Gerard J. Gaeng - Partner

About Gerry

As a partner in the firm's Litigation Department and Financial Services Group, Gerry Gaeng has successfully handled some of the region's largest and most complex litigation matters, in state and federal trial and appellate courts. He concentrates in complex business and government litigation, including class-action defense, financial services litigation, intellectual property litigation, administrative law, higher education law, and real estate and construction litigation. Gerry graduated "Most Outstanding Student" at the Emory University School of Law and served as a federal judicial law clerk, Maryland Assistant Attorney General, and counsel to a congressionally created commission that investigated the nation's savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. During his decades of private practice, Gerry has been recognized in a short list of Maryland's "local litigation stars" in every annual edition of Benchmark: America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, where clients have praised him for "astounding results" and described him as "simply the best." Similarly, he has been listed in every edition of Maryland Super Lawyers and in the 2011-present editions of Best Lawyers in America, which named him Baltimore's 2016 "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation - Banking and Finance, and its 2021 Baltimore "Lawyer of the Year" for Real Estate Litigation. Gerry is also ranked for commercial litigation in Maryland in the prestigious Chambers USA publication.

Representative Matters

  • Successfully defended the board of directors of a financial institution in a state-court shareholder class action alleging breach of fiduciary duties in connection with a bank merger.
  • Successfully defended NYSE company sued in federal court in a class-action product-liability lawsuit.
  • Successfully defended bank in lender-liability action brought by loan customer resulting in de minimis settlement.
  • Co-counsel in defense in a pending patent infringement suit against a provider of military armor for the United States brought by a competitor.
  • Successfully defended federal-court consumer class action against large automotive dealership group alleging violation of state law governing automobile financing.
  • Represented and advised the Special Litigation Committee of the board of directors of a REIT sued in a shareholder derivative action.
  • Tried arbitration case for Fortune 500 company seeking damages against coal producer under a commodity supply contract; resulted in mid-trial favorable settlement.
  • Obtained an order compelling individual arbitration of a claim of a named plaintiff in a putative class action against a financial services company.
  • Recovered substantial funds for a vendor of commercial real estate when a developer defaulted on the purchase agreement.
  • Was lead counsel on amici curiae brief filed on behalf of financial services companies before Maryland's highest court; resulted in affirmance of judgment that defendant mortgage assignee was not liable for statutory lending violation committed by loan originator.
  • Successfully defended before a jury claims brought against a developer and home builder by residents of a community alleging underground water problems.
  • Successfully defended as lead liaison counsel in federal trial and appellate courts consolidated class-action cases brought under state and federal mortgage lending statutes against multiple financial institutions.
  • Drafted complex legislation for professional association and for a governmental entity; both bills were enacted into law.
  • Recovered substantial liquidated damages for a totalizator company in federal trial court for breach of contract by the operator of a racetrack.
  • Successfully defended claims asserted under a host of state and federal statutes, including:
    • The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)
    • The Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
    • The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA)
    • The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)
    • The Maryland Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
    • The Maryland Consumer Protection Act (MCPA)
    • The Maryland Secondary Mortgage Loan Law (SMLL)
    • The Maryland Retail Installment Sales Act (RISA)
    • The Maryland Credit Grantor Closed End Credit Provisions (CLEC)
    • The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
    • The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
    • The Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act (MTCPA)
    • The Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (MCDCA)

Education

  • Emory University School of Law, J.D. (with honors)
  • Towson University, B.S. (summa cum laude)

Bar Admissions

  • Maryland Supreme Court
  • U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court