Alyssa Sussman

Alyssa Sussman is a counsel in the Complex Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Financial Services Litigation, and Consumer Financial Services Litigation practices. Alyssa has more than a decade of experience defending large companies against putative class action lawsuits and serves as the firm’s subject matter expert on overdraft fee litigation and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Her work focuses on defense of banks, mortgage lenders and servicers, credit issuers, and other large companies in state and nationwide putative class actions and government enforcement actions. These cases typically arise under the FDCPA and state correlates to the FDCPA, the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), unfair and deceptive trade practices acts, and common law. Alyssa represents clients in state and federal courts throughout the country, including New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Florida, and Illinois.

Alyssa’s work includes:

• Defending banks against putative class actions challenging the assessment of overdraft fees and non-sufficient funds fees in the District of Massachusetts, Southern District of New York, Northern District of California, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Illinois, and various state courts
• Representing national mortgage servicers in putative class actions challenging the charging of convenience fees for accepting payments by phone and online in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Eastern District of New York, Central District of California, Southern District of Florida, District of Columbia, Southern District of West Virginia, and various state courts
• Representing lenders in CFPB investigations and enforcement actions
• Defeating class certification in several nationwide putative class actions against national banks in the Central and Eastern Districts of California and District of Columbia alleging breach of contract and violation of the FDCPA and various state consumer protection statutes, as well as in the largest multi-district litigation challenging mortgage servicer practices under the Home Affordable Modification Program
• Summary judgment wins in nationwide and state putative class actions appealed to the Ninth and Tenth Circuits, as well as in enforcement action filed by the CFPB and Florida Attorney General in the Southern District of Florida, asserting claims under the FDCPA, CFPA, RESPA, and TILA
• Dismissals of nationwide and state putative class actions against national banks and other large companies in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, Central, Southern, and Eastern Districts of California, Western District of North Carolina, First Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and New York Supreme Court alleging violations of the FDCPA, RESPA, TILA, RICO, and New York, California, and Massachusetts consumer protection statutes
• Securing favorable settlements in nationwide and state putative class actions against banks, mortgage lenders and servicers, credit issuers, and other large companies in the Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York, Central, Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of California, District of New Jersey, District of Massachusetts, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Ohio, Northern District of Illinois, District of Nevada, Southern District of West Virginia, and various state courts

Alyssa’s pro bono work includes defending a preschool in a contract dispute regarding the provision of accounting services, representing an opera production company in a dispute regarding a performance contract, and partnering with the GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders to assist clients with name changes and gender marker updates.

Alyssa is a member of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee, Business Law Group, and Litigation Group.

Prior to joining Goodwin, Alyssa was an attorney at the New England Innocence Project.

While in law school, Alyssa was an Articles Editor for the Journal of Law and Social Policy.