David Searles

DAVID A. SEARLES, partner, is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Sixth Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, as well as the state courts of Pennsylvania.

He is a 1972 graduate of Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan (B.A. in English) and a 1975 graduate of the American University Law College, Washington, D.C., where he served on law review.  Following graduation from law school, Mr. Searles was an attorney for Community Legal Services of Philadelphia for over seventeen years, specializing in consumer and bankruptcy law.

In 1990, he successfully argued the first consumer reorganization bankruptcy case considered by the U.S. Supreme Court, Pennsylvania v. Davenport, 495 U.S. 552 (1990), and has served as lead counsel and presented argument in numerous bankruptcy and consumer law cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, including Harris v. Green Tree Financial Corporation, 183 F.3d 173 (3d Cir. 1999); In re Colon, 941 F.2d 242 (3d Cir. 1991); Smith v. Fidelity Consumer Discount Company, 898 F.2d 896 (3d. Cir. 1990); In re Szostek, 886 F. 2d 1405 (3d Cir. 1989); Whittaker v. Philadelphia Electric Company, 882 F.2d 791 (3d Cir. 1989); Watts v. Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, 876 F.2d 1090 (3d Cir. 1989); Crossley v. Lieberman, 868 F. 2d 566 (3d Cir. 1989); Abele v. Mid-Penn Consumer Discount Company, 77 B.R. 460 (E.D. Pa. 1987), aff’d 845 F.2d 1009 (3d. Cir. 1988); Washington v. Heckler, 756 F.2d 959 (3d. Cir. 1985).  From 1992 through 1997, Mr. Searles was associated with the Philadelphia law firm of Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP, where his practice focused on Chapter 11 bankruptcy and creditor's rights.

In June 2005, Mr. Searles was awarded the Equal Justice Award at the Community Legal Services Breakfast of Champions for his role in directing funding for legal assistance for low-income residents of Philadelphia.

Mr. Searles is the Managing Editor of the Survey of State Class Action Law (ABA Section on Litigation), 2006; Contributing Author of Pennsylvania Consumer Law (Banks Baldwin Law Publishing Company), 2006; co-author of Preserving Judicial Recourse for Consumers: How to Combat Overreaching Arbitration Clauses, 10 Loyola Consumer L. Rev. 269 (1998) and author of Tips In Handling Individual Bankruptcy Cases, Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly, January 1997. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Consumer Bankruptcy Assistance Project, a non-profit organization providing pro bono bankruptcy services to low-income Philadelphia residents, where he received an award for outstanding volunteer service in 1997. He has taught advanced bankruptcy law at Rutgers University School of Law - Camden, business law at Widener University and bankruptcy law at Pierce Junior College, Philadelphia. He is a past co-chairperson of the Education Committee of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference.

Recent litigation decisions include: 



          Piper v. Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd., 396 F.3d 227 (3d Cir. 2005) 
          (holding that debt collection law applies to collection of water/sewer bills).

Colbert v. Dymacol, Inc., 344 F.3d 334 (3d Cir. 2003) (en banc court vacated panel decision and held Rule 68 offer to class representative not appropriate).

Piper v. Portnoff Law Associates, Ltd., 262 F. Supp. 2d 520 (E.D. Pa. May 15, 2003) (court preliminarily enjoined sheriff sale for unpaid water bill).

Samuel v. Equicredit Corp., C.A. No. 00-6196 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 11, 2002) (settlement of class action on behalf of twelve thousand Pennsylvania residential homeowners victimized by practices and policies of a sub-prime home equity lender; class members received $2,500,000 payment, plus substantial foreclosure relief).

Braun v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2003 WL 1847695 (Pa. Com. Pl. January 15, 2003) (court prohibited Wal-Mart from conducting ex parte interviews with current and former employees who are class members).

Saunders v. Berks Credit and Collections, Inc., 2002 WL 1497374 (E.D. Pa. July 11, 2002) (approval of class action settlement against three debt collector defendants under Fair Debt Collection Practices Act).

Oslan v. Collection Bureau Hudson Valley, 206 F.R.D. 109 (E.D. Pa. 2002) (certifying FDCPA class action under Rules 23(b)(2) and (3)).

Gary v. Goldman & Co., 180 F.Supp.2d 668 (E.D.Pa. 2002) (ruling that dishonored check is "debt" under FDCPA).

Greer v. Shapiro & Kreisman, 152 F. Supp.2d 679 (E.D. Pa. 2001) (denial of motion to dismiss class action under FDCPA).

Williams v. Empire Funding Corp., 183 F.R.D. 428 (E.D. Pa. 1998), 109 F.Supp.2d 352 (E.D. Pa. 2000) (class action against a predatory lender who deprived consumers of their right to rescission under the federal Truth-In-Lending Act through the use of a deceptive two-contract scheme).

Fry v. Hayt, Hayt & Landau, 198 F.R.D. 461 (E.D. Pa. 2000) ($453,000 settlement of debt collection class action involving over 55,000 class members who received deceptive dunning letters from the defendant debt collector law firm).

Newton v. United Companies Financial Corp., 24 F. Supp. 2d 444 (E.D. Pa. 1998) (plaintiffs prevailed in case against a sub-prime home equity lender for violations of the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, achieving rescission of the mortgages and awards of money damages)