ F.3d ____ (5th Cir. Aug. 10, 2010).
· Witty v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 366 F.3d 380 (5th Cir. 2004). The appellate decision in Witty was the first federal appellate court decision involving airlines and deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
· Luckett v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 171 F.3d 295 (5th Cir. 1999)
· Allred v. Moore & Peterson, 117 F.3d 278 (5th Cir. 1997)
· Tigert v. American Airlines, Inc., 2009 WL 5215978 (W.D. La 2009)
· Williams v. Beneficial Administration Company, Inc., et al, 2008 WL 1995050 (E.D. La. 2008)
· Toler v. Green Tree Servicing LLC, 2008 WL 2858728 (W.D.La. 2008)
· Clarkston v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2007 WL 128806 (E.D. La. 2007)
· Pro Active Therapy of Greenville, Inc., et al v. Cenac, 2004 WL 2186617 (E.D. La. 2004)
· Barabay Property Holdings v. Boh Brothers, 2008-C-1185 (La. S. Ct. 03/17/09)
· Certified Capital Corporation v. Reis, 2008 CA 0454 (La. App. 1st Cir. 3/27/09)
· Meyers v. Bank One, N.A., 2007 WL 1300948, 2006-1450 (La.App.1st.Cir. 5/4/07)
· John H. Onstott v. Certified Capital Corporation, 2005 CA 2548 (La. App. 1st Cir. 11/03/06)
· Vishal Hospitality, LLC v. Choice Hotels International, Inc., 2004 CA 0568R (La. App. 1st Cir. 06/28/2006)
· Certified Capital Corp. v. Reis, 897 So.2d 128 (La. App. 1st Cir. 2005)
· Chase Manhattan Mort. Corp v. Lassiter, 889 So.2d 1155 (La. App. 5th Cir. 11/30/04)
· Townsend v. Urie, 800 So.2d 11 (La. App. 1st Cir. 5/11/01)
· U.S. Pollution Control, Inc. v. National American Ins. Co., 663 So.2d 119 (La. App. 3d Cir. 8/30/95)
Professional Affiliations
· American Bar Association, House of Delegates, 2003-2005
· Louisiana State Bar Association, House of Delegates, 2004-present
· Baton Rouge Bar Association, Immediate Past President (2005); President (2004); President-elect (2003); Treasurer and Secretary (2002); Board member (1998-2005)
· The Federal Bar Association, Baton Rouge Chapter, 2004-present
· Louisiana Law Review, 1987-1989
· Wex S. Malone Chapter of the American Inns of Court, Former Barrister
Presentations
· "Update on FDCPA and TCPA," Consumer Credit 2011, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2011
· "FDCPA and TCPA: Compliance and Litigation Issues," Consumer Finance Legal Conference, 2011
· "CAFA Removal and Remand: Latest Developments: Navigating Class Action Jurisdictional Ambiguities Amid Evolving Circuit Court Standards," Strafford Webinars and Teleconferences, 2011
· "Cutting Edge Procedural Strategies in Defending Class Actions: CAFA, Class Certification and Beyond," Consumer Finance, Class Actions & Litigation, American Conference Institute, 2011
· "Update on FCRA Issues and Developments," Debt Collection, Loan Servicing, Foreclosure and Consumer Bankruptcy, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2010
· "Update on FCRA Issues and Litigation," Consumer Finance Legal Conference, 2010
· "Update on FCRA Issues and Developments," Consumer Credit 2010, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2010
· "Update on FCRA Issues and Litigation," Consumer Finance Legal Conference, 2009
· "Update on FCRA Issues and Developments," Consumer Credit 2009, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2009
· "Update on FCRA Issues and Developments," Debt Collection, Loan Servicing, Foreclosure and Consumer Bankruptcy, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2009
· "Lender Liability Claims from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita," Texas State Bar Association, 2008
· "Other FCRA Developments and Litigation - Red Flag ID Theft Rules and Issues," Credit 2008, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2008
· "Current Fair Debt Collection Practice Act Issues," Consumer Debt Collection, Loan Servicing, and Bankruptcy Seminar, The Credit Law Institute and Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2008
· "Emerging Trends on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," Consumer Finance Legal Seminar, 2007
· "Emerging Trends in Class Actions," Consumer Credit Seminar, The Credit Law Institute and the Conference on Consumer Finance Law, 2007
· "CAFA-nated: The Class Action Fairness Act Primer," Baton Rouge Bar Association, 2006
· "Class Action Fairness Act: What It Is and How It Has Been Applied," Federal Bar Association, 2006
Publications
· "Fair Credit Reporting Act Update," Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol. 65, Nos. 1-2, Spring and Summer 2011
· "Removal of Attorney General Actions Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005," CLASS, Vol. 12, No. 9, May 13, 2011
· "Removal of Attorney General Actions Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005," Product Safety & Liability, 39 PSLR 441, April 25, 2011 (BNA, Inc.)
· "Removal of Attorney General Actions Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005," Topics Law Reporter, 26 TXLR 443, April 14, 2001 (BNA, Inc.)
· "Survey of Current FDCPA Developments," Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report, Vol. 63, Nos. 3-4, Fall-Winter 2009
Community and Other Activities
· Junior Achievement Teacher, 2010
· Episcopal High School, Chair of Board of Trustees, 2007-2009
· St. James Episcopal Day School, Chair of Board of Supervision, 2001-2002
· Boy Scouts of America, Cub Scout Den Leader, 2002-2007
Professional Recognition
· The Best Lawyers in America ® (Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Banking & Finance)
· Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated Lawyer
· Louisiana Super Lawyers Appellate, Business Litigation, Class Action/Mass Torts
Awards & Honors
LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated