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Isabelle Ord

Isabelle Ord

Partner

Global Co-Chair, Financial Services sector

Co-Chair, Class Action Litigation practice

US Co-Head, Global Class Actions

About

Isabelle Ord is a trial lawyer who resolves complex and high-stakes disputes for national and international businesses and financial institutions. She is the co-chair of DLA Piper’s Class Action Litigation practice and the US Financial Services Sector.

Her experience includes defending class actions and other complex business disputes involving unfair competition (B&PC 17200), false advertising (B&PC 17500), the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (Civil Code 1750), fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, Ponzi scheme and investment fraud, lender liability, and regulatory enforcement matters. She also prosecutes claims for financial institutions and businesses, including credit recovery, loan participation and fraud claims.

Isabelle was the 2013 president of the San Francisco Bank Attorneys Association and 2012 chair of the California State Bar's Business Law Section Financial Institutions Committee. She is Chair of the ABA Banking Law Committee’s State Laws Committee. In 2019, she was awarded a lifetime achievement award for service by outside counsel to the banking industry by the Western Bankers Association.

She is a former Captain in the United States Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General's Corps, and a paratrooper.

Bar admissionsCaliforniaDistrict of Columbia
CourtsAll California state courtsAll California federal district courtsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitSupreme Court of the United States

EXPERIENCE

Representative Class Action Litigation
  • Kelly v. BP West Coast Products, LLC (Eastern District of California):  Obtained dismissal of class action asserting violations of B&PC 17200 (unfair competition) and Consumer Legal Remedies Act at motion to dismiss stage for failure to state a claim regarding debit card service fees.  Kelly v. BP West Coast Products, LLC, Slip Copy, 2014 WL 7409220 (E.D. Cal.)
  • DeBolt v. Tesoro West Coast Company, LLC, et al. (Central District of California):  Obtained dismissal of class action asserting violation of “unlawful” prong of B&PC 17200 by motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim regarding purportedly unlawful debit card fees
  • Deffenbaugh v. EDebitPay, LLC, et al. (Northern District of California) and two related cases, White v. EDebitPay, LLC, et al, (Central District of California), and Marsh v. Zaazoom Solutions, LLC, et al., (Northern District of California): Defended class actions asserting aiding and abetting, B&PC 17200 - unfair competition and negligence claims against First Bank of Delaware as depositary bank for remotely created checks generated by check processors for Internet merchants. Marsh v. Zaazoom Solutions, LLC, Slip Copy, 2012 WL 6522749 (N.D.Cal.) (dismissing aiding and abetting and unfair competition claims against the bank)
  • Guenther v. CrossCheck, Inc. (Sonoma County Superior Court): Defended check guarantee company in class action alleging claims for B&PC 17200 - unfair competition, violations of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and civil RICO arising from collection of fees after cancellation or termination of service
  • Oshaben v. Monster Worldwide, Inc. (San Francisco Superior Court): Defended class action asserting violations of B&PC 17500- false advertising, Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the EFTA, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and B&PC 17200 - unfair competition arising from Tickle.com website negative option subscription contract
  • Zintel, et al. v. Regal Entertainment Group (Central District of California). Defended class action against national movie theatre chain for violations of EFTA based on alleged failure to post notice of fees at ATM machines
  • Stock v. Hafif (Los Angeles Superior Court): Prosecution of claims through trial and appeal regarding apportionment of class action attorney fees
Representative Banking And Financial Services Litigation
  • Trustees of the Automobile Mechanics Local No. 701 Pension and Welfare Funds v. Union Bank of California (Northern District of Illinois) and related cases, The Board of Trustees of the California Winery Workers’ Pension Trust Fund v. Union Bank, N.A. (Northern District of California) and Brethren Foundation, Inc., et al. v. Union Bank, N.A. (San Francisco Superior Court): Defended Union Bank in three complex disputes involving securities lending losses arising from the failure of Lehman Brothers
  • Bank of New York Mellon, et al. v. Mortgage Resolution Partners L.L.C., et al. (Northern District of California): Amicus Curie to California Bankers Association in support of motions to dismiss relating to City of Richmond’s scheme to seize underwater mortgages by eminent domain
