Sean Riley has a demonstrated record of success in courtrooms throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is a Partner and Office Co-Chair of the firm’s Pittsburgh office and also works in the Philadelphia office on a regular basis in handling his regional practice. Mr. Riley is also Co-Chair of the firm’s Fair Housing national practice team. His ability to evaluate claims and develop thoughtful strategies and themes repeatedly has led to successful outcomes in state and federal courts.

Mr. Riley’s commercial and director’s and officer’s practice includes suits under the False Claims Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Expedited Funds Availability Act and Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. He also has litigated claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, RICO,  ERISA and non-ERISA fiduciary actions, shareholder derivative suits, breach of fiduciary duty claims, restrictive covenant, trade secret and confidential business information suits and many other business law and partnership disputes. He has particularly defended an array of banks, credit unions and other financial entities against consumer protection lawsuits.

His employment practice includes experience includes litigation cases under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, as well as the defense of whistleblower lawsuits and claims asserting harassment, discrimination, or retaliation.  He also handled FLSA and collective action wage and hour claims.

Mr. Riley also has substantial experience in planned communities and defending homeowners and community associations. He has litigated matters before both administrative agencies and in state and federal court, including actions involving fair housing, statutory compliance, and virtually all other areas of community association litigation. He has also defended a wide array of professionals in error and omissions claims, including lawyers, architects and engineers and real estate agents.

Mr. Riley has defended an array of catastrophic negligence, products, toxic tort and construction defect  claims. He has significant experience with serious injuries including traumatic brain injury, complex regional pain syndrome (reflex sympathetic dystrophy), paraplegia and quadriplegia.

In his professional liability practice has defended attorneys, architects and engineers, insurance agents, real estate agents, teachers, corporate officers, and other professionals.

District of New Jersey

Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Middle District of Pennsylvania

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

United States District Courts: 

Western District of Pennsylvania

• “Third Circuit reverses class certification in insurance underpayment suit“, FMG BlogLine

• Liu v. The Grier School, No. 1:24-CV-324, 2024 WL 4536945 (M.D. Pa. 2024)
  • Secured dismissal of lawsuit against private school asserting claims of professional misconduct and breach of contract.
• Clearfield County v. Transystems Corporation et al., 193 CD 2024 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2024)
  • Succeeded on appeal to Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on behalf of architecture firm involved in the design and construction of a multi-million dollar corrections facility.
• Apexco PPSI, LLC v. Iron Oak LLC et al., No. 2018-17329 (Montgomery Ct. Com. Pl. 2020)
  • Secured dismissal of multi-million dollar derivative claims asserted on behalf of insolvent corporation against agent of secured creditor involved in exercising contractual right to take possession of the corporation’s equipment and accounts.
• Second Amendment Foundation, Inc. et al. v. Robinson Township et al., 361 F.Supp.3d 466 (W.D. Pa. 2019 aff’d in part, vacated in part, remanded sub nom. Drummond v. Twp. of Robinson, 784 F. App’x 82 (3d Cir. 2019)
  • Obtained dismissal of claims of Second Amendment violations asserted by national gun rights organization and gun club against Township following enactment of zoning ordinance amendment limiting definition of gun clubs to non-profit entities.
• Friant et al. v. Telecom Engineering Group, Inc. No. 150202426 (Phila. Ct. Com. Pl. 2019)
  • Secured summary judgment on behalf of telecommunications design and engineering firm accused of negligently hiring/supervising manager whose conduct resulted in the death of two subordinate employees and left a third employee severely disabled.
• Jenkins v. Polysciences, Inc., No. CV 16-6616, 2017 WL 1361689 (E.D. Pa. 2017)
  • Obtained the dismissal of a lawsuit against an international chemical materials manufacturer sounding in age and race discrimination See Medero v. NBC Merchants, Inc., No. CV 16-6583, 2017 WL 3328361 (E.D. Pa. 2017); Clemena v. Philadelphia Coll. of Osteopathic Med., No. CV 17-428, 2017 WL 3453338 (E.D. Pa. 2017)
• Brown v. Metropolitan Management Corp. et al., 2:17-CV-00786 (E.D. Pa. 2017)
  • Secured the dismissal of all claims against a condominium association and property management company in defense of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case brought in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Kennedy House, Inc. v. Philadelphia Comm’n on Human Relations, 143 A.3d 476, 483 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2016), appeal denied, 165 A.3d 902 (Pa. 2017)
  • Successful on an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of a residential cooperative building located in Center City, Philadelphia wherein the plaintiff claimed that the cooperative had discriminated against her by denying her request for a waiver of its no-dog policy, preventing her from purchasing a unit in the building
• Wesley v. Simona Am. Inc., No. 3:15-CV-1110, 2016 WL 8613937, at *1 (M.D. Pa. 2016), report and recommendation adopted, No. 3:15-CV-1110, 2017 WL 1173931 (M.D. Pa. 2017)
  • Obtained summary judgment dismissing age discrimination and retaliation claims brought by a former employee who was terminated following the consolidation of two thermoplastic manufacturing facilities
• Cranston v. PJM Interconnection LLC, No. CIV.A. 13-04916, 2014 WL 5503151, (E.D. Pa. 2014)
  • Obtained summary judgement from District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where plaintiff brought suit pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) against his former employer and its pension plan for failure to pay pension benefits allegedly owed under Plaintiff’s employee retirement plan. See Inners v. Keystone Human Servs. of Lancaster, No. 1:12-CV-1701, 2013 WL 5439117, at *1 (M.D. Pa. 2013)
  • Secured dismissal of breach of fiduciary duty and ERISA claims against employer alleged to have mishandled an employee’s beneficiary designation form naming the plaintiff the beneficiary