James D. Mathias is a trial lawyer who engages in a general corporate, securities and business litigation practice. He is the chair of the Baltimore Litigation department. He also is co-chair of DLA Piper's Financial Services Litigation group, former co-chair of the Securities Litigation group and a member of the firmwide Policy Committee.

Mr. Mathias focuses on litigation concerning securities and financial services, class actions, complex financial transactions, fraud, internal corporate and compliance investigations, trade secrets, unfair competition and real property disputes. His experience includes approximately thirty trials and arbitrations, including eight jury trials, in private practice. He also has extensive appellate and mediation experience.

Mr. Mathias is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, based on peer review. He also is listed as a Maryland Super Lawyer. Mr. Mathias served as National Hiring co-chair in charge of recruiting firmwide from 2000 to 2005. He served as the Baltimore office Hiring Partner from 1997 to 2003.

Sample Representations

• Representing Constellation Energy officers and directors in defense of securities and ERISA class action claims in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Argued and won motion to dismiss ERISA class action in its entirety. Securities motion to dismiss partially granted, eliminating all scienter-based claims and substantially reducing exposure
• Represented special litigation committee of The Black & Decker Corporation board in connection with the investigation of Black & Decker's merger with The Stanley Works and whether the board acted in accordance with its fiduciary duties in approving the merger
• Representing The Ryland Group, Inc. officers and directors in defense of derivative action in Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles, alleging breach of fiduciary duties and insider trading relating to Ryland's home mortgage finance operations. Settled on favorable terms
• Represented large energy company and its officers and directors as co-counsel in class and derivative actions in Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland alleging breach of fiduciary duty and challenging fairness of process and price in company's proposed merger. Settled for additional disclosures and award of attorneys' fees
• Representing a commercial bank in defense of consumer class action in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland concerning alleged violations of secondary mortgage loan laws. Motion to dismiss granted. Currently on appeal in Fourth Circuit
• Represented global investment bank in defense of consumer class action in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland concerning allegedly excessive interest charges and prepayment penalties on subprime mortgages now owned by the investment bank. Plaintiffs' counsel voluntarily dismissed claims before responsive pleading required based on defenses raised by defense
• Represented a Fortune 100 global financial services and insurance company in organizing and coordinating its compliance with a government-appointed Independent Consultant's recommendations subsequent to an accounting restatement and related government investigation
• Represented underwriter defendants in defense against federal securities class action claims filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland concerning the adequacy of disclosures in connection with the initial public offering of a business network security company. Settlement reached on favorable terms without contribution by clients
• Represented one of the nation's largest financial institutions as co-counsel in numerous purported investor class actions and other civil actions concerning alleged market timing and after-hours trading in mutual fund shares that have been consolidated by the Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. All claims dismissed by court or through settlement
• Won a motion to dismiss all claims, including claims for fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract, on behalf of a national life insurance company defending against vanishing premium and policy "churning" claims in a consumer class action lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court. (Similar claims against insurance companies throughout the industry have resulted in insurers paying settlements of several hundred million dollars—in one instance, an estimated $1 billion.)
• Represented a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and its directors in defense of state law breach of fiduciary duty claims concerning the adequacy of disclosures associated with the REIT's acquisition by private investors. Claims dismissed voluntarily by plaintiffs pursuant to favorable settlement regarding attorneys' fees
• Represented a Fortune 100 global financial services company in defense of state law breach of fiduciary duty claims concerning the adequacy of disclosures associated with its acquisition of a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns restaurant properties. Confidential settlement reached on favorable terms
• Represented Fortune 100 global tobacco company in a dispute with the states concerning potentially billion-dollar downward adjustments to annual payments owed under the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Secured right to pursue claims in unitary arbitration proceeding rather than in separate state court actions
• Represented a global cellular telephone company in the successful nationwide settlement of consumer class actions challenging wireless equipment insurance programs and successfully obtaining dismissal of related post-settlement putative class action suits
• Represented the former chairman, CEO, and founder of a global reinsurance company in connection with SEC and USAO investigations and an enforcement action regarding accounting-fraud allegations and in defense of related federal securities class action lawsuits. Class actions settled without contribution by client and civil fraud claims resulted in liability finding after trial, but the court refused to grant officer and director bar sought by the government
• Won a defense verdict after a six-day jury trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court for Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and individual defendants. The court dismissed a former franchisee’s Franchise Act and detrimental reliance claims; the jury found in clients' favor on fraud and contract claims, and the jury awarded zero damages for alleged negligent misrepresentations, where $2.4 million had been sought. The court awarded our client contractual attorneys' fees in excess of $438,000
• Represented a global cellular telephone company as co-counsel in defense of consumer class actions claims in Maryland state courts concerning allegedly improper late fees. Resolved on favorable terms following numerous challenges, including constitutional attacks and objections to the fairness of the settlement
• Represented Maryland-based publicly reporting company and CEO in defense of securities and common law fraud claims filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California by disgruntled investors. Confidential settlement reached on favorable terms, with no monetary contribution by clients
• Won an eight-figure monetary award for WorldCom and successfully defended claims seeking termination of a multi-year, multibillion-dollar contract after a two-week arbitration in New York
• Secured a favorable settlement in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida for six underwriter investment banks in a Section 11 securities class action relating to secondary public offering. The underwriters obtained full release for a minimal $200,000 total contribution to the $12 million settlement paid by the bankrupt company’s insurer and the company's accounting firm
• Won a motion to dismiss on statute of limitations and substantive grounds in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in representation of Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., an investment advisor and author of fairness opinion, in a Section 14 securities class action relating to a proxy vote on the cash-out merger of a public company being taken private. The Second Circuit affirmed. A motion to dismiss was granted in New York Supreme Court on a subsequent state-law breach of fiduciary duty suit based on the same facts
• Won a seven-figure jury verdict on behalf of a national printing company after a week-long jury trial in United States District Court for the District of Maryland concerning U.C.C. issues related to a client's revocation of acceptance of high-priced printing equipment
• Won motion to dismiss in Baltimore City Circuit Court in favor of our client, bank directors and officers, in defense as co-counsel of a derivative suit brought by a purported shareholder alleging gross negligence in the supervision of the bank’s foreign currency trading. Affirmed on appeal
• Representation of a bank trust department in a breach of fiduciary duty and mismanagement of trust funds lawsuit brought by grantor and beneficiary. After settling the lawsuit on behalf of the bank/trustee and receiving an assignment of claims, we pursued claims of fraud against the original plaintiff's independent investment advisor. After a successful mediation, we settled the assigned claims pending in Wicomico County, Maryland, Circuit Court and recovered more than what our client had paid the original plaintiff