Anthony C. Kaye

Partner He / Him / His

Salt Lake City

Tel 801.531.3069
Fax 801.531.3001

New York

Tel 212.223.0200
Fax 212.223.1942

Anthony C. Kaye represents consumer financial services providers in complex litigation and also focuses on real estate litigation. He is the Leader of our Military Lending Team, which is part of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Litigation Group.

Services

Experience

Representative Matters

Defended a portfolio of Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) cases on behalf of a solar panel company in state and federal courts throughout the country.
Defended a portfolio of cases on behalf of mortgage servicers involving efforts to strip mortgage investors of their first position liens in Nevada.
Defended an auto finance company in a putative class action lawsuit alleging Military Lending Act violations.
Defended a financial institution in a putative class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) requirements for foreclosure.

Represented client in dismissing FCRA claim filed by Chapter 7 debtor where lender’s ACDV correctly reported an account as “discharged in bankruptcy” with a zero balance. Layton v. Experian Info. Sols., Inc., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205221 (D. Utah Nov. 2, 2020)
Obtained affirmance of summary judgment ruling dismissing plaintiff’s alleged “true” quiet title and contract based claims following dismissal, without appeal, of plaintiff’s TILA claims concerning alleged fraud in the inducement of a home refinance transaction. Lunt v. Nationstar Mortgage, No. 18-4093, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 2706 (10th Cir. Jan. 28, 2020)
Represented pro bono clients in successfully petitioning the Utah Supreme Court to permit DACA recipients to be admitted to the Utah State Bar. In re: Mary Doe and Jane Doe, Case No. 20180806-SC (Utah 2019)
Obtained a defense verdict in Nevada State Court for a bank by proving the foreclosure of property was the product of a scheme hatched by the real estate owner, whose lawyer participated in a scheme to defraud creditors by attempting to wipe out the trust's security interest through a rigged foreclosure sale. Zaisan v. U.S. Bank, as Trustee (Case No. A-13-691690-C, 8th Jud. Dist. Ct., Clark County, Nevada, Mar. 6, 2018)
Defeated class certification and obtained dismissal of a putative class action alleging a consumer financial services company exploited elderly adults by offering credit cards to pay for sham health care expenses.
Represented a Deer Valley resort developer at a JAMS arbitration proceeding in which the plaintiff alleged breach of contract to purchase a luxury resort condominium and violations of the Utah Land Sales Practices Act. Following an evidentiary hearing, the arbitrator ruled for the client on all counts and awarded legal fees to the client totaling nearly $250,000. Deer Crest Janna, LLC v. Davide, 2016 WL 3190206 (D. Utah 2016) (confirming award)
Represented a bank in obtaining dismissal of a federal case brought by a former U.S. Congressman alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act, civil conspiracy, fraud, and tortious interference with contract. Cannon v. PNC Bank, N.A., 2016 WL 9779290 (D. Utah 2016)
Represented a California-based publisher in persuading the United States District Court for the District of Utah to apply California's Anti-SLAPP statute to the publisher's special motion to strike the Plaintiff's complaint. Diamond Ranch Academy, Inc. v. Filer, 117 F. Supp.3d 1313 (D. Utah 2015)
Represented PNC Bank, N.A. in an appeal of a bankruptcy decision to the District of Utah in which the district court held that as a servicer, PNC had standing to move to dismiss a Chapter 13 proceeding and that the obligations of the debtor were sufficiently determinable to constitute liquidated debt in excess of the debt ceiling for Chapter 13 relief. In re Cannon, 521 B.R. 686 (D. Utah 2014)
Represented appellant in a case of first impression, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that a defendant may file a motion to compel arbitration in lieu of an answer and that the defendant's failure to first answer the plaintiff's complaint before filing the motion is not a proper ground for denying it. Lamkin v. Morinda Properties Weight Parcel, LLC, Case No. 11-4022 (10th Cir. Sept. 19, 2011)
Represented appellee in a case in which the Utah Court of Appeals ruled that expert testimony from a civil engineer is required to establish breach of duty and causation in a negligence case alleging injuries caused by a defect in design or construction. Spafford v. Granite Credit Union, 2011 UT App 401
Obtained summary judgment dismissing negligent design and construction claims asserted against a global leader in power technologies where plaintiffs alleged stray current from HVDC converter stations designed and built for the Intermountain Power Project in Delta, Utah, disrupted the operation of their 18 dairy farms.
Successfully defended multiple product liability cases involving allegations of exposure to asbestos-containing overhead crane brake systems used at the Geneva Steel Facility in Provo, Utah; obtained dismissals based on plaintiffs' failure to establish causation.
Counseled a Utah venture capital company and its majority shareholder in a high-profile corporate governance dispute; obtained a favorable settlement following the defeat of prior management's attempt to obtain injunctive relief, restoring them to control of the company.
Successfully represented Park City and Summit County real estate developers in disputes concerning construction of multimillion-dollar projects, ownership and control of companies holding real property assets, and ownership and use of density.
Participated in representation of a major insurance carrier in successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in seminal ERISA preemption case (New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Insurance Company, 514 U.S. 645 (1995)); obtained unanimous decision reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and establishing that ERISA did not preempt portions of New York's comprehensive hospital rate-setting and insurance regulatory scheme.

Professional Highlights

Pro Bono Experience

Tony is a member of Ballard Spahr's Pro Bono Committee and supervisor of the firm's pro bono program in Utah.

The Legal Services Corporation presented Tony with a Certificate of Appreciation for "extraordinary commitment to providing equal access to justice through Private Attorney Involvement with Utah Legal Services" in 2008.

Professional Activities

Barrister, Order of Veritas

American Bar Association, Forum on the Construction Industry (Dispute Avoidance and Resolution), member; Business Law Section, member; Vice-Chair, Webinars and Roundtables Subcommittee, Consumer Financial Services Committee

Recognition & Accomplishments

Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America

Recipient of the 2020 Alan J. Davis Award, given annually by the firm to honor an individual or group at the firm providing exemplary legal representation in a matter involving the public good

Named a Mountain States Super Lawyer 2007-2009, 2014-2019

The Best Lawyers in America, real estate litigation, 2015-2022; "Lawyer of the Year," litigation-real estate (Salt Lake City), 2021

Speaking Engagements

Speaker, "Auto Finance and the Military Lending Act," 2020 ABA Business Law Section Annual Meeting (Virtual), September 25, 2020

Facilitator, "MLA Litigation and Investigations Concerning GAP Coverage," 2019 ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee Midwinter Meeting, Tucson, Arizona, January 18, 2020

Facilitator, "The CFPB Is Not Going Away: CFPB CID Activity and Investigational Hearings," 2019 ABA Consumer Financial Services Committee Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., September 13, 2019

Board Memberships & Community Service

Prevent Child Abuse Utah, past Executive Committee Member and past Chair

Governor's Child Abuse Prevention Task Force, past Member

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, past Member

Publications

Co-author, "Criminal Law Defenses to an Espionage Act Prosecution: Overbreadth, Vagueness, and Lack of Criminal Intent," Media Law Resource Center Joint Committee Report, September 2019

Co-author, "Utah's New Regulatory Sandbox," The National Law Review, June 11, 2019

"Wyoming Creates Fintech Sandbox," The National Law Review, June 6, 2019

Related Insights

Credentials

Education

Case Western Reserve University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1993)
Articles Editor, Case Western Reserve Law Review
Order of the Coif

Hamilton College (B.A. 1986)

Admissions

New York

Utah

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan

U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

U.S. District Court for the District of Utah

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court