Abraham Joshua Colman
Partner
Overview
Abraham "Abe" Colman is a financial services attorney in Holland & Knight's Los Angeles office. Mr. Colman is a nationally recognized litigator who represents financial services companies in class actions and individual cases all across the country. His clients include credit card issuers, auto finance lenders, mortgage servicers, consumer debt buyers, collection agencies and banks.
Mr. Colman has extensive experience defending class actions and individual claims alleging statutory violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and Rees-Levering Act, among others.
In addition to his consumer financial services practice, Mr. Colman routinely represents companies facing consumer issues such as those in the health and fitness, telecommunications and hospitality industries.
Mr. Colman's depth of experience includes litigation and arbitration of class action disputes in more than 20 states throughout the nation. After a thorough analysis of the issues presented, Mr. Colman takes a very focused, aggressive and practical approach on each matter. He has obtained numerous favorable class-wide settlements or, alternatively, a dismissal of class claims and a settlement with the individual class representative only. He also has successfully defeated a number of class certification motions. Mr. Colman also takes the same approach on individual consumer cases. When reasonable settlements cannot be reached, cases are resolved via motion practice and, if necessary, are taken to trial.
Mr. Colman has developed a team of litigators across the country that work with him on these matters, which enables him to ensure consistency in approach, strategy and efficiencies in handling of the matters. In addition, he works closely with the firm's regulatory and compliance lawyers who routinely provide insight and nuances into the statutes that are asserted in the various cases.
In addition, Mr. Colman is a strategic thinker who is creative in developing approaches to the litigation that always keep the clients "end game" in mind. Clients look to him for these approaches to solve their most challenging issues.
Representative Experience
- Defeated class action against a hotel accused of improperly charging sales tax on internet services provided to guests
- Handles hundreds of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) arbitrations
- Defeated class certification in TCPA class action alleging violations of the TCPA
- Defeated a class certification in class action against a multinational online retailer arising out of its gift certificates sold on its website
- Settled a nationwide class action on the eve of the class certification hearing that was brought against a large department store retailer alleging improper access of consumer credit reports; the exposure on the case exceeded $1 billion and the case settled for a few hundred thousand dollars of attorneys' fees
- Defeated a class certification in a nationwide class action filed against an American bank arising out of its practice of not reporting credit limits on consumer's credit reports; plaintiffs had sought disgorgement by the bank of its annual fees charged to consumers for the four years prior to filing the lawsuit
- Obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial in state court in Philadelphia for a multinational investment bank in a case alleging defamation and tortious interference claims
- Defeated a class action against a Delaware-based bank challenging its definition of "minimum payment" on its credit card statements
- Involved in a class action case that dealt with the California Civil Code and a commercial entity's obligation to make clear that a phone line is being recorded
- Settled on an individual basis a nationwide class action against a multinational investment bank alleging Truth in Lending Act (TILA) violations
- Obtained defense verdict in an arbitration for a global bank alleging TILA violations
- Represented telecommunications company in defense of $30 million arbitration, which was affirmed by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and is now on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Credentials
- Fordham University School of Law, J.D.
- Baruch College of the City University of New York, B.B.A.
- California
- New York
- All State Courts in California
- All State Courts in New York
- American Bar Association
- Los Angeles County Bar Association