Ryan E. Borneman

Representative Matters

Banking/Financial

• Won motions to dismiss an original and an amended complaint in the Complex Commercial Litigation Division of the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in an action in which the plaintiff alleged a multimillion-dollar common law claim related to its business account. 

• Won dismissal with prejudice of a putative class action, alleging violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based on efforts to collect a time barred debt, in the New Jersey U.S. District Court on behalf of a bank’s debt collector vendor.

• Won summary judgment for a major bank in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a multimillion dollar account embezzlement action involving allegations of breach of contract, negligence and violations of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).

• Won dismissal for a major bank of federal court claims alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Act, promissory estoppel and equitable estoppel.

• Won dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for a major bank facing claims of violations of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and negligence arising out of an account opened in similar name by former employee of plaintiff.

• Dorsey v. PNC Bank, N.A. – Won dismissal for PNC Bank in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia of claims alleging unauthorized withdrawals from customer account.

• Won dismissal for a major bank in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in a negligence and conversion dispute, after two accounts were opened with allegedly falsified corporate records, on the basis that the client owed no duty and fungible dollars can't be converted.

• Won dismissal for a major bank in the U.S. District Court for District of Massachusetts of claims of conversion, violation of Massachusetts unfair practice act and negligence and resolved claims of violation of Uniform Commercial Code (UCC).

• Won motion to dismiss for a major bank in Florida State Court in a dispute brought by investors in a South Florida real estate company alleging violation of Florida's Racketeer Influenced and Corruption Organization Act.

• Obtained partial summary judgment for a major bank in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County in an action seeking $10 million in damages against the bank for breach of a deposit agreement resulting in an alleged raid of customer assets by dissident executives.

• Won motion to dismiss for a major bank under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) repeater rule in a check fraud case where an employee embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• Represented a major bank before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after dismissal of putative class action against the bank in U.S. District Court for the Southern District charging violations of New York's Exempt Income Protection Act (EIPA) and New York common law.

• Defended national bank in putative class action in New Jersey federal court alleging violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act and Rules of Practice governing disclosures to franchisees, New York and New Jersey consumer protection laws and New Jersey common law concerning Small Business Association loans.

• Defended and settled suitability and negligence claims against register representative and broker dealer in Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitrations.

Real Estate

• NL Industries v. Sayreville Seaport Associates – defended and settled complex litigation for national land developer through several intricate and interrelated transactions involving a $2 billion redevelopment/brownfields environmental remediation project along the Raritan River in New Jersey.
• Raritan Baykeeper v. Sayreville Seaport Associates – defending federal environmental claims against remediator / developer concerning $2 billion brownfield redevelopment project; won dismissal of all claims under federal abstention doctrine that was later reversed and remanded by appeals court.
• Lynchburg Steel v. O'Neill Properties Group – successfully defended and resolved federal court claims by service and products supplier as part of a complex, multi-party restructuring of a half-billion-dollar brownfield redevelopment project at a former steel plant.
• RC Fabricators v. O'Neill Properties Group – successfully defended and resolved state court claims by product supplier as part of a complex, multi-party restructuring of a brownfield redevelopment project.
• Brayman Construction v. O'Neill Properties Group – successfully defended and resolved state court claims by service and product supplier as part of a complex, multi-party restructuring of a brownfield redevelopment project.

• Represented owners of commercial properties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in assessment-reduction proceedings and successfully obtained assessment reductions for major commercial property owners.

Commercial Litigation

• In re Sheriff's Excess Proceeds Litigation – Won denial of motion seeking class certification on behalf of Pennsylvania Department of Treasury, where former property owners were seeking as much as $54 million from the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office in excess proceeds from property auctions.
• SOC-SMG, LLC v. Day & Zimmermann – Obtained a $35 million award and an additional award of attorneys' fees in favor of client following a four-week arbitration between joint-venture partners for the joint-venture partner's failure to pay a note and dividends due under the parties' agreement, together with a finding of no liability on a $59 million counterclaim against the client. Obtained confirmation of arbitration award from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
• SARN Energy LLC v. Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification, Inc. – Prosecuted claims for breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation involving technology for the wireless charging of transit buses in Delaware state court.
• Wings to Go, Inc. v. Karacaogulu – Obtained injunction and damages judgment on behalf of national franchisor in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on claims arising from former franchisee's conversion of existing franchisee into a competing business.

