- Counsel to some of the largest RMBS, CMBS, and corporate trustees in various investor disputes and commercial litigation matters in New York, Delaware, Minnesota and other jurisdictions.
- Obtained complete dismissal of multiple putative class actions against several regional and community banks relating to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
- Obtained complete dismissal of a federal court lawsuit against a national bank arising out of the sale of a large pool of residential mortgage loans.
- Obtained complete dismissal of a federal court lawsuit against a corporate trustee involving claims relating to the sale of a commercial aircraft. Represented one of the largest corporate trustees regarding the LIBOR transition.
- Counsel to payment card issuers, fintech, and other payment solutions providers in commercial and consumer litigation.
- Represented several banks in class action and mass arbitration matters involving checking account overdraft fees.
- Obtained a denial of motion for a TRO and the complete dismissal of a lawsuit before discovery for a payment solutions provider in a contract action brought by a consumer payment processor.
- Obtained complete dismissal of a federal court putative class action against a large retailer arising out of credit card holds.
- Represented several national and regional banks in loss-share disputes and arbitration with the FDIC.
- Represented the court-appointed Examiner in the Enron Corp. bankruptcy.
Partner,
- Phone: +1 404 881 4790
- Email: chris.riley@alston.com
As co-leader of the firm's Financial Services Litigation Team, Chris has been at the forefront of financial services litigation for many years. He represents financial institutions and financial services providers in a wide assortment of commercial and consumer disputes, including litigation, enforcement and compliance matters.
Trials
- Trial counsel defending an international, privately held card-linked marketing company in a federal court bench trial. The case settled for nuisance value after the plaintiff concluded its case.
- Trial counsel on behalf of a Fortune 50 computer company in a trade secrets and unfair competition jury trial in New Orleans. The plaintiffs sought more than $5 billion in damages, and after a seven-week trial, the jury rejected the trade secrets and punitive damages claims, awarding the plaintiffs less than 0.2 percent of claimed damages.
- Trial counsel in a plaintiff’s case on behalf of an affiliate of the fifth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. in a jury trial in Atlanta asserting contract and equitable claims. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the bank on all claims, awarding the bank a seven-figure judgment, plus attorneys’ fees.
- Trial counsel in a plaintiff’s case for a medical technology company in a jury trial in a patent case in North Carolina, securing an eight-figure settlement from one defendant before the trial and receiving a winning verdict against the remaining defendants at the trial.
- Trial counsel to a multinational chemical company in a two-week state court trial regarding alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. The case settled favorably following trial.
- Trial counsel for a municipality and individual defendants in a bid-rigging federal court jury trial. Before trial, obtained appellate reversal of the trial court’s denial of individual defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The appellate court similarly reversed the adverse jury verdict and directed judgment in favor of the defendants.
Chris Riley is co-leader of the Financial Services & Investment Funds Litigation Team and a trial lawyer who has represented clients in a wide assortment of litigation in state and federal courts across the country. Those clients include national, regional, and community banks; trustees, deal parties and institutional investors in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), collateralized loan obligations (CLO) and other types of securitizations and structured products transactions; mortgage loan servicers and master servicers; commercial lenders; real estate investors; payment card issuers and payment solutions providers; and other commercial and consumer finance companies. This work has involved trials, appeals, arbitrations, and pre-litigation counseling matters in individual and class actions. In addition to his financial services practice, Chris has frequently represented a variety of Fortune 500 companies in diverse commercial litigation matters. Chris has been annually recognized as a leading lawyer in banking and finance litigation by The Best Lawyers in America®.
Bar Admissions
- Florida
- Georgia
Education
- Vanderbilt University (J.D., 1998)
- Florida State University (B.S., 1995)