- Representing mortgage lenders and servicers, consumer lenders, payday lenders, banks, and other financial services companies in defense of claims arising under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), unfair and deceptive trade practices acts, consumer fraud statutes, and a wide variety of state common law claim theories.
- Defending a leading hedge fund administrator in a North Carolina Business Court lawsuit involving securities fraud and gross negligence claims related to an investment manager’s alleged Ponzi scheme.
- Prosecuting breach of contract and fraud claims in a North Carolina Business Court lawsuit on behalf of a Fortune 500 bank in connection with losses resulting from its purchase of a bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) policy.
- Representing a Fortune 200 auto parts distributor in connection with multimillion-dollar cross-contract claims pending in the Northern District of Georgia.
- Defended numerous banks in actions by local HUD offices alleging housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act.
- Defended a Fortune 500 bank in a putative nationwide class action alleging consumer fraud and deceptive advertising in connection with the bank’s refinance alternative program.
- Defended former officers and directors of several failed banks in lawsuits filed by the FDIC alleging negligence and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the banks’ failures.
- Obtained dismissal of class claims and favorable settlement of individual plaintiffs’ claims in a putative class action against a mortgage servicer alleging wrongful imposition of lender-placed insurance.
- Defended former bank directors against breach of fiduciary duty and negligence claims by a commercial borrower alleging misuse of confidential loan information.
- Defended a Fortune 500 bank in a mass action alleging conspiracy to defraud a group of real estate purchasers within coastal developments.
- Prosecuted claims on behalf of a commercial finance company against an equipment supplier alleging a fraudulent scheme in breach of a vendor agreement.
- Defended a mortgage servicer in consumer lawsuits alleging improper foreclosure procedures and violations of the FDCPA and FCRA.
- Defended a payday lender on appeal of a class certification order and settlement negotiations.
- Obtained summary judgment and denial of class certification on behalf of a mortgage servicer in a putative class action by mortgage borrowers alleging claims under TILA, RESPA, and state unfair and deceptive practices statute.
Counsel,
- Phone: +1 919 862 2283
- Email: ryan.ethridge@alston.com
Individuals and companies in the financial services industry rely on Ryan to resolve class actions and other complex commercial disputes.
Ryan Ethridge is counsel with Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group. He focuses his national practice on complex commercial litigation with an emphasis on the defense of class actions in the financial services industry. While representing banks, lenders, loan servicers, and other companies in a variety of industries, Ryan has prosecuted and defended claims involving breach of contract, consumer fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, RICO and antitrust violations, predatory lending and usury, negligent loan servicing, wrongful foreclosure, and alleged violations of various state and federal laws and regulations, including TILA, RESPA, FCRA, FDCPA, and HUD/FHA.
Ryan received his J.D. with highest honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he was awarded entry into the Order of the Coif, served as a comments editor on the North Carolina Law Review, and received the Thornton H. Brooks Memorial Scholarship for Law Review Excellence. After earning his law degree, Ryan served on the North Carolina Business Court as law clerk to the Honorable Albert Diaz, who is currently on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
A resident of Raleigh, Ryan is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and is admitted to practice in North Carolina’s state and federal courts, as well as the Fourth Circuit.
Bar Admissions
- North Carolina
Education
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (J.D., 2008)
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A., 2003)
Memberships
- North Carolina Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Supreme Court Historical Society