Kassia Fialkoff

Representative Matters

• Represented a national bank in obtaining a dismissal of an aiding-and-abetting fraud claim filed against them, in a case involving a romance scam where the plaintiff alleged that co-defendants impersonated a well-known retired United States Army general, formed a relationship with her over Facebook and then convinced her to wire them $200,000 in connection with purported real estate investment opportunities that turned out to be fictional. Successfully argued that the client had no duty to monitor and investigate customer accounts and that the plaintiff failed to allege sufficient facts to establish that the bank had actual knowledge of, or that it had substantially assisted in, the fraud.

• Represented a national mortgage loan servicing company in obtaining the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the client’s lien on real property and related note in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania; plaintiffs had alleged that the loan originator lost the note before the mortgage was assigned to the client.

• Won federal court jury trial defending Ocwen Loan Servicing and U.S. Bank, as trustee for investors in mortgage-backed securities, against claims of wrongful foreclosure, fraud, conversion and trespass, and seeking an award for emotional distress, and punitive damages. The jury returned a complete defense verdict, finding in favor of our clients on all claims.

• Won a dismissal with prejudice on behalf of a loan servicing company in the Southern District of Florida against a mortgagor who filed a suit alleging violations of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") and its implementing regulation, Regulation X, 12 C.F.R. § 1024.36. The court held the mortgagor failed to allege actual damages and the alleged violation was not sufficient to support a pattern or practice entitling the mortgagor to statutory damages.

• Vacated a six-figure final judgment entered against a bank client six months after it was entered, following the filing of a Rule 60 motion.

• Won an appeal on behalf of a bank client in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on the grounds that the appeal was moot. The Bankruptcy Court granted stay relief to enforce a mortgage against real property after the chapter 13 Trustee had abandoned the property.

• Obtained summary judgement on behalf of a bank client in a ruling by the Superior Court in and for the State of Maine, dismissing plaintiff’s claims for breach of contract, rescission, negligent misrepresentation, equitable estoppel, and promissory estoppel.

• Obtained a summary judgment in the United States District Court for the District of Maine on behalf of a bank client on negligence based claims related to water damage to three condominium units in Maine in which the Plaintiffs were seeking a half a million dollars in damages.

• Won summary judgment for a major bank in the Southern District of Florida, in an action in which plaintiff alleged a violation of a non-disparagement clause by the reporting of accurate, negative, account information to the credit reporting agencies. The Court found both factual and legal bases warranted dismissal of Plaintiff’s claim.

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a loan servicer in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against a title insurance company who refused to provide a defense on all counts of a complaint alleging that the insured mortgage was not properly notarized and therefore, not enforceable. The court held that the “in for one, in for all” rule applied to title insurance policies, and that the title insurance company was therefore required to reimburse the loan servicer for its defense costs relating to the defense of the uncovered claims.

• Counsel to lender in a quiet title action to obtain reinstatement of fraudulently discharged mortgage.

• Obtained an order permitting a mortgagee to record a copy of a mortgage in the chain of title, and declaring that the mortgage is a valid lien of first priority against the property.

• Obtained United States citizenship on behalf of a 67-year-old Liberian client who came to the United States after living in a Refugee Camp in the Republic of Guinea for more than a decade as a result of the Second Liberian Civil War.

• Defended a national creditor against a claim brought under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law for an purported predatory loan. Summary judgment granted.

• Obtained an order on behalf of Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, setting aside a sheriff sale due to a fraud by the mortgagor and a fatal title defect in the mortgage, three years after the recording of the sheriff's deed.

• Obtained an order from the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania excluding a supposed expert "Certified Fraud Analyst" from testifying regarding a secured creditor's compliance with the pooling and servicing agreement.

• Obtained an order from the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, allowing a secured creditor to proceed to a sheriff's sale on foreclosed property after not having been paid for 11 years.

• Obtained an order from the Delaware Supreme Court on behalf of Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, reversing a grant of summary judgment in favor of a borrower in a foreclosure action. Borrower's motion asserted that the investor on a loan serviced by Ocwen was not the proper party to bring the foreclosure action.

Areas of Practice

• Commercial Litigation
• Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Litigation
• Consumer Lending Litigation
• Mortgage Foreclosure
• Real Estate Litigation

Admissions

• Florida
• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Education

• Florida Coastal School of Law, J.D., 2010
• Yeshiva University, B.A., 2007

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Associate, 2013-present
• Shapiro & Denardo LLC
  - Associate, 2013
• Udren Law Offices, P.C.
  - Associate, 2011-2013

Honors and Awards

• Named to Best Lawyers "Ones to Watch," 2021-2024

• Recipient of the Dade Legal Aid’s Guardian Ad Litem Pro Bono Award, 2021