• Obtained on behalf of multinational company a decision from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversing jury awarded damages of breach of contract claim.

• Represented a class of pathologists in the prosecution of claims for breach of contract arising out of improper reimbursement by a healthcare insurance company.

• Obtained judgment on behalf of individuals and former owners of a software company in the prosecution of claims for breach of contract arising out of a merger agreement between technology companies.

• Obtained settlement on behalf of a business entity in the prosecution of professional malpractice claims against entity's certified public accountant for failure to detect employee embezzlement.

• On behalf of a national bank, real estate developers, and other clients, frequently manage e-discovery collection and review of millions of pages of documents including collection of documents through targeted searches, refining and narrowing search terms and custodians, negotiating search terms with opposing counsel, performing privilege reviews, managing redactions and privilege logs, and production of relevant documents.

Pro Bono/Community Involvement

• Represented a mother pro bono in securing the return of her two minor children to their home country of Paraguay after a four-and-a-half day trial.

• Represented grandmother pro bono in obtaining custody of grandchild.

• Represent children as court appointed child advocate in dependency hearings.

• Represented individual pro bono in obtaining bequests in contested will of deceased husband.

• Represented individuals pro bono in civil rights claims against local municipality.

• Volunteer, Boy Scouts of America

• Research Advisor, International Center for Law and Religion Studies

Areas of Practice

• General Commercial Litigation
• Complex Litigation/Class Actions
• Financial Services Litigation
• Consumer Lending Litigation
• Appellate Practice
• Broker-Dealer Litigation

Admissions

• Pennsylvania
• New Jersey
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

Education

• Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, 2006
  - Managing Editor of Administration, BYU Law Review
  - Order of the Coif
• Brigham Young University, Marriott School of Management, B.S. Accounting, magna cum laude, 2001

Experience

• Duane Morris LLP
  - Partner, 2016-present
  - Associate, 2006-2015

Honors and Awards

• Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2024
• Recipient of The Legal Intelligencer's 2016 Lawyers on the Fast Track
• Part of the Duane Morris team awarded the first TD Bank "U.S. Legal Champion" Award

Professional Activities

• J. Reuben Clark Law Society
  - Chair, Planning Committee, 2017 Annual Conference
• BYU Management Society

Selected Publications

• Co-author, "Pa. Supreme Court Rejects Federal Case Law on E-Discovery; Adopts Proportionality Test for E-Discovery in Amendments to Rules of Civil Procedure," Duane Morris Alert, June 12, 2012
• Co-author, "Pa. District Court Awards $367,000 in E-discovery Costs to Prevailing Defendants," Duane Morris Alert, June 7, 2011
• Co-author, "Rehashing Issues in Class Action Arbitration," Dispute Resolution Magazine, Fall 2008, Vol. 14, No. 1
• Co-author, "A Blunt Tool That Is Here to Stay: The False Claims Act As a Tool to Enforce Quality of Care," Modern Healthcare, February 2007

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Presenter, "Fraud on Your Finance Department – Risks, Rules and Recommendations for Preventing Bank Account Frauds," Association of Corporate Counsel – Greater Philadelphia’s 11th Annual In-House Counsel Conference, Philadelphia, April 24, 2019

• "Emerging Trends in AML, Counterterrorism and FCPA," Duane Morris Financial Institutions CLE Series, September 13, 2017
• "Class Arbitration Developments and Practice," Guest Lecturer, Complex Litigation Course, Villanova Law School, November 18, 2010
• "E-Discovery: Practical Tips," Continuing Legal Education Seminar, Nov. 25, 2008
• "Navigating a Class Arbitration and Issues Surrounding a Class Arbitration," Continuing Legal Education Seminar, Dec. 14, 2007