Holland & Hart LLP

Holland & Hart's Lender Liability Defense Group has extensive experience defending lending institutions, commercial banks, and investment banks against claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, negligence, and tortious interference, among others.

The group's experience also extends to actions under multiple statutes including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Anti-Tying Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, and the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act.

In addition to their own experience, the litigators in this practice group draw on extensive industry and subject matter knowledge from within the firm. Our real estate, bankruptcy, financial and commercial transactions practice groups provide additional value to complex cases. 

Representative Experience
Holland & Hart has defended:

• A bank facing multimillion dollar claims based on wrongful foreclosure, fraud, RICO, and numerous other theories. Holland & Hart tried the case successfully to a jury which found in favor of the lender. On appeal, the Utah Supreme Court affirmed in part and remanded for new trial on other issues. The second jury trial again resulted in a verdict in favor of the lender, which was affirmed on appeal. Related actions filed in federal court were consolidated and summary judgment was granted in favor of the lender.
   
• A multimillion dollar claim based on alleged wrongful foreclosure and fraudulent transfers. We succeeded in having the trial bifurcated to give the lender a separate trial where fraud claims against other defendants would not be heard. We also obtained a ruling that the plaintiff was not entitled to a jury trial on the claims against lender.  The case was settled on the eve of trial at no out-of-pocket cost to our client.
   
• An insurance company in lender liability litigation in federal court, where our client prevailed at summary judgment and recovered its fees and costs.
• A bank in a $2.5 million claim alleging fraud, negligence and conspiracy by a loan officer in inducing the plaintiff to invest in a venture. Summary judgment was granted for the defendants.
   
• A bank against a claim for hundreds of millions of dollars based on wrongful foreclosure and resulting damages. We successfully moved for summary judgment on behalf of our lender client.
   
• A major bank against action by the receiver in a Securities and Exchange Commission Ponzi scheme seeking millions for wrongful seizure of funds.
   
• An investment bank in action by bankruptcy trustee for breach of contract, breach of good faith and fair dealing, and equitable subordination where the investment bank provided $80 million in financing to a Colorado aircraft company.
   
• A major bank facing multiple lender liability claims related to alleged wrongful residential foreclosures in Colorado, Idaho, and Utah.
   
• A publicly traded lender in federal litigation regarding a claim of fraud in the inducement in issuing residential loan.
   
• A major bank in a series of 10 lender liability cases involving RESPA, TILA, and HOEPA claims.
   
• A bank against an $18 million claim based on alleged negligent misrepresentation by a loan officer.
   
• A bank in a $3.2 million claim alleging negligent misrepresentation by a loan officer which induced plaintiff to make a loan. The case resulted in a favorable settlement for our client.
   
• A financial institution against claims related to alleged breach of an alleged agreement to loan funds. The case settled for less than litigation costs.
   
• A major bank in a lender liability case regarding a $200 million investment in an internet service provider.
   
• A bank against a borrower that had brought a $5 million claim for breach of a commitment letter.
   
• A mortgage provider in a case alleging bad faith in foreclosure.
   
• An insurance conglomerate in a mechanic lien foreclosure action to wipe out the client's deed of trust.
   
• A borrower in $13 million lawsuit for breach of contract, fraud and foreclosure brought by a hard-money lender.

Holland & Hart's Statement of Commitment to Diversity
We are proud of our tradition of fostering and maintaining a work environment in which the diversity of each individual is valued and celebrated. We believe that the contributions of each individual are essential to our continued growth and to our ultimate goal of providing excellent quality legal services to our clients, with greater creativity and innovation. We are committed to taking full advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of our people and to promoting a greater diversity whenever and wherever possible.

Diversity Pledge
Holland & Hart is committed to promoting diversity by:

• Making every possible effort to recruit, hire, retain, and promote diverse persons at all levels of employment.
• Promoting greater sensitivity to the value of racial, ethnic and other forms of diversity, through diversity and sensitivity coaching or training for law firm members.
• Inviting to partnership diverse attorneys who meet the requisite criteria.

Diversity Initiatives
The following are additional examples of our commitment and efforts toward supporting and achieving diversity:

• We make a conscious effort to ensure that women and diverse attorneys are included as voting members of our committees of importance within the firm.
• We work closely with law school deans and placement directors in an effort to identify women and diverse law students who are interested in working at Holland & Hart.
• Holland & Hart offers medical and other benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees on the same terms as it does to spouses of employees.
• We created an Indian Law Practice Group and actively recruited Native American law students and lateral hires.
• Each year we contribute to such scholarship funds as the Colorado Native American Indian Scholarship Fund, the Sam Cary Scholarship Endowment Fund, the Colorado Asian American Bar Scholarship Fund, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Scholarship Fund, and the Colorado Women's Bar Association Scholarship Fund.
• In partnership with the University of Idaho School of Law, we sponsor a "Law by Day, Jazz by Night" each year for undergraduate minority students who have an interest in law.
• We took a leadership role in organizing and supporting the Colorado Pledge Group's Minority First Year Law Student Summer Clerk Program. Through this program, law firms agreed to add at least one diverse first year law student to their summer clerk program.
• We were involved in the creation of the Cross-Professional Business Networking Group, where diverse attorneys in our community can meet and network with non-attorney professionals of color. We view this as a way to help diverse attorneys increase their business development possibilities.

For more information regarding Holland & Hart's commitment to diversity, please contact Peter Houtsma at (303) 295-8259.