Megan E. Burns

Megan is an attorney in the Consumer Financial Services Practice Group, representing national and multinational clients in federal and state courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. The principal areas of Megan’s practice are class action defense, consumer law, and complex commercial litigation. In particular, she focuses on defending corporations in class actions under various federal statutes and regulations, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Regulation V, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Regulation X, and the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA). Megan’s clients range from Fortune 100 corporations to startups and closely held entities. As part of the firm’s national practice, Megan has been counsel in individual cases and class actions in numerous states, including Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, California, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

In addition to consumer financial services, Megan has substantial experience in creditors’ rights litigation, including bankruptcy, Miller Act, and Little Miller Act claims, as well as representing financial institutions in restructuring and insolvency litigation. She also represents corporations and individuals in a variety of complex commercial litigation, such as shareholder disputes, construction and other contract disputes, and general business matters. Megan also has substantial experience in both federal and state appellate courts, putting to good use her experience as an editor of the William and Mary Law Review and as a law clerk to the Honorable Rebecca Beach Smith, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Megan provides ongoing analysis and commentary on developments in the consumer financial services industry through the Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor blog at https://www.consumerfinancialserviceslawmonitor.com/.

• Serving as counsel for national loan servicers specializing in reverse mortgages, including providing representation in multiple putative class actions that challenge the servicer’s compliance with regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Defended the nation’s largest online lender in a nationwide putative class action asserting FCRA claims, with potential exposure more than $1.4 billion. Secured summary judgment and dismissal of all claims (affirmed on appeal), resulting in a complete win for the client.
• Obtained summary judgment and affirmation by the Fourth Circuit in favor of a national loan servicer in a purported class action on the grounds that the named plaintiff’s claims under the WVCCPA were time-barred by the one-year statute of limitation. Whether the statute of limitation began to run on the date the loan was accelerated was an issue of first impression, and the decision had a significant impact on litigation under the WVCCPA prior to the 2016 amendments.
• Secured summary judgment and affirmation by the Fourth Circuit in favor of a Fortune 100 international bank on debtor’s unconscionable contract claim under the WVCCPA on the grounds that an inflated appraisal alone is not grossly unfair. In the same case, obtained a voluntary dismissal with prejudice on plaintiff’s remaining WVCCPA claims while lender’s renewed motion for summary judgment was pending.
• Secured summary judgment for a national banking corporation in a class action on the grounds that the plaintiffs’ claims were pre-empted by the National Bank Act and the OCC Regulations, resulting in dismissal of all of plaintiff’s claims.
• Served as counsel for a Fortune 100 international bank and for national mortgage servicers in multiple cases filed under the FCRA, FDCPA, RESPA, and various state laws. Successfully resolved multiple cases through favorable settlement or early dismissal.
• Represented a regional bank in creditors’ rights litigation seeking to enforce security interests in commercial real estate.

• Best Lawyers in America®: Financial Services Regulation Law (2024-2026)
• Legal Elite in Bankruptcy Law, Virginia Business (2010)