  • Casey v. U.S. Bank National Association (Orange County Superior Court): Defended Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. against a US$17 million aiding and abetting claim by the Chapter 7 Trustee of DFJ Italia, Inc., an investment fraud Ponzi scheme. Casey v. U.S. Bank, National Association, 127 Cal.App.4th 1138 (2005) (limiting aiding and abetting liability of banks)
  • Islands of Johnson Creek, LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Orange County Superior Court): Defended a bank in a US$6 million fraud and misappropriation of a wire transfer dispute defeating speculative lost profits damages, achieving a mid-trial settlement
  • PKK Investments, LLC v. American Commercial Capital, LLC (Orange County Superior Court): Defended a commercial lender (later acquired by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.) against claims arising from alleged breach of US$8 million loan commitment
  • Arora v. Union Bank Investment Services, Inc. (Alameda County Superior Court): Defended a broker-dealer against fraud and related claims arising from a bank customer's purchase of a welfare benefit plan as a tax shelter. The customer was audited by the IRS and the plan was disallowed. The case was settled at mediation
  • Bovee v. Bank of America NT &SA (Orange County Superior Court): Defended a bank in a fraud action arising from claims of mismanagement of trust assets by two brothers for whom the bank managed investments for more than 20 years after the death of their mother. The case was favorably settled in mediation
  • Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. MAC Partners, et al. (Orange County Superior Court): Defended Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (successor to North County Bank) in a wrongful foreclosure action involving commercial real estate and alleged future lost profits.
Representative Credit Recovery Litigation
  • In re Cheri and Thomas Fu (Bankruptcy Court, Central District, Santa Ana): Represented Petitioning Creditors Bank of America, N.A. and Far East National Bank in involuntary bankruptcy proceeding against individual guarantors of trade finance banking facilities in the United States and Hong Kong and in subsequent chapter 7 proceedings
  • In re Galleria USA, Inc. (Bankruptcy Court, Central District, Santa Ana): Represented lenders Bank of America, N.A. and Far East National Bank in claims and bankruptcy proceedings
  • LaSalle Business Credit v. Chinatrust Bank (U.S.A.) (Los Angeles Superior Court): Obtained a US$17 million jury verdict, recovering losses of takeout lender for fraud by concealment due to non-disclosure of material negative information about the borrower
  • Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd. v. Suyanto (Orange County Superior Court): Obtained summary judgment against a guarantor of commercial facilities in Singapore for US$18 million and judgment against the guarantor’s spouse after a two-week bench trial involving fraudulent transfers to the spouse and her family trust
Representative Business Litigation
  • LAN Systems PTY LTD v. Alcatel Internetworking, Inc. (Central District of California): Defense of claims regarding sales and marketing practices
  • Western Filter Corp. v. Argan, Inc. (Central District of California): Prosecution of claims regarding alleged non-disclosures in sale of aerospace company
  • Peterson v. CMA CGM, et al. (Northern District of California): Defense of enforcement of a multi-billion dollar foreign judgment via purported assignment of right to payment for various tariffs and purchases of bunkered oil outside the United States
  • Applera Corp. v. Beckman Coulter, Inc. (San Francisco Superior Court): Defense of claims relating to sublicense royalties
  • E-Pass Technologies, Inc. v. Moses & Singer, LP (San Francisco Superior Court): Defense of claims for negligent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty regarding loss of patent infringement dispute
  • Ambriz v. Kelegian, et al. (San Diego Superior Court): Defense of attorney malpractice claims relating to loss of underlying premises liability case at summary judgment
Education
  • J.D., Georgetown University Law Center 1998
    American Criminal Law Review
    Georgetown Criminal Justice Clinic
  • B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara 1995
    with honors

Awards

The Legal 500 United States

  • Recommended, Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Consumer Products (including Tobacco) (2024)
  • Recommended, General Commercial Disputes (2023-2024)

Bylines

Seminars

Memberships And Affiliations

  • San Francisco Bank Attorneys Association (Past President)
  • Advisor, California State Bar Financial Institutions Committee (Past Chair)
  • 2013-2016 Executive Committee, California State Bar Business Law Section (Former Legislative Chair)
  • Sustainer, Junior League of San Francisco, Inc.
  • St. Thomas More Society of San Francisco (Past President)

Connect

Phone

+1 415 836 2536
(Work, San Francisco)
+1 213 330 7700
(Work, Los Angeles)