Recognized as a Rising Star by Washington DC Super Lawyers, Lela has a proven track record of successfully and zealously representing her clients. Lela is a versatile and trial-tested litigator, having served as lead counsel and trial counsel in a wide range of disputes involving commercial real estate, financial services, manufacturing, contracts, and business torts. Lela counsels clients at all stages of litigation and practices before a variety of tribunals. Her diverse experience includes successful bench and jury trials, complex electronic discovery, depositions, motions hearings, mediations and arbitrations, emergency injunctive relief, and appeals.
Lela is committed to excellent client service and takes a client-first, business-minded approach to her practice. Lela takes the time to understand her clients’ priorities, businesses, and industries, and provides upfront case assessment and analysis to best achieve results aligned with her clients’ objectives. Always practical and keenly attuned to her clients’ business needs, Lela efficiently staffs and manages cases to provide the best value to her clients. Importantly, Lela openly communicates with her clients to develop trust and establish the strong strategic partnerships needed to effectively litigate and resolve disputes.
On March 21, 2019, U.S. Magistrate Judge Staci G. Cornelius in the Northern District of Alabama reduced a FCRA plaintiff’s $3 million punitive damages award to less than $500,000. The court held that the multi-million dollar award was not justified and could violate due process given the plaintiff’s […]
On January 29, 2019, a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that an employer violated FCRA by providing a background check disclosure form that included information regarding state laws closely related to FCRA. Gilberg v. California Check Cashing Stores, LLC, No. 17-16263, 2019 WL 347027 (9th […]
FCRA’s statute of limitations can sometimes provide defendants with a cut-and-dry grounds for dismissal early in case, but not always. The Eastern District of Michigan recently denied a motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitations because it was not clear from the face of the complaint […]
Are medical records discoverable in FCRA cases? Like most legal questions, it depends. The Northern District of California recently grappled with this issue in the case of Prado v. Equifax Information Services LLC, No. 18-CV-02405-PJH (LB), 2019 WL 88140 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 3, 2019). In that case, the […]
A recent case in the District of New Jersey provides a good reminder to be mindful of exclusions to mandatory arbitration provisions. In Webster v. OneMain Financial, Inc., No. CV 18-2711 (JBS/AMD), 2018 WL 6322617 (D.N.J. Dec. 4, 2018), the plaintiff filed suit alleging FCRA violations against OneMain. […]
The Northern District of California recently considered a case where a plaintiff alleged that her employer’s FCRA disclosure both had too much information and too little. Soman v. Alameda Health Sys., No. 17-CV-06076-JD, 2018 WL 6308185 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 3, 2018). The plaintiff in Soman applied for a […]
Consumers filed fewer FCRA complaints in September 2018 than they did in August, according to the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, Oregon, citing a report from WebRecon. FCRA filings declined 21.7% percent over the prior month, dropping from 433 to 339 cases. This downturn between September and […]
The Southern District of Ohio recently came out with another opinion in favor of arbitration provisions. In Fox v. Transunion, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183937 (S.D. Ohio Oct. 26, 2018), the plaintiff filed suit alleging that a bank violated FCRA and defamed her by reporting disputed charges to […]
