Bryan A. Fratkin

Bryan co-chairs the firm's consumer financial services litigation practice group. He represents large financial institutions involved in credit card, banking, and mortgage litigation, alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Truth in Lending Act, Credit Repair Organizations Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Bankruptcy Discharge Injunction and Stay, and state law consumer protection statutes. In several cases brought as putative class actions, he has prevailed on motions requiring arbitration on an individual, non-class basis.

Firm/Organization: McGuireWoods LLP

Blogs: Class Action Countermeasures, Consumer FinSights, Subject to Inquiry

Latest Articles

Class Action Countermeasures

9th Circuit Saves Nationwide Settlement Classes

By Bethany Gayle Lukitsch, Bryan A. Fratkin & Anthony Q. Le

June 7, 2019

Sometimes settlement with a putative class of nationwide consumers is the best option for resolution. However, since the initial ruling of the Ninth Circuit in In re Hyundai & Kia Fuel Econ. Litig., the mechanism to go about doing so has been in flux. On June 6, 2019, the full en banc Ninth Circuit finally answered class action practitioners’ questions and affirmed the district court’s June 2015 final settlement approval order and certification of a…

Class Action Countermeasures

California Court of Appeals Joins FCRA’s Mad Tea Party

By Heidi Siegmund & Bryan A. Fratkin

April 24, 2019

The roller coaster of employer liability under the background check provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) recently took an upswing with the California Court of Appeals’ decision in Culberson v. Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. The Culberson court considered two class claims, both of which are now-familiar spindles ready to prick the fingers of unwitting employers. First, Culberson alleged that he received a pre-background check notice from Disney that contained extraneous information,…

Class Action Countermeasures

Hyper-Technical Interpretation: 9th Circuit Increases FCRA Reach

By Heidi Siegmund, Bryan A. Fratkin, Joel Allen, Sabrina A. Beldner, Matthew C. Kane, Christopher M. Michalik & Bruce M. Steen

February 5, 2019

On Jan. 29, 2019, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a strikingly broad decision, raised the bar for employers’ compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In Gilberg v California Check Cashing Stores LLC, the court held that an employer violates the FCRA by including, in a pre-background check notice form, information about a job applicant’s rights under various state laws. This decision will require significant revision of many employers’ FCRA…

Consumer FinSights

Credit Card Litigation Update

By Bryan A. Fratkin

May 3, 2018

Case Developments April 12, 2018 – May 1, 2018 In this edition of our Credit Card Litigation update, we summarize a decision out of the Seventh Circuit where the court granted a credit card issuer’s motion to compel arbitration and a decision out of the Sixth Circuit where the Court granted a judgment creditor’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Fuller v. Frontline Asset Strategies, LLC et …

Class Action Countermeasures

New Jersey Supreme Court’s One-Two Punch with Spade/Wenger and Dugan Decisions Scores Knockout of TCCWNA Class Actions

By Bryan A. Fratkin, Seth Schaeffer & J. Patrick McNichol

May 2, 2018

For years, companies doing business in New Jersey have been plagued by an archaic statute— the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (“TCCWNA,” pronounced Tick-wa-nah)—adored only by consumer class action lawyers. Among other things, the statute prohibits companies from inserting provisions in their customer contracts and other notices that include harmless phrases like “void where prohibited by law” without also disclosing whether the provision is void in New Jersey. To be fair, the…

Subject to Inquiry

The U.S. Department of Justice is Ramping Up its Enforcement of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

By Edward G. Rosenblatt, Bryan A. Fratkin & Myra Chapman

December 6, 2016

Think you are in compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act? Now would be a good time to make sure since the federal government is increasing its enforcement efforts as part of its Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is a federal law that provides a wide range of protections to eligible servicemembers. The law’s purpose is to postpone or suspend certain civil obligations so that members of the Armed Forces…

Bryan A. Fratkin

9th Circuit Saves Nationwide Settlement Classes

California Court of Appeals Joins FCRA’s Mad Tea Party

Hyper-Technical Interpretation: 9th Circuit Increases FCRA Reach

Credit Card Litigation Update

New Jersey Supreme Court’s One-Two Punch with Spade/Wenger and Dugan Decisions Scores Knockout of TCCWNA Class Actions

The U.S. Department of Justice is Ramping Up its Enforcement of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

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