Lawyers
Richard A. Freshwater

Richard A. Freshwater

  • Associate

Richard.Freshwater@ThompsonHine.com

  • Direct 216.566.5764
  • Office 216.566.5500
  • Fax 216.566.5800
  • 3900 Key Center
  • 127 Public Square
  • Cleveland, Ohio 44114-1291

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Professional Experience

Richard is a member of the Business Litigation practice group. His practice focuses on representing financial institutions in consumer finance, commercial and business litigation matters at the class action, appellate and trial levels. He routinely defends financial institutions from common law claims and those arising under Ohio's Uniform Commercial Code, the Truth in Lending Act, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.

Earlier in his career, Richard was a senior attorney adviser and judicial law clerk for the Hon. Thomas F. Phalen, Jr. of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Administrative Law Judges. During law school, he served as a law clerk and intern for the late Hon. G. Jack Davis of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas and as a judicial extern for the Hon. Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Richard is admitted to practice in the state of Ohio and before the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Education

  • University of Dayton School of Law, J.D., 2006, Dayton Law Review; Intellectual Property Moot Court
  • Mississippi College, B.A.

Representative Matters

  • Alexander v. Wells Fargo Financial Ohio 1, Inc., 122 Ohio St.3d 341, 2009-Ohio-2962
  • Kline v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., 2011 WL 1119698 (S.D. Ohio 2011)
  • Gawry v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 2009 WL 1954717 (N.D. Ohio)

Professional & Civic Involvement

Professional Associations

Ohio State Bar Association, Member, Banking, Commercial & Bankruptcy Law Committee; Chair, Loan Documentation and Opinion Letter Subcommittee
American Bar Association, Member, Consumer Financial Services Committee and Commercial and Business Litigation Committee

Community Activities

First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland, Council Member
Xavier University, Former English Adjunct Faculty Member

Publications

  • "Removal of Attorney General Actions Under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005," · Toxics Law Reporter, 26 TXLR 443, BNA, Inc., April 14, 2011
  • "Removal of state AG parens patriae actions under CAFA" · Consumer Financial Services Law Report, Vol. 14, No. 6, August 2010
  • "An Analysis of Cappuccitti: Eleventh Circuit Panel Adds New Amount in Controversy Requirement to CAFA Jurisdiction" · BNA Class Action Litigation Report, August 2010
  • "Writing For Partners: Uncut, Uncensored" · CMBA Bar Journal, January 2010

Presentations

  • "Robo-Signing: Its Effects in the Consumer Finance Litigation World", Ohio State Bar Association Banking, Commercial and Bankruptcy Law Committee Meeting, February 2011
  • "Becoming a Judicial Law Clerk", University of Dayton, March 2007

Awards & Honors

  • CALI Award Winner: UCC Secured Transactions, UCC Commercial Paper