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Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C. OfficesNew Offices Opened in San Francisco & New York

John Soumilas Consumer Protection Attorney at Francis Mailman Soumilas, P.C.

John Soumilas

1-877-735-8600

1-215-940-8000

jsoumilas@consumerlawfirm.com

Biography

JOHN SOUMILAS is a no-nonsense litigator and one of the firm’s shareholders. He concentrates his practice in consumer class actions and other complex litigation matters. John litigates primarily in federal court on behalf of victims of identity theft, persons defamed and otherwise harmed by credit and background screening errors, individuals harassed and deceived by collectors and other businesses, as well as consumers who are subjected to unwelcome invasions of their privacy, fraud, overcharging, and other deceptive or unfair trade practices. John has been repeatedly recognized by Philadelphia Magazine as a “SuperLawyer,” a recognition received by only 5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania. He has been nationally recognized for his work in protecting consumer rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). John was lead class counsel and lead trial counsel in a 2017 record-breaking $60M jury verdict, the largest such verdict in FCRA history. Throughout his career, he has obtained some of the highest consumer jury verdicts, including the highest known FCRA verdicts in Pennsylvania, California, and Michigan.

Education

John is a 1994 cum laude graduate of Rutgers University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a master’s degree in American history from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. John received his law degree cum laude from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1999, where he was a member of the Jessup Moot Court and Temple Law Review. He began his legal career by clerking for Justice Russell M. Nigro of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Admissions

John is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, the United States District Courts for the District of Colorado, Eastern District of Michigan, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the District of New Jersey, as well as the state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He has also successfully litigated cases on a pro hac vice basis throughout the country.

  • Fox v. Ritz Carlton Hotel Co., LLC, 2020 WL 5784768, (11th Cir. 2020) (reversing trial court in case alleging deceptive tips and service charges)
  • Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC, 951 F.3d 1008 (9th Cir. 2020) (upholding in part largest verdict in FCRA history, and awarding over $40,000,000 to consumers against credit bureau)
  • Seamans v. Temple University, 744 F.3d 853 (3d Cir. 2014) (reversing summary judgment for credit furnisher concerning improperly reported old student loan debt)
  • Ferguson v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, 538 Fed. Appx. 782 (9th Cir. 2013) (reversing summary judgment for bank that failed to remove bankruptcy notation from consumer’s credit report)
  • Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC, 617 F.3d 688 (3d Cir. 2010) (upholding first ever court finding that false terrorist/OFAC alerts are subject to the FCRA, also upholding punitive damages)
  • Ramirez v. Trans Union, LLC, No. 12-cv-00632, 2017 WL 5153280 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 7, 2017)
  • Smith v. LexisNexis Screening Solutions, Inc., No. 13-10774 (E.D. Mich. Oct. 24, 2014)
  • Dixon-Rollins v. Trans Union, LLC, No. 09-0646 (E.D. Pa. March 9, 2010)
  • Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC, No. 05-5684 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 26, 2007)
  • McIntyre v. Realpage, Inc., No: 2:18-cv-03934, WL 5017612 (E.D. Pa. Aug 25, 2020) (certifying largest inaccurate eviction records class to date)
  • Norman v. Trans Union, LLC, C.A. 18-5225, WL 4735538 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 14, 2020) (first court to certify class action for credit report agencies failure to investigate consumer disputes of unlawful inquiries)
  • Kelly v. Business Information Group, No. 15-6668, 2019 WL 414915 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 1, 2019) ($3,300,000 class settlement gains court approval, also requiring employment background screener to provide “same time” notice to job candidates of any adverse information being included in their background reports)
  • Leo v. AppFolio, Inc., No. 17-5771, 2018 WL 623647 (W.D. Wash. Jan. 30, 2018)(upholding class action claims against tenant screening company)
  • Flores v. Express Personnel, No. 14-cv-03298, 2017 WL 1177098 (E.D. Pa. March 30, 2017) ($5,750,000 class settlement gains court approval resolving several claims regarding improper background screening practices by a job placement agency)
  • Clark v. Trans Union, LLC, No. 15-cv-391, 2017 WL 814252 (E.D. Va. March 1, 2017) (certifying public records disclosure FCRA class; case later settled for over $18,000,000)
  • Magallon v. Robert Half International, Inc., 311 F.R.D. 626 (D. Or. Nov. 10, 2015) (certifying a 5-year FCRA class for failure to timely disclose adverse placement decisions)
  • Schwartz v. Aracor Search & Abstract, Inc., 2014 WL 4493662 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 11, 2014) (upholding compensatory and punitive damages judgment against title company that misappropriated certain funds at real estate closing)
  • King v. General Info. Servs., Inc., 903 F. Supp. 2d 303 (E.D. Pa. 2012) (first court to uphold constitutionality of FCRA’s obsolescence provision for old or outdated background history)
  • LaRocque v. TRS Recovery Services Inc., 285 F.R.D. 139 (D. Maine 2012) (deceptive collection letter for returned check fees claim certified) (later settled for over $3,000,000)
  • Howley v. Experian Info. Solutions, Inc., 813 F. Supp. 2d 629 (D.N.J. 2011) (first court to find that consumer may sue agency that improperly disclosed information to an identity thief)
  • Adams v. LexisNexis Risk & Info. Analytics Group, Inc., 2010 WL 1931135 (D.N.J. May 12, 2010) (first court to find that consumers may sue under FRCA over information in specialty Accurint report used by debt collectors and others) (leading to Berry v. LexisNexis Risk & Info. Analytics Group, Inc., No. 3:11-cv-754, 2014 WL 4403524 (E.D. Va. Sept. 5, 2014) and resulting in $13,500,000 plus settlement against LexisNexis)
  • Shames-Yeakel v. Citizens Financial Bank, 677 F. Supp. 2d 994 (N.D. Ill. 2009) (first court to rule that consumer may proceed to jury trial on claim that bank breached its duty to sufficiently secure its online banking system)
John is a regular lecturer on consumer matters, including for the National Business Institute, National Consumer Law Center, Practicing Law Institute, National Association of Consumer Advocates, and other organizations. John has been interviewed and quoted concerning many legal issues affecting consumers by a wide range of media outlets, from the Wall Street Journal and Forbes Magazine to Consumer Reports and Free Speech Radio. He has authored several popular and scholarly articles, including Predatory Lending, the FCRA and the FDCPA (NBI 2009) and How Can I Combat Identity Theft (Philadelphia Magazine, Dec. 2008).